Over the past two decades there has been a growing awareness that sport may not be a positive experience for all children. For example, we know that some children experience sexual abuse in the context of organised sport, and that these offences are often committed by trusted adults, including coaches and club officials. However, less attention has been given to the physical abuse of child athletes. This paper presents a study that explored children's experiences of organised sport, as recounted by young people between the ages of 18 and 25 years in Australia. The study explored the experience of child physical abuse in organised sport including violence, overtraining, and training while injured. A mixed methods research design produced 107 survey responses and 10 in-depth interviews with young adults. Most respondents reported the positive impact that participating in sport had had on their development, but more than a third of the respondents also described experiences of overtraining, being forced to train when injured or of direct physical violence. Drawing upon a thematic analysis of the qualitative data, a conceptual model has been developed and is presented to assist in the understanding of the dynamic of secrecy, which may facilitate ongoing physical harm to children in this context.

Background: Global research has found that prevalence rates of child sexual abuse suggest that this is a significant ongoing public health concern. A recent Australian study, for example, revealed that more than three girls and almost one in five boys reported experiencing sexual abuse before the age of 18. Self-reported rates of abuse, however, far exceed official figures, suggesting that large numbers of children who experience sexual abuse do not come to the attention of relevant authorities. Whether and how those children have tried to tell their stories remains unclear. Objective: The goal of the review was to explore scholarly literature to determine what was known about what enables or constrains children to disclose their experience of sexual abuse. Method: A systematic scoping review was undertaken to better understand the current state of knowledge in the scholarly literature on child sexual abuse disclosure. Thirty-two scholarly publications were included for analysis following a rigorous process of sourcing articles from five databases and systematically screening them based on transparent inclusion and exclusion criteria. Ecological systems and trauma-informed theoretical paradigms underpinned an inductive thematic analysis of the included manuscripts. Results: Three multi-dimensional themes were identified from the thirty-two publications. These themes were: factors enabling disclosure are multifaceted; barriers to disclosure include a complex interplay of individual, familial, contextual and cultural issues; and Indigenous victims and survivors, male survivors, and survivors with a minoritised cultural background may face additional barriers to disclosing their experiences of abuse. Conclusions: The literature suggests that a greater understanding of the barriers to disclosures exists. Further research that supports a deeper understanding of the complex interplay of enablers and the barriers to disclosure across diverse populations is needed. In particular, future research should privilege the voices of victims and survivors of child sexual abuse, mobilising their lived experiences to co-create improved practice and policy.

Child and family practice is recognised as a field of social work that has become increasingly complex. While evidence is growing in relation to effective supervision, there has been little research about the attributes of an effective supervisor, or the components of effective supervision. This paper reports on research undertaken in Victoria, Australia, which explored practitioners’ and supervisors’ experiences of effective supervision in this field. Data collection involved in-depth interviews with experienced supervisors and supervisees in order to explore the concept of effective supervision from participants’ perspectives. The data were systematically interrogated using a thematic inductive process, designed to enhance the voice of participants in the research. The study findings confirmed the complexity and centrality of the supervisory relationship, with the experience of a safe supervisory relationship proving essential. The importance of contemporary knowledge, leadership skills, and an enabling organisational and community context were also highlighted

This paper reports the findings of a project that conducted a rapid review of evidence regarding assessment and intervention approaches responding to children and young people who engage in harmful sexual behaviors. A literature review was conducted using a systematic search of academic databases and consultation with subject matter experts. The process resulted in 27 scholarly publications being included and analyzed to explore what was known about effective approaches with children and young people who have engaged in harmful sexual behavior. The review found that the current state of knowledge was limited, with few of the included papers reporting research outcomes. In the absence of a sound evidence base, additional theoretical literature and expert commentary have been drawn upon to better understand issues in this complex practice area. A key finding of this review was that growing awareness that children and young people who engage in harmful sexual behaviors are, first and foremost, children. They should not be regarded as soon-to-be-adults who are engaging in adult offending. This shift in thinking informs contemporary assessment and intervention approaches, challenging those models that previously focused on measuring risk using forensic approaches to predict the likelihood of future offending. A critical failure to understand the needs of specific cohorts of children and young people was also evident.

This study explored the experiences of skilled African immigrants in Australia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 individuals from different sub-Saharan African countries currently residing in South Australia. The findings report on the experiences of change, cultural identity, diasporic identities, employment, negotiating family dynamics, and the experiences of racial discrimination in Australia. These findings call for considerations that address these inequities, including culturally sensitive practice by social services, employers, and the wider society. Understanding the experiences of African migrants in Australia is particularly relevant for decolonised, critical social work practice, which takes the emphasis away from an individual’s ability to cope by examining how social environments shape such experiences. IMPLICATIONS