‘CALD’ stands for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse, and refers to non-Indigenous and non-Anglo communities in Australia. The term is also used in New Zealand and Canada. People in the UK will know this group as ‘BAME’ (Black, Asian, and minority ethnic), and people in the US will know this group as ‘POC’ (person of colour).

No. The program’s focus is on migrant and refugee communities in Western countries (English and non-English dominant). However, it can still be used by those in non-Western countries (South America, East Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa, Caribbean, Pacifica, etc.).

This course was CPD-endorsed by the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) when it was first launched in 2019, but not since then for cost reasons.

Registrants may work in a range of areas including sexual assault, domestic and family violence, child protection, mental health, and/or migrant and refugee community welfare.

Relevant service providers may include counsellors, social workers, psychologists, general practitioners (GPs), psychiatrists, volunteers, legal advisors, interpreters, researchers, policy makers, program trainers, and police.

This comprehensive CPD program may align with your organisation’s core business or desire for future capacity building.

There were plans to engage with culturally diverse schools to enhance learning about how to respond to disclosures of child sexual abuse by CALD students in culturally appropriate ways. However, this research was not conducted due to lack of funding. In the interim, this program can still help, as well as educators in childcare centres and tertiary education (e.g. TAFE, colleges, universities, etc.).

Yes. You might be a parent/guardian from a CALD community who is curious about this program’s content. The course material may help you deeply understand things you have been grappling with in your family. It takes great courage to break cultural taboos and seek information that allows a parent/guardian to become more knowledgeable about how to protect their child from perpetrators better. While the program’s focus is on culturally sensitive service delivery, its content may start an empowering journey of seeking further help. If you are able to understand this website, you will have the required English proficiency to engage with the program. Your right to privacy and confidentiality is strictly assured and protected; no one will know you have engaged unless you tell them. If you are also a practitioner (e.g. counsellor, social worker, psychologist, GP, psychiatrist, legal advisor, interpreter, etc.), you will be able to provide informed professional support within your own community. For someone who rarely gets help, these resources could be life-changing. Here’s some questions you might be asking:

• The Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has now finished, but did you feel it was not really relevant to you and your community?

• Are you confused about what child sexual abuse is and wished you understood more?

• Has your child been abused but you feel completely lost and helpless about what to do because you know you’re not really allowed to talk about it?

• Do you wish you had someone you could turn to for confidential guidance, information, and support?

• Do you feel that no one really cares about migrant communities when they talk about child sexual abuse?

Yes, the Learning Videos are prerequisites for CPD Certificates of Completion. They are all captioned for accessibility. They go for 3.5 hours in total (across all six Modules), and can be viewed at any time. The PowerPoints can be downloaded, so you can follow along with a hard copy. You can access the materials as often as you like (Learning Videos, PowerPoints, additional readings, course/module outlines, Discussion Forums).

No, engagement is completely your choice; your right to privacy and self-determination are respected. You may not engage at all, or you may do it privately. Sharing with others does offer you the potential for in-depth transformative learning. All questions are open-ended; they do not ‘test’ knowledge. Posts that promote respectful dialogue are sought. Unethical posts that are racist, sexist, classist, disablist, ageist, or homophobic will be removed. (NOTE: you can make posts anonymously).

This course was first delivered in face-to-face mode in four cities around Australia - Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide. It was rigorously evaluated before being converted to online mode. The report with the findings of that study can be found here.