The AFP and Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) proudly supported Day for Daniel today by wearing red and participating in the annual walk to raise awareness for child safety.
The annual event honours the memory of Daniel Morcombe who was 13 years old when he was tragically abducted and murdered at the Sunshine Coast in 2003.
This year’s theme is brave conversations. The Foundation encouraged parents, carers and educators to start a conversation with children and young people about personal safety. New video resources were made available for Day for Daniel education.
Acting Assistant Commissioner Northern Command Hilda Sirec (A/ACNC) & Acting Commander ACCCE & Human Exploitation Jayne Crossling, joined a large cohort of AFP and ACCCE members to participate in the walk at the Sunshine Coast, led by Bruce and Denice Morcombe.
A/ACNC reiterated the Foundations call for brave conversations. Every parent and carer needs to have that brave conversation and not feel uncomfortable by it. It is important. Those brave conversations help keep children and young people in your care safe and empowered to seek help and support when it is needed.
There are so many resources available to make these conversations easier, including those on the Daniel Morcombe Foundation website which address bullying, safe relationships and responding to unsafe situations.
“The AFP and ACCCE recently released a new book, Jack Changes the Game, created for adults to start age-appropriate conversations with primary school-aged children (5–8 years old) about being safer online. These types of resources are developed to help guide age-appropriate conversations between a parent or carer and the child or young person. These brave conversations may help prevent a crime from occurring in the first place,” Acting Assistant Commissioner Sirec said.
Members of Southern Command extended awareness raising efforts by hosting their own 4km walk and morning tea in Melbourne. ACCCE members in Brisbane also held a morning tea to show their support for this important day.
The Daniel Morcombe Foundation (DMF) is a vital AFP and ACCCE stakeholder in the ongoing promotion of child safety to all Australian children.
Jack Changes the Game is being distributed to all primary schools across Australia and is also available as a free eBook with free resources for the classroom found at: www.thinkuknow.org.au.