Register for PL

The Education and Care Unit (ECU) and Independent Schools Tasmania (IST) are proud to present a comprehensive four-part professional learning series on child sexual abuse prevention in youth-serving organisations. Led by world-renowned expert Professor Benoit Leclerc, this series provides evidence-based insights and practical strategies to strengthen safeguarding practices in early childhood education and care settings, schools, outside-school-hours care, and all organisations working with children and young people.

Series Overview

This four-part series is designed to build a progressive, practical understanding of how child sexual abuse occurs in child-serving organisations and the steps that organisations can take to prevent it. Each session focuses on a key intervention point identified through contemporary research and best practice, moving from understanding offender behaviour, to recognising grooming and boundary violations, to strengthening organisational culture and safer recruitment processes.

Sessions will run throughout the 2026 school year, presented live in Launceston and live-streamed statewide. Each session runs for 2 hours and includes opportunities for applied learning relevant to all youth-serving settings.

 

Session Descriptions

Session 1 (2 hours)

Understanding Who Commits Child Sexual Abuse in Youth-Serving Organisations

Date: Thursday 12 March 2026 

Time: 1:30pm -3:30pm

This foundational session explores current evidence on the causes, dynamics, and prevalence of child sexual abuse in organisational settings. Participants will develop a strong understanding of:

• How offenders think, operate, and exploit opportunities
• Manipulation processes used to gain access to children and avoid detection
• Key theories of sexual offending and their implications for prevention

This session establishes the core knowledge required for all subsequent sessions.

Session 2 (2 hours)

Boundary Violations, Grooming Behaviours and Codes of Conduct

Date: TBA

This session examines how grooming occurs and how boundary violations can be identified early. Participants will explore:

• Acceptable and unacceptable verbal and physical interactions with children
• The roles of secrecy, favouritism, and inappropriate relationships
• Risks related to one-on-one interactions
• Indicators of grooming and how to respond appropriately

This session supports staff and volunteers to recognise and act on early warning signs.

Session 3 (2 hours)

Safeguarding Culture and Organisational Risks

Date: TBA

This session explores how organisations can create environments that actively prevent abuse. Using principles of situational crime prevention, participants will learn how to:

• Strengthen leadership commitment to child safety
• Embed clear documentation, codes of conduct, and safeguarding expectations
• Identify environmental and procedural risks that create opportunities for offending
• Conduct effective risk assessments and develop practical mitigation strategies

This session focuses on building robust organisational systems to support safe practice.

Session 4 (2 hours)

Safer Recruitment Processes and Practices

Date: TBA

This session focuses on recruitment as a key safeguarding mechanism. Participants will explore how to design recruitment processes that identify unsuitable applicants and strengthen organisational safety, including:

• Conducting effective referee checks
• Developing interview questions aligned with safeguarding expectations
• Identifying concerning behaviours or responses during recruitment
• Understanding how recruitment decisions influence organisational culture

This session supports organisations to embed safeguarding throughout their employment practices.

 

About Professor Benoit Leclerc

Professor Benoit Leclerc is a distinguished expert in sexual offending, child sexual abuse and safeguarding, with an international reputation and more than 20 years of research expertise.

• He is associated with Griffith University and the Griffith Criminology Institute, leading major research initiatives into how sexual offending occurs and how it can be prevented.
• His work specialises in crime-script analysis and situational crime prevention—mapping how offenders plan, exploit opportunities, and engage with victims, and designing preventative strategies based on these patterns.
• He has published widely on offender modus operandi, the role of setting and opportunity in abuse incidents, and how safeguarding cultures and guardianship can disrupt abuse.
• His research partnerships include national agencies such as the AIC and ACCCE, contributing to major studies into child sexual exploitation in online and institutional contexts.

Professor Leclerc brings a rigorous evidence base, global perspective and practical focus—making him exceptionally well-qualified to support leaders and educators to strengthen safeguarding practice.