The National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN) is Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

’s leading advocate for the prevention of child abuse

Child abuse

Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...

 and neglect

Child neglect

Child neglect is defined as:# "the failure of a person responsible for a child’s care and upbringing to safeguard the child’s emotional and physical health and general well-being"...

. Founded in 1987, it is a national, independent, charitable organisation with a clear purpose: To prevent child abuse before it starts.

In the last year alone, another 30,000 individual Australian children were found to have been abused or neglected. Hundreds of children have died, thousands of children have been seriously injured and tens of thousands of children have been physically, psychologically and emotionally damaged. The long-term, personal, social and economic costs of child abuse are immense.

NAPCAN believes…

it is up to all Australians to stop this abuse of our children.

NAPCAN’s primary role is…

to advocate on behalf of children to bring about the changes necessary in attitudes, behaviour, policy and the law

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

 to prevent abuse before it happens.

NAPCAN develops…

its prevention strategies on the basis of sound evidence, expert advice and consultation across its extensive national and international network.

NAPCAN is governed…

by a National Board, supported by advisory committee

Advisory Committee

Advisory Committee is Mirah's second full-length album.-Track listing:#"Cold Cold Water" – 5:09#"After You Left" – 1:38#"Make It Hot" – 2:30#"Mt. St...

s, NAPCAN Councils in each state and territory and an extensive network of researchers, professionals and concerned individuals who all donate their time and expertise to support NAPCAN's mission.

Today NAPCAN comprises…

A national office based in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 and offices in each state and territory.A professional and public network of over 12,000 organisations,
professionals, parents and individuals.

NAPCAN is…

the Australian National Partner of ISPCAN, the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (www.ispcan.org).

NAPCAN relies on…

Support from government, business and individuals to continue its critical advocacy

Advocacy

Advocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...

 work.

NAPCAN is currently…

Working directly with children and young people to build their resilience

Resilience

Resilience is the property of a material to absorb energy when it is deformed elastically and then, upon unloading to have this energy recovered. In other words, it is the maximum energy per unit volume that can be elastically stored...

 and life skills

Life skills

Life skills are problem solving behaviors used appropriately and responsibly in the management of personal affairs. They are a set of human skills acquired via teaching or direct experience that are used to handle problems and questions commonly encountered in daily human life...

and to strengthen their protective behaviours

Key examples of NAPCAN’s work in this area include:

LOVE BiTES – an anti sexual violence

Sexual violence

Sexual violence occurs throughout the world, although in most countries there has been little research conducted on the problem. Due to the private nature of sexual violence, estimating the extent of the problem is difficult...

 program for 14 – 16 year olds

KiDS CAN – a participatory program building resilience and social inclusion

Smart Online, Safe Offline – which works within the cyber social networking sites to educate kids on cyber safety.

Assisting “at risk” parents through face-to-face programs and via an extensive network of professionals and practitioners, providing practical support and guidance. Examples include NAPCAN’s positive parenting workshops in Victoria & NT

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

 and over one million positive parenting resources distributed nationally.

Working in local communities, strengthening social connectedness

Social connectedness

Social connectedness is a psychological term used to describe the quality and number of connections we have with other people in our social circle of family, friends and acquaintances. These connections can be both in real life, as well as online...

 and building the support and resources available to families and children - Community development

Community development

Community development is a broad term applied to the practices and academic disciplines of civic leaders, activists, involved citizens and professionals to improve various aspects of local communities....

 principles underpin NAPCAN’s work including the “Play a Part” program in Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

.

Raising public awareness of child abuse and neglect and engaging the whole community in prevention - National Child Protection Week is an annual focal point for public awareness-raising. In 2009 NAPCAN launched a campaign to engage the whole community in the prevention of abuse and neglect. This first step is the largest ever survey

Statistical survey

Survey methodology is the field that studies surveys, that is, the sample of individuals from a population with a view towards making statistical inferences about the population using the sample. Polls about public opinion, such as political beliefs, are reported in the news media in democracies....

 of community attitudes to children. Over 23,000 members of the public responded. The survey results will underpin future strategies for change.

Facilitating the sharing of knowledge and expertise and the promotion of best practice

Best practice

A best practice is a method or technique that has consistently shown results superior to those achieved with other means, and that is used as a benchmark...

 - In November 2009, NAPCAN hosted APCCAN 2009, the combined Asia Pacific Regional Conference of the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect and the Australasian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect. Over 700 delegates attended from across the Asia Pacific Region

Asia-Pacific

Asia-Pacific or Asia Pacific is the part of the world in or near the Western Pacific Ocean...

.

External links

• NAPCAN Website Primary NAPCAN website
• ISPCAN The International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect of which NAPCAN is a member