Sign In / Register
Every school in New Zealand is about to receive an easy-to-use resource to help combat one of the country’s most hidden and harmful issues – child sexual abuse (CSA).
Keeping Kids Safe: A Guide for Parents, Teachers and Others is being distributed nationwide, free of charge to over 2500 schools, thanks to its author, survivor-advocate Gloria Masters, and the generosity of an overseas benefactor.
The guide aims to equip teachers, parents and caregivers to prevent, recognise and respond timely and appropriately to abuse.
“Many New Zealanders are still not aware of the prevalence of child sexual abuse in this country or the significant impacts it has on survivors and society,” says Red Beach resident Masters, who founded the charity Handing the Shame Back in 2022.
“By normalising the conversation about child sexual abuse through advocacy, awareness and resources I believe we can help to prevent, identify and respond to it and we can support survivors.”
Masters interviews adult survivors of CSA for Handing the Shame Back’s social media channels, which are accessed as a resource for survivors in more than 90 countries. Now, she hopes her new book will enable her to help people at home in New Zealand.
The cost of the books was funded by an overseas donor, and Handing the Shame Back has paid $17,000 for the postage to ensure the donor’s wish is fulfilled.
“I want every person caring for children in New Zealand, including parents and teachers, to be equipped with practical information on how to prevent, identify and respond to child sexual abuse,” she says.
“Teachers are among the first to notice behaviour changes in a child that can indicate sexual abuse is happening, and equipping them with knowledge to know what to look for and to know what to do can spare a child from ongoing harm.”
Figures from Oranga Tamariki show 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 10 boys experience child sexual abuse in New Zealand. The majority of survivors never talk about it, so actual numbers are believed to be much higher.
“If someone does talk about their experiences of CSA when they are an adult, the average age to do this is 53. That’s many decades of unspoken shame and trauma to hang on to. Even after healing, the shame and trauma usually remains,” Masters says.
“I will never give up on supporting adults who experienced abuse as a child, but I also want to prevent it from happening to the children of today and tomorrow to avoid that shame and trauma.”
The book Keeping Kids Safe is available from www.handingtheshameback.org
For support: See Gloria’s online resources for survivors at www.handingtheshameback.org
Contact ACC Sensitive Claims Unit on 0800 101 996 • Contact Safe to Talk Sexual Harm Helpline on 0800 044 334 or text 4334 • Contact Help Auckland 0800 623 1700 or Help Wellington on 0800 367 4357 • Contact Women’s Refuge on 0800 733 843 (females only) • Visit Male Survivors Aotearoa on 0800 044 334 (males only) • Contact Victim Support on 0800 842 846 or text 4334.
