A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Recent events, including the conviction and sentencing of George Pell for sexually abusing two children in the 1990s and the documentary airing allegations about Michael Jackson’s abuse of two young boys, have made prominent the topic of child sexual abuse. Many parents may be concerned about the safety of their child, and whether they are [...]
Non-suicidal self-injury is the deliberate damage of body tissue without conscious suicidal intent. It’s more specific than self-harm, a broader term that can also include suicide attempts. Self-injury is reasonably common, particularly among young people. In community samples, 17% of adolescents and 13% of young adults had engaged in self-injury. Self-injury is associated with underlying [...]
Depression is a serious disorder marked by disturbances in mood, cognition, physiology and social functioning. People can experience deep sadness and feelings of hopelessness, sorrow, emptiness and despair. These core features of depression have expanded to include an inability to experience pleasure, sluggish movements, changes in sleep and eating behaviour, difficulty concentrating and suicidal thoughts. [...]
This week’s United Nations climate summit may go down in history - but not for the reasons intended. It was not the tipping point for action on global warming that organisers hoped it would be. It will instead probably be remembered for the powerful address by Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg, who castigated world leaders [...]
Sexism and misogyny harm women in many obvious ways. Women experience economic, workforce and health-care disadvantages, intimate partner violence, gendered violence in public places, and street harassment. Women are also faced with denials gender inequality still exists in 2019. Some people presume anti-discrimination legislation, equal pay, and ensuring motherhood is not a barrier to workforce [...]
Instagram recently announced posts promoting diet products and cosmetic procedures will no longer be visible to users under the age of 18. While the initiative is being led by Instagram, the policy will also be in place on Facebook. Under the policy, posts that feature an incentive to buy a product, such as a discount [...]
“How was your day at school?” “Fine.” Does this sound familiar? This is the dreaded response to a well-intentioned question that parents might ask. The robot-sounding response is what parents hear when their child limits the information they share with parents, or has stopped sharing information, about their school day. When parents hear “fine,” they [...]
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) recently declared climate change a health emergency, reflecting similar positions taken by a growing list of peak medical bodies around the world. The AMA’s statement highlights the significant impacts climate change is having on physical health, including an increase in climate-related deaths. The World Health Organisation regards climate change as [...]
There’s a lot of ‘conventional wisdom’ on the topic of bullying, but a lot of it can be wrong or even actively harmful. So, if your child confides in you that they're being bullied, it's worth thinking hard about the advice you give them. This article outlines some of the common responses to childhood bullying that indicate [...]
Deepfake software has becoming increasingly sophisticated and easy to use, which means nearly anyone can now create explicit material using someone's image. Young Australian Noelle Martin found this out to her horror when she discovered explicit images of her face on the bodies of adult film actresses online. She had never had a boyfriend, never [...]
