Harmful Thoughts (2022) | Jayne Crossling, Emma A. Jane, Georgia Naldrett & Michael Salter

Harmful Thoughts (2022) | Jayne Crossling, Emma A. Jane, Georgia Naldrett & Michael Salter

Author: Festival of Dangerous Ideas October 9, 2023 Duration: 58:40

Australia is facing a child sexual abuse epidemic. Brought to light by The Royal Commission and stories of high-profile survivors, the numbers are shocking, and the online world is even worse. But this is not a crimewave we can arrest our way out of.  Criminal justice is not enough, and the revulsion child sexual abuse inspires can paralyse more effective responses. However, there is a window for child sexual abuse prevention, if we are not too scared to seize it. It's time to engage earlier with people concerned about their sexual thoughts or behaviours towards children, so that fewer children become victims in the first place. 

Detective Superintendent Jayne Crossling has been a member of the Australian Federal Police for 32 years. For the past five years she has been responsible for the oversight of teams investigating human trafficking, online child sexual exploitation and cybercrime. 

Emma A. Jane is an Associate Professor at UNSW Sydney where she researches the social and ethical impacts of emerging technology. Her book, Diagnosis Normal, explores the complex combination of childhood sexual abuse, mental illness and a late autism diagnosis that led to her being who she is today, as well as exploring the impact each has on so many others in society.

Georgia Naldrett is the Stop It Now! Australia Manager, a  program which aims to prevent child sexual abuse by offering anonymous support and advice to individuals concerned about their sexual thoughts or behaviours towards children, as well as affected family members and professionals. She is a psychology graduate with a BSc(hons) in Psychology and a MSc in Forensic Psychology. 

Dr Michael Salter is the Scientia Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of New South Wales, where he specialises in the study of child sexual abuse and exploitation. 

 


For more than a decade, the Festival of Dangerous Ideas has curated a space where provocative thinking isn't just welcomed, it's the entire point. This podcast is a direct line to that stage, offering an archive of talks that deliberately unsettle comfortable opinions and interrogate the stubborn problems we often agree to ignore. Each episode captures a live conversation from Australia's original disruptive ideas festival, presenting arguments that can be exhilarating, uncomfortable, and vitally important. You’ll hear from a compelling roster of festival alumni-including leading experts, intellectual troublemakers, and visionary authors-who share perspectives that conventional discourse frequently sidelines. The discussions here aren't theoretical exercises; they grapple with the pressing and difficult issues shaping our society and culture right now. Tuning in means granting yourself access to a decade-long tradition of intellectual courage, where the core assumption is that some truths are only reached by first entertaining a dangerous idea. It’s a chance to listen as boundaries are pushed, not for shock value, but for clarity. The result is a consistently challenging and refreshing audio experience that complicates simple narratives and expands what feels possible to talk about.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Festival of Dangerous Ideas
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