Webinars and workshops as professional development tools to upskill frontline workers in identifying and responding to harmful sexual behaviours

Lara Christensen; Susan Rayment-McHugh; Nadine McKillop; Isabelle Hull; Stephanie Price; Daniel Morcombe Foundation

doi:10.1016/j.chipro.2024.100036

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Webinars and workshops as professional development tools to upskill frontline workers in identifying and responding to harmful sexual behaviours

Journal article

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Peer reviewed

Webinars and workshops as professional development tools to upskill frontline workers in identifying and responding to harmful sexual behaviours

Lara Christensen, Susan Rayment-McHugh, Nadine McKillop, Isabelle Hull, Stephanie Price and Daniel Morcombe Foundation

Child Protection and Practice, Vol.2, pp.1-9

2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chipro.2024.100036

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Abstract

Criminology

Crime prevention

Harmful Sexual Behavior

Workshop

Webinar

Professional Development

Training

Problematic Behavior

Background Growing concerns about harmful sexual behaviour (HSB) experienced and exhibited by children and young people has resulted in a demand for training programs for frontline workers. However, HSB professional development initiatives must contend with various challenges and competing demands. Objective This study evaluated workshops and webinars as professional development tools to upskill frontline workers on preventing, identifying, and responding to HSB. Particularly, whether these platforms met the needs of the workforce; increased professionals’ perceived knowledge, confidence, competence, and actual knowledge, in what ways; and whether the training was subsequently applied in practice to identify and respond to HSB. Participants and Setting: Surveys were issued pre- and post-workshop/webinar training to measure changes in frontline workers’ perceived knowledge, confidence, competence, and actual knowledge, to identify and respond to HSB (n = 638 pre- and n = 418 post-workshop respondents; n = 473 pre- and n = 419 post-webinar; n = 3 workshop and n = 27 webinar 12-month follow-up). Methods Quantitative (paired sample t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and independent sample t-tests) and qualitative thematic analyses from pre- and post-workshop/webinar survey responses were conducted. Findings Findings tentatively indicate workshops and webinars met the needs of participants and, overall, were effective in increasing perceived knowledge, confidence, competence, and actual knowledge. Despite a smaller 12-month follow-up sample, knowledge and skills learned from training were subsequently applied in practice to identify and respond to HSB. Conclusion There is promising value in workshops and webinars as professional development tools for upskilling a diverse, and geographically dispersed, workforce.

Details

Title: Webinars and workshops as professional development tools to upskill frontline workers in identifying and responding to harmful sexual behaviours
Authors: Lara Christensen (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit
Susan Rayment-McHugh (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit
Nadine McKillop - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit
Isabelle Hull (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and Society
Stephanie Price (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and Society
Daniel Morcombe Foundation (Author)
Publication details: Child Protection and Practice, Vol.2, pp.1-9
Publisher: Elsevier Inc.
Date published: 2024
DOI: 10.1016/j.chipro.2024.100036
ISSN: 2950-1938
Copyright note: © 2024 Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. This article is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Organisation Unit: School of Law and Society; Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991022398902621
Output Type: Journal article

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