In this project we systematically reviewed current workplace culture, policies and practices to provide recommendations for augmenting current prevention strategies at an individual, situational and systemic level, to mitigate risks associated with abuses occurring in the first place, and for appropriate responses, when abuses do occur. Guidance for developing locally-tailored, place-based prevention strategies that address the unique settings (e.g., out-of-home care, residential settings, day-care) served by the organisation was a key focus in this project.

Impact

Beyond specific recommendations presented to the organisation to enhance safeguarding practices, this project resulted in the validation and refinement of Kaufman’s Organisational Safety Climate Survey, as a short-form version. This publicly accessible measure can be used as an alternative, time-efficient measure to survey staff and benchmark safety climate within youth-serving organisations.

Publications

McKillop, N., Rayment-McHugh, S., Kaufman, K., Ransley, S., & Gardiner, M. (2020). Assessing child-safe culture and practices in organisational settings: A validation and refinement of Kaufman’s Organisational Safety Climate Survey. Journal of Sexual Aggression: An international, interdisciplinary forum for research, theory, and practice Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/13552600.2019.1692921