A Secret Safe to Tell

by Naomi Hunter

Illustrations by Karen Erasmus

Available from Booktopia

We just want to take a moment out of our busy days to commend to you a book dealing with the issue of child abuse – all too often at the forefront of news stories in Australia and the world over. And certainly at the forefront of our campaign work here at ChilOut.*

This book – A Secret Safe to Tell – is written for children in the voice of a child who is being abused.

The child at first feels loved and comforted by her special relationship with an adult, but this relationship soon turns sour and she realises things are not right.

The book exposes the common lies abusers tell – your parents will be angry, this is a secret between us – in a very simple and safe way. 

The child is trapped by feelings of confusion and shame which she cannot come to terms with until she meets an adult who is willing to listen.

Only then is she set free from her terrible secret.

Talking about inappropriate touching has to be one of the most difficult conversations you can have with a child.

A Secret Safe to Tell uses beautiful colour illustrations and simple language to introduce the topic in gentle ways that a child can understand.

The book ends with a list of Australian help lines children and adults can call.

It can help parents negotiate this conversation with their children if they suspect something isn’t right. And children can also be empowered to explain to an adult that they don’t feel comfortable with certain relationships or actions by individuals who are supposed to be their friends.

By reading A Secret Safe to Tell hopefully children at risk will realise that they are not alone. And hopefully they’ll be encouraged to finally tell their secret and be set free from it.

If you work with children, care for them, if you’re a parent, or a friend and you suspect a child may be at risk you should have a copy of this book. No child or parent should have to understand this topic, but the reality is, far too many do. Certainly at ChilOut, we see abuse in many forms, in a detention system created to break people, children are often the first victims.

One way to prevent child abuse/neglect is for all our communities to value children – a community that cares about early childhood development, parental support, and maternal mental health, for instance, is more likely to foster nurturing families and healthy children. Sadly children aren't always valued so we rely on individuals to notice the warning signs and act.

Here's an interview with the author about the book:

*ABC News: Australian Medical Association have officially concluded that federal immigration detention is harming children. Under the Northern Territory's mandatory child abuse reporting laws, people are legally obliged to report any harm they become aware of to the Office of Children and Families.

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More resources

i-Bobbly can be used anonymously and, once uploaded to a tablet, does not require internet access. Young people who have dropped out of school and are disconnected from family and community are often at risk but are hard to engage – this app may be one way of breaking through. See more at Young and Well.

Ditto visits schools to do his show or equivalent and has reached 400,000 children.