It was every parents’ worst nightmare come to life when a nine-year-old girl was allegedly taken by a stranger while walking to her primary school in Perth.
Thanks to a fast response from the community and police, the girl was found a short time later, but the incident has given all schools and parents a good reason to revisit and reinforce the protocols on what their children should do if they ever find themselves in a similar situation.
A 37-year-old man was arrested at the end of July, over allegedly taking a young girl from near her primary school. Credit: Istock
But with the reminders come warnings to make sure any anxiety children may feel does not worsen as a result.
WA parenting expert and family therapist Claire Orange said each time a news story broke about a child who was taken, from a school or elsewhere, she would see an uptick in anxiety about the issue from both parents and children.
But she said it was often short-lived, dropping off again once the story was out of the news cycle.
“We need to be super vigilant about the potential risks, but incidents are, in reality, quite rare. We need to remember that when speaking to our kids,” she said.
“The best thing to do is to make it clear that they only ever leave with someone they know and trust, and let them know you would always tell them if someone else was coming to pick them up. Make sure you don’t catastrophise.”
Orange said children who had attended a school where an incident occurred were likely to be anxious about it happening to them.
“Often as parents we can try and move past that feeling and brush it under the rug because we don’t want our children thinking about that, but we actually need to recognise it is scary,” she said.
“If their anxiety doesn’t go away, and it’s been longer than six weeks, I would recommend seeking help.”
She said in extreme cases children could start refusing to visit friends and other family members or go to after school activities.
“When these cases come to me, I tell them that anxiety is a bit like getting water in your ear while swimming – the thoughts cause discomfort if we do nothing to get them out,” Orange said.
But she said overall, she had not seen an increase in parents or children with anxiety around incidents that occur on school grounds.
“The fear of being taken in a white van was much more prevalent in the 90s, and the increasing concern is now around stranger danger online,” she said.
WA Primary Principals Association president Niel Smith said incidents like the young girl being taken in Perth would give all schools and parents a good reason to revisit and reinforce the importance of personal safety and risk.
“From all reports the parents and staff within the school community acted extremely quickly and professionally on this occasion,” he said.
“Content such as personal safety, risk, strangers and the like already form part of the WA curriculum, so whilst schools might find reason to revisit that material, they wouldn’t do so in an alarmist manner.
“These messages would also be reinforced through school assemblies, newsletters and various parent social media channels.”
A spokesman for Catholic Education WA said there was a range of programs and processes which kept child safety at the centre of education, including the Child Safe Framework, Keeping Safe Child Protection Program and responsive systems should specific concerns be raised.
“Schools will also enact policies based on their individual locations and circumstances, which will include encouraging adults to be vigilant and proactive at all times,” he said.
Australian Independent Schools WA said each school ensured all students received education on sexual abuse prevention, including the development of practical self-protective strategies.
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