No More Silence

Online education program for service providers in Australia to help break the silence around child sexual abuse and ‘Culturally and Linguistically Diverse’ (CALD) communities

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Background

In 2017, I was commissioned by a federal agency in Australia to conduct research on child sexual abuse and ‘Culturally and Linguistically Diverse’ (CALD) communities. While the rigour of the work was praised, the results were rightly deemed sensitive. So as not for the work to go to waste, they gave me permission to publish the results in peer reviewed journal articles, but I was not to name them as the funder. This gave them distance from me to protect their liability, but my work looked like it came from nowhere when it actually had a critical national context. This was a stinging reminder that I was being extracted from with no protections in place for my commitment to truth. It also meant that promotion panels could not see the extent of my research impact. The work was finally published but only after going through suffocating scrutiny. My dissent from the peer review process then began, as I realised my labour and knowledge were at severe risk of going unseen: epistemicide. These experiences are part of a long story about institutional betrayal trauma.

I also realised that no one would translate the recommendations I had made into practice other than people equally passionate about the issue, so I applied for a prestigious research grant (ARC Future Fellowship) to the Australian Research Council to do this next phase of work. I have written elsewhere about how difficult it was just to submit that application because of how racism and sexism impacts track record. I didn’t get the grant, and I now see that closed door as the beginning of me being rescued from neoliberal academia. It was the same round of funding that made headlines for right-wing government tampering. Being invested in the proposal - that took a year to write to meet the high expectations that come with scarcity and competition - I decided to at least complete the first of three stages designed in the methodology. This involved the development of a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program for service providers who work with victims/survivors of child sexual abuse from CALD communities.

The university I then worked at were jumping on the ‘micro-credentialling’ bandwagon as a new means for revenue from workers looking to upskill, and so expressed interest in promoting my program. Then, suddenly, the interest was withdrawn. They realised the content was sensitive, and didn’t want to be associated with it. It was the first real institutional support I had received in 10 years so I wasn’t surprised, but it was near the ‘thousandth’ cut. I was awoken to yet more learning: any academic would be forsaken if they threatened institutional reputation. The criteria for promotion are all about the credibility and impact of your research, but the hidden agenda to make the university rich with benign work (at least in the social sciences) was the criteria I was failing. I then converted that program into an online version in 2021. A summary of its six modules has been provided, as well as testimonials from the live delivery of the program to 120+ practitioners across three states - New South Wales, Queensland, and South Australia - prior to going online.

June 2026

Virtual delivery

The reason I converted the program to online is so that I didn’t have to repeat the content. However, if you would like me to deliver one or some of these modules to your team at fair remuneration then I will consider this on a case-by-case basis. Relevant professionals include counselors, social workers, psychologists, legal advisors, GPs, psychiatrists, interpreters, researchers, program trainers, and policy makers. Please kindly note I may need to decline your request due to the re-triggering of the multiple traumas of racism and sexism, and will ask that you access the online version instead to protect my well-being. The program is recorded as if face-to-face to provide an ‘in person’ feeling. This article may also be helpful for understanding the further pain victims of social injustices feel when they additionally become responsible for the feelings of those who experience less injustice.

  • Do you have concerns about the term ‘CALD’, but can’t quite put your finger on it? Completing this module gives you the chance to unpack why it is problematic, and discuss other terms such as NESB (non-English speaking background), BME (Black and minority ethnic), and POC (person of colour). If left unchecked, the limitations of terminology can unconsciously impact on your practice in ways that are unsafe for ‘CALD’ communities.

    What this module covers:

    • Acknowledgment of Country

    • Target audiences and certification

    • The term ‘CALD’

    • The need for a slow approach

    • Respectful language

    • Background (the systematic literature review conducted in 2016, and the ensuing project designed)

    • Outline of the full course structure

  • Are you someone who trusts numbers and research data as accurately reflecting the objective truth? What caution do you exercise with prevalence data of child sexual abuse across different countries and cultures? Have you ever asked yourself these questions? Completing this module will help you understand your relationship with ‘truth’, and ethical interpretations of cross-cultural prevalence data. It shows why we can't be having a conversation about child sexual abuse and CALD communities without having a conversation about racism. By completing this module, you will be better placed to deliver ethical practice, and help protect the cultural safety of CALD communities.

    What this module covers:

    • The difficulty of making sense of cross-cultural prevalence data on child sexual abuse

    • Barriers to disclosure in western and non-western cultures

    • Collectivism

    • Racism and white privilege

    • Philosophical factors affecting the interpretation of research data

    • Ethical uses of objective data

  • Do you think CALD communities are more, less, or equally susceptible to myths about child sexual abuse (such as ‘stranger danger’) compared to Anglo communities? If there are differences, what impact does this have on the mental health outcomes/trajectory of CALD victims/survivors? How do socio-cultural values for ‘female purity’ and ‘male honour’ fit into this complex narrative? Completing this module better places you to deliver informed practice about what is cross-culturally unique and universal, while helping protect the cultural safety of CALD communities.

    What this module covers:

    • Myths about child sexual abuse, and responses to disclosure, in CALD communities

    • The Child Sexual Abuse Myths Scale (CSAMS; Collings, 1997)

    • Cross-cultural differences in susceptibility to the myth that most perpetrators of child sexual abuse are unknown

    • Cross-cultural differences in susceptibility to all myths about child sexual abuse, which shift culpability from the perpetrator to the victim

    • Family reputation, male and female honour, social taboos discussing sexual matters, possibly heightened disbelief of disclosures, possibly worse mental health, and exposure to risk of sexual harm, in CALD communities

  • To what extent do you think a frontline practitioner or their service organisation is responsible for delivering ‘cultural competency’? What specific characteristics do you think these two components entail? Do you feel overwhelmed by the complexity in this area and wish you had a checklist to consult? Completing this module will help you identify a comprehensive range of factors to be aware of in the service setting. In doing so, you are better placed to deliver ethical practice, and help protect the cultural safety of CALD communities.

    What this module covers:

    • Features of good practice with CALD client victims/survivors of child sexual abuse

    • Barriers to uptake of formal services

    • A proposed service delivery model

    • Cultural competency, at personal and organisational levels

    • Patriarchy, and medical vs sociological approaches to the treatment of mental illness

    • Professional omnipotence

    • Visual inclusiveness

    • Interpreters (brief)

    • Ethnically diverse workforce and ethnic-matching

    • Cultural competency training

    • Multicultural framework

    • Data collection

    • Links with local CALD organisations

  • Do you engage interpreters for matters relating to sexual assault and/or domestic violence, but worry about that too? Are you an interpreter engaged for such matters, but feel your knowledge is under-developed or that support is inadequate? This module is for both types of service providers. Completing it will help boost confidence and competence to deliver ethical practice and reduce risk of harm to clients, while helping protect the cultural safety of CALD communities.

    What this module covers:

    • Target audiences

    • Legal requirement of confidentiality

    • Psychological safety, collectivism, and family name

    • Internalised sexism

    • Risk of sensationalising cases of misconduct

    • Checklist for good practice

  • By the time you get to this module, your head may be spinning. It’s time to take stock, and pull out the key ‘take home messages’. If you forget everything else, what can you not afford to forget? This module also explains why some things were looked at, and other things weren't. Completing this module will help ‘close’ the complex narrative that has been drawn across all the modules, about what constitutes as safe and ethical practice with CALD victims/survivors, their families, and communities. It aims to lift the sophistication of theory, knowledge, and practice, while also understanding that the dialogue will only continue from here.

    What this module covers:

    • Three take home messages

    • Boundaries/scope of what was and was not covered in the program

    • Project website

    • Recommended reading

    • Audre Lorde’s poem “Power”

Visit Store for online modules

  • “This program is interesting and thought provoking.”

  • “I liked being presented to as colleagues/professionals on an intellectual level and not ‘dumbing down’ the contents.”

  • “I liked best Pooja’s knowledge in this area. I really enjoyed the deconstruction of data and looking behind the stories.”

  • “I loved the acknowledgement of the complexity of the area and your ability to express this – but also propose a way forward.”

  • “I have gained a stronger vocabulary in which to discuss this topic. Absolutely fantastic presentation – thank you so much for your time and wisdom.”

  • “I liked everything. I really enjoyed Pooja’s approach to delivering this information. It was so engaging and informative. I just wanted to hear more. It was so interesting and relevant as a sexual assault counselor.”

  • “This program was one of the most comprehensive child sexual abuse and cultural competence training I have been to. It got the point across without upsetting white people, but giving a need for further learning and reflection.”

  • “I liked best the facilitator and the content. It was a refreshing/informative session, tapping onto anthropological and psychological concepts that operate on service providers, so that we can increase our awareness on unconscious biases when assisting “diverse” people.”

  • “Everything was relevant. Very comprehensive information. Most frank factual approach, especially in relation to societal and other factors/barriers impacting this sector. Very insightful and thorough. Very well delivered. Outstanding presentation style. Impressive session. Addressing sensitive areas/issues with sensitivity and also with absolute honesty.”

  • “I thoroughly enjoyed Dr Sawrikar’s presentation. It was both enlightening and educational. The content was fleshed out with fact, theory, and experience – awesome event! I commend Dr Sawrikar in starting a difficult conversation. I liked the resources and group discussion – it helped to process the information. The facilitator’s passion helped to take note and self reflect.”