Children feeling safe (Australia)

This report is the third in a series of studies undertaken by the Australian Childhood Foundation, Child Abuse Research Australia and Quantum that seek the views of children and young people about their experiences of childhood in Australia today. It specifically seeks to further explore children’s sense of safety. A national representative sample of 600 children and young people aged between 10-14 years across Australia completed an online survey in April 2007.

Key points:
- Even though on the surface the vast majority of children surveyed believe that Australia is a good place to grow up in, many of them reflect an undercurrent of worry and concern for their own safety and the protection of other children.
- More than a quarter of the children in the sample were actively concerned that they might be hurt by an adult or become a victim of crime. One in five expressed a degree of anxiety about children not being protected from abuse.
- Over half of the children in the sample reported feeling worried about being bullied, teased and not fitting in with their peers.
- The internet, in particular, is perceived as a new source of anxiety and threat for a large number of children and young people. 46% of children reported that they had been exposed to material on the internet which worried them. 27% are worried about the dangers they face over the internet.
- 2 in 5 children surveyed felt unsafe in public places, such as shopping centres, cinemas, sporting grounds, walking to school. Just over a quarter of children (27%) were anxious about catching public transport. In each of these findings, a substantial proportion of girls felt more unsafe than boys.
- Half of the children felt that children their age were not made to feel welcome by adults in public places. 1 in 8 children surveyed wanted better spaces for children to be engaged in childhood activities.
- It is only when children feel safe in the relationships with important adults that they are able to experience a broader sense of safety in the world around them.