Glossary of Terms

  • A person who is of Aboriginal or Torres Strait descent, identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Islander and is accepted as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander by an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community.

  • The spectrum of acts categorized as bullying and other forms of non-sexual harassment not rising to the level of coercion.

    The Global Fund core_pseah-related-abuse-power_framwork_en.pdf (theglobalfund.org)

  • All people aged under 18 years. 

    Regardless of the age of majority or age of consent locally.

    Where Safeguarding Central uses the term child and young person, this means any people aged under 18 years.

  • Child Abuse is an act or acts (or failure to act) which endangers a child’s health, wellbeing and/or development. It can be a single event or a series of events. It can occur in private or public spaces.

    It includes sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect.

    Sexual Abuse

    Child sexual abuse is when a person uses power or authority over a child to involve them in sexual activity.[1] Child sexual abuse can take the form of contact acts such as kissing, touching a child in a sexual manner (fondling or masturbation), penetration of the vagina or anus either by fingers, penis, or any other object, or making a child perform these acts on themselves or anyone else.

    Non-contact acts of sexual abuse can include sexual harassment or unwanted sexual comments, flashing, exposure to child sex abuse material, having a child pose or perform in a sexual manner, grooming and communication of graphic sexual matters using technology, including but not limited to instant messenger, text messages and emails. 

    [1] Department of Education and Training (DET), Identify child abuse, PROTECT website.

    Sexual Exploitation

    A form of sexual abuse that involves forcing or coercing children to engage in any sexual activity in exchange for money, gifts, food, accommodation, affection, status, or other benefit.

    Physical Abuse

    The use of physical force against a child that results in harm to the child. Physically abusive behaviour includes shoving, hitting, slapping, shaking, throwing, punching, kicking, biting, burning, strangling, and poisoning

    Emotional Abuse

    PInappropriate verbal or symbolic acts toward a child, or a pattern of failure over time to provide a child with adequate non-physical nurture and emotional availability. Such acts have a high probability of damaging a child’s self-esteem or social competence.

    Neglect

    The failure to provide a child (where they are in a position to do so) with the conditions that are culturally accepted as being essential for their physical and emotional development and wellbeing.

    It includes the failure to properly supervise and protect children from harm and provide for nutrition, shelter and safe living/working conditions.

  • Material that depicts (expressly or implicitly) a child under 18 years of age as a victim of torture, cruelty, or physical abuse.

  • One or more of the following:

    • committing or coercing another person to commit an act or acts of abuse against a child.

    • possessing, controlling, producing, distributing, obtaining, or transmitting child exploitation material.

    • committing or coercing another person to commit an act or acts of grooming or online grooming.

    • using a minor for profit, labour, sexual gratification, or some other personal or financial advantage.

    DFAT Child Protection Policy 2017 child-protection-policy.docx (live.com)

  • Refers to an organisational environment that has an open and aware culture, understands child abuse, is supported by robust child safe policies, promotes the empowerment and participation of children, identifies and manages child safety risks, and expects all stakeholders to report any allegations, disclosures or concerns for the safety and wellbeing of children. A child safe environment ensures that children and young people are culturally safe.

  • The responsibility that organisations have to ensure their staff and other personnel, programs and operations do no harm to children. It includes policy, procedures and practices to prevent children from being harmed as well as steps to respond when harm occurs.

  • Material that depicts a person, or is a representation of a person, who is, or appears to be, under 18 years of age and is engaged in, or appears to be engaged in, a sexual pose or sexual activity, or is in the presence of a person who is engaged in, or appears to be engaged in, a sexual pose or activity, and does this in a way that a reasonable person would regard as being, in all the circumstances, offensive.

    DFAT, Adapted from the Criminal Code Act 1995.  Termed Child Pornography in the Legislation.

  • A policy which specifies behaviours expected of all employees, volunteers, contractors and directors in the organisation.

  • A concern refers to any potential issue that could impact negatively on the safety and wellbeing of children.

  • An expression of dissatisfaction to Safeguarding Central related to our People or our Services.  It can include allegations of abuse or misconduct by our People or disclosures of abuse or harm made by a child.   

  • A person who brings an allegation or raises a concern or complaint about Child Abuse or SEAH.

    The complainant may be a Child Abuse or SEA survivor or another person who is aware of the wrongdoing.

  • A check of an individual’s criminal history record. Different checking procedures apply in each country and may take six weeks or longer.  Individuals need to consent to a criminal record check and should be informed of the purpose for which the resulting police clearance certificate will be used.

  • Identification with particular cultural or linguistic affiliations by virtue of place of birth, ancestry or ethnic origin, religion, preferred language or language spoken at home or because of parents’ identification on a similar basis.

  • Any physical, sensory, neurological disability, acquired brain injury or intellectual disability or developmental delay that affects a child’s ability to undertake everyday activities. A disability can occur at any time in life. Some disabilities may be apparent, while others are less visible.

  • When someone tells us they have been harmed or are concerned about being harmed.
    A disclosure may also be when a child tells us that they know of someone who has been harmed or abused, when an adult tells us that a child has been harmed or abused or that they are concerned that a child may be at risk of harm.

  • A person’s concept of self as male, female, a blend of both or neither. Gender identity refers to how individuals perceive themselves and how they self-identify. Gender identity can be the same or different from the gender assigned at birth (Human Rights Campaign www.hrc.org)

  • Refers to behaviour that makes it easier for an offender to procure a child for sexual activity. For example, an offender might build a relationship of trust with the child, and then seek to sexualise that relationship[1].

    Grooming behaviours and tactics are often complex and gradual. They can involve a range of subtle, drawn out, calculated, controlling and premeditated behaviours.[2] Grooming can involve behaviour in person and activities on social media, email, or phone.

    Grooming behaviour can involve the use of a variety of manipulative and controlling techniques used to build trust or normalise sexually harmful behaviour. Grooming is often described as the ‘preparation’ phase of child sexual abuse, undertaken by the perpetrator to gain the trust of a child, and to establish secrecy and silence.[3] Perpetrators may groom to gain access to a child, initiate and maintain sexual abuse of that child, and to conceal the sexual abuse from others who may identify it.[4]

    Grooming can include communicating or attempting to befriend or purposely establishing a relationship or other emotional connection with a child, their family, or organisations they are engaged with. At first people may be tricked into thinking the relationship with the perpetrator is safe and normal. Children may not understand that what is happening is grooming or may feel they have no choice but to be abused.[5]


    [1] DFAT Child Protection Policy 2017 child-protection-policy.docx (live.com)

    [2] Royal Commission, Final report: Volume 4, Identifying and disclosing child sexual abuse, p 12.

    [3] Bravehearts, What is grooming?, Bravehearts website.

    [4] Royal Commission, Final report: Volume 4, Identifying and disclosing child sexual abuse, p 12.

    [5] Adapted from Victorian Government, Department of Education and Training, Child sexual exploitation and grooming, PROTECT website, 2022.

  • Harassment refers to any act, conduct, statement, or request, whether intentional or unintentional, verbal or written, which is unwelcome by another person or other persons and creates a hostile or intimidating work environment and which could, in all circumstances, reasonably be regarded as behaviour of an inappropriate, discriminatory, offensive, humiliating, or intimidating nature, or as an intrusion of privacy.

    [1] Global Fund core_pseah-related-abuse-power_framwork_en.pdf (theglobalfund.org)

  • Damage to the health, safety or wellbeing of a child or young person, including as a result of child abuse by adults or the conduct of other children. It includes physical, emotional, sexual and psychological harm. Harm can arise from a single act or event and can also be cumulative, that is, arising as a result of a series of acts or events over a period of time.

  • For the purposes of safeguarding policy, a safeguarding investigation is an administrative or workplace analytical process designed to gather evidence and information related to the allegation of misconduct in order to determine whether misconduct has occurred.

  • Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (or questioning), and intersex.

  • Any individual who is legally required to ensure a report has been made when a concern, allegation and /or disclosure of child abuse arises. A mandatory reporter may be a person who holds a particular occupation or falls under state/territory specific legislation.

  • Misconduct may arise through the failure by representatives to comply with safeguarding policy or codes of conduct.

    Child Abuse and Sexual exploitation and abuse constitutes serious misconduct that results in disciplinary measures.

    In some jurisdictions, including in Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria, there are legislated reportable conduct schemes that require organisations to report misconduct relating to child abuse to be reported to regulators.

    An allegation of misconduct is unsubstantiated information pointing to the possible occurrence of misconduct.

  • The Prevention (or Protection from) Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.

    When an (H) is included, this refers to Sexual Harassment.

    Many aid organisations now talk about tackling SEAH as opposed to SEA, clearly adding harassment as a related issue. This arises from increasing recognition that sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment have common structural roots in inequality.  Safeguarding violations can take different forms – sexual, physical, emotional, economic and verbal abuse, for example.  Although these issues have been tackled separately to some extent, all are safeguarding issues and have at their root the underlying problems of power differences, inequality – especially gender inequality – bias, privilege and discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability, economic and other aspects of status and identity. (Ref: Safeguarding Support Hub)

  • Actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions.

    Note: for the purposes of safeguarding policy, all sexual activity with a child is considered sexual abuse. Mistaken belief about the age of a child is not a defence.

  • An umbrella term that includes child safeguarding and the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.

    Some organisations also include environmental safeguarding under this umbrella.

  • Any actual or attempted abuse of position of vulnerability, differential power or trust, for sexual purposes, including but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another.

  • Any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offense or humiliation. Sexual harassment may involve any conduct of a verbal, nonverbal or physical nature, including written and electronic communications, and may occur between persons of the same or different genders.

    [1] Global Fund core_pseah-related-abuse-power_framwork_en.pdf (theglobalfund.org)

  • Also subject of concern.

    The person (or persons) that the complaint relates to, or that the allegation has been made against.

  • A person who is or has experienced abuse.

    ‘Victim’ is a term often used in the legal and medical sectors, while the term ‘survivor’ is generally preferred in the psychological and social support sectors to a person who has experienced abuse because it implies resilience.

  • The exchange of money, employment, goods or services for sex, including sexual favours other forms of humiliating, degrading or exploitative behaviour. This includes any exchange of assistance that is due to beneficiaries of assistance.

References:

UN Glossary on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (2nd Edition)