Will Hodgman

• Action

The Tasmanian Liberals will provide up to $200,000 in annual funding to allow Bravehearts to implement their student safety program into Tasmanian primary schools statewide.

• What this policy means for you

Supporting Bravehearts’ “Ditto's Keep Safe Adventures” school-based program is a way of reducing child sexual abuse rates by focusing on prevention through education and awareness.

For the cost of approximately $10 per child to deliver, this is a positive early intervention program that will reduce the social and economic cost of sexual abuse in Tasmania for years to come.

It is a sobering fact that current research shows 1 in 5 children will be sexually assaulted before the age of 18[1].

The Bravehearts’ “Ditto's Keep Safe Adventures” school-based program is proven and research-based and the objective is to educate, empower and protect children by providing them the skills and understanding to be safe. External evaluations in other States have found the program has the potential to reduce child sexual assault by up to 50 per cent.

The Bravehearts program was trialed in Tasmania in 2010, and an evaluation showed extremely positive feedback from teachers and parents, with 98.5% recommending the program for all primary school students.

While the State Labor-Green Government has indicated it will not fund the Bravehearts program, the Liberals believe the costs of not educating children on sexual assault prevention strategies is far greater than the monetary commitment required.

The program costs around $10 a child yet an Australian study conservatively estimates the cost to society of child sexual assault to be in excess of $180,000 per child.[2]

A commitment of up to $200,000[3] will allow Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure Education program to be rolled out to primary school children throughout Tasmania.

By funding Bravehearts the Liberals are demonstrating our commitment to keeping Tasmanian children safe.

• Your choice