This week is National Child Protection Week and to mark the occasion members of the NT Police Child Abuse Task force Southern (CATS), together with the NPY Women's Council and NT Families and Children have launched their Sex and the Law talking poster program.
The posters have been developed as an education resource to help the public understand their rights and responsibilities regarding sexual conduct, as well as advising victims what to do and who to turn to if they are in need of assistance.
Detective Sergeant Carmen Butcher who is in charge of the CATS team in Alice Springs said the project to develop the user-friendly posters had been funded by the NPY Women's Council.
"This is just the latest of a range of education resources we now have available to help victims and educate the community" , Det Sergeant Butcher said.
"The posters are highly visible and easy to use. The messages are simple and are delivered in either English or Aboriginal language. The CATS team is jointly staffed by police and NT Families and Children staff and part of our brief is to educate the community. To this end we have taken our resources out to several remote communities in an effort to stop sexual abuse of minors. Our team goes out to community schools to deliver simple messages young people can relate to. We explain what sexual offending is, and what to do about it if it happens.
"We are very pleased with the response we've had from communities, and it is gratifying to find many of them are now actually contacting us and asking us to come and deliver the program.
"We are now going to distribute the talking posters throughout schools, health clinics and police stations in remote communities, as well as in major town centres like Alice Springs, in the hope that the novelty aspect of pressing a button and having the message instantly available in both language and English will help get our messages out there."
As part of National Child Protection Week members of the CATS team will man information stalls at the Yeperenye Shopping Centre on Thursday and Friday from 10am to 2pm.
"Members of the public will also notice that Child Abuse Taskforce paper bags will be used all week by Brumby's and the newsagencies at Yeperenye Shopping Centre and the Coles Complex. The bags will advertise the Northern Territory child abuse phone number, which is 1800 700 250."
Det Sgt Butcher said it was gratifying to see the degree of interagency and community support being offered for such a worthwhile program.
"We are particularly grateful to the NPY Women's Council for funding the talking posters and are looking forward to rolling them out throughout the remote regions."
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