Together with Safeguarding Children

Tim Houston is the Manager of the Digital Child Exploitation Team at the Department of Internal Affairs. Launched in 2019, Tim and his team led an international operation investigating offences relating to online child sexual exploitation and abuse. It identified over 90,000 online accounts possessing or trading child sexual abuse material. In New Zealand alone, 71 suspects were identified, 46 arrested with further investigations o...

Willow talks to Dr Claire Achmad the Deputy Chief Children's Commissioner at Mana Mokopuna. Dr Achmad is a recognised advocate for children in Aotearoa New Zealand. She has worked in a wide range of areas relating to children's rights, including from legal, policy and practice perspectives. 

They discuss the rights of the child in Aotearoa New Zealand and the big problem of equality and poverty we have. Dr Achmad talks about how im...

Most of us would struggle to comprehend that providing support and psychological treatment for people who are sexually attracted to children is a key way of preventing child sexual abuse; however, evidence shows that support and treatment work. 

In this podcast, Willow (Safeguarding Children CEO) talks to Anton Ashton, a forensic psychologist that works with adults with child sexual ideation. With Anton’s expertise, she explores ho...

Willow talks to Jaydene Buckley, the Managing Director of the OSACO Group. OSACO are a global team of extensively experienced investigative consultants and specialists in compliance, governance, safeguarding and anti-corruption. Willow and Jaydene discuss the issues of lack of training, policies and understanding around child protection for those in governance in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Please visit Safeguarding Children for more inf...

Willow talks to Fiona Bryan, current board member and former CEO of Empowerment Trust about the work that they do to keep children safe. Empowerment Trust creates safe learning experiences for adults and young people to take positive effective action to avoid or stop bullying, abuse and violence.

Fiona discusses the primary prevention programmes they run which focus on positive learning experiences.  Their vision is a New Zealand-A...

Welcome back to Season 2 of Together - a podcast dedicated to the prevention of child abuse and the promotion of child-safe organisations. 

In this introductory episode, Willow Duffy, CEO of Safeguarding Children in New Zealand, outlines the grassroots inception of Safeguarding Children in 2011 and its evolution into a sustainable organization that has trained over 60,000 professionals in keeping children safe on and offline.

Topic...

In this episode of "Together," the team at Safeguarding Children discuss the findings of the New Zealand Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry. The discussion sheds light on the systemic failures that allowed abuse to flourish in state and faith-based care, and calls for urgent legislative reform to extend child safety standards across all organizations. The team underscores the importance of incorporating survivor voices in th...

In this episode of Together, the team at Safeguarding Children discuss the critical role that training plays in preventing child abuse and neglect, particularly in light of the recent findings from the New Zealand Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry. They explore the need for sector-specific, ongoing training that is not only tailored to the unique needs of various settings—such as state care, faith-based institutions, and sp...

In this episode of Together, Safeguarding Children consultant Jessica McQuoid, and guest Brent Carey, CEO of Netsafe, explore the evolving landscape of online safety for children and young people. They discuss Netsafe's growth and its critical role in protecting New Zealanders from online harm, with a particular focus on scams targeting youth. The conversation underscores the importance of family involvement in digital safety, offe...

In this episode of Together, guest Dr Emma Barker-Clarke, a specialist in violence prevention education, delves into the nuanced experiences of young people facing online harms, particularly peer-to-peer digital sexual harassment and sextortion. The conversation underscores the importance of centring young people’s voices, providing education that is tailored to their realities, and challenges the adequacy of existing legislative m...

Our children and young people are growing up in an increasingly online world.

Digital safeguarding is crucial in a school context given that students are spending more and more time on devices. Teachers can no longer rely on just their eyes and ears to detect harm that may be occurring for their students.

In today’s episode, Safeguarding Children consultants Jessica McQuoid and Ruth Browning are joined by Saunil Hagler, Education D...

In this special episode, we’re focusing on one of the biggest challenges for parents today - navigating the digital world with their children. Recently, we surveyed parents about their top concerns and the questions they most want to ask experts about online safety, wellbeing, and resilience. Their honest, anonymous responses highlight both the struggles families face and their deep commitment to protecting and supporting their chi...

In this episode, Willow talks with Gloria Masters – survivor, author, founder of Handing the Shame Back, and the woman behind the Global Hand Sign for under-16s, a silent cry for help for children who are not safe.

Together they explore why Gloria created the sign, how it is already helping to protect children around the world, and what every adult needs to know if a child uses it with them. They also talk about her work supportin...