Child Safeguarding Week
Event Schedule 2025
Free informative online events to help keep kids safe online.
FREE E-LEARNING PARENTING IN THE DIGITAL WORLD
We have received sponsorship from META to develop a free eLearning to support parents.
Learn more! Sign up for these FREE upcoming events.
WEBINAR
Parent Webinar: Understanding cyberbullying and online safety for tweens and teens.
The online world is a big part of our children’s lives – offering amazing opportunities to connect, learn, and play. But it can also bring challenges, including cyberbullying and other forms of online harm.
In support of Child Safeguarding Week, Netsafe is hosting a free webinar for parents and whānau of children aged 12-16. The goal is to provide practical ideas to help you support your child to have safer, more positive online experiences (and manage issues if they happen).
Date and time:
Tuesday, 9 September 2025
6:30 pm (Auckland, Wellington time)
In this session, we’ll cover:
- What cyberbullying and online harm can look like for young people
- How to use platform settings/tools to help protect your child
- Options for what to do if something goes wrong online
- Where to find help, advice, and support
There will also be time to ask questions in a relaxed, supportive environment.
PODCAST
Our expert panel answer questions written by you – parents and carers
In this special episode, we’re focusing on one of the biggest challenges for parents today — navigating the digital world with their children. Recently, we surveyed parents about their top concerns and the questions they most want to ask experts about online safety, wellbeing, and resilience. Their honest, anonymous responses highlight both the struggles families face and their deep commitment to protecting and supporting their children.
We’ve brought these questions to a panel of experts who share practical advice, insights, and solutions to help families thrive in the online space.
Join us as we learn, share, and work together to make the digital world safer for every child.
Panel of experts:
Tim Houston is Manager of the Digital Child Exploitation Team (DCET) at New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs. Since 2014, he has led investigations into child sexual exploitation material (CSEM), victim identification, and major domestic and international operations, including the largest in New Zealand’s history.
A former Customs Officer and founding member of the Child Exploitation Operations Team. Tim is a dedicated child protection advocate. As well as his DIA role, he’s a member of the board of Safeguarding Children, and a member of the Thorn Law Enforcement Advisory Council.
Nikki Denholm MNZM, is Director of The Light Project, founded in 2017 by sexual and public health professionals to address the changing online porn landscape and the lack of resources for young people in Aotearoa. Nikki specialises in emerging sexual health and gender issues and works to equip young people, their families / whānau, and communities to build porn literacy and foster healthy sexuality and relationships.
Sean Lyons is Netsafe’s Chief Online Safety Officer, media spokesperson and head of Netsafe Lab, the organisation’s innovation arm. From 2022-2024, he served as Vice President of INHOPE, the global network of helplines combatting the distribution of child sexual exploitation material.
With a background in both IT and education, including time as a classroom teacher and school leader, Sean brings deep expertise on online safety challenges and leads Netsafe’s work to prevent and respond to child sexual exploitation material.
PODCAST
Scams, screens and safety: Netsafe’s mission to Keep Kids Safe Online
Netsafe supports people of all ages to have safe and positive online experiences. Safeguarding Children talks with Netsafe CEO Brent Carey about the work they do and how you can keep kids safe online.
Brent has broad and extensive experience in regulatory, privacy, safety and justice environments along with a good understanding of both local and global online safety ecosystems.
PODCAST
Youth experiences of peer-to-peer harm in online spaces
Dr Emma Barker-Clarke sits down with Safeguarding Children consultant, Jessica McQuoid, to chat about her research into young people’s experiences of online harm, particularly digital sexual violence. After speaking with many young people and centering their voices in her work, Dr Barker-Clarke is eager for parents and caregivers to think beyond ‘stranger danger’ and instead consider harm that may be occurring between young people and their peers in online spaces.
Dr Emma Barker-Clarke is a Violence Prevention Educator working with young people and adults. She is also a Board Member with Rape Prevention Education. Emma works with NGOs in the sexual violence and family violence sector in Aotearoa New Zealand. In 2023, Emma completed her PhD research: Digital youth of Aotearoa: perceptions of cyberbullying, sexting, gender and the intersections with technology-facilitated sexual violence at the University of Auckland.
RECORDED WEBINAR
Available until:
17 October 2025
Children’s Privacy Rights in the Digital Age
With extensive backgrounds in both IT and privacy, Annette Mills, Professor at University of Canterbury, and Rebecca Hawkins, Privacy Advisor at Pegasus Health, will join forces to deliver a thought-provoking webinar on the implications of surveillance technology, Education Technology (EdTech), sharenting and social media use on children, and their right to privacy in the digital age. Annette and Rebecca will discuss the risks associated with the digital surveillance and tracking of children, and what parents and caregivers can do to better protect their children and safeguard their privacy.
Rebecca Hawkins is a privacy professional currently working as a Privacy Advisor in the health sector. She is a lawyer, and in 2021 attained the International Association of Privacy Professionals Certified Privacy Technologist accreditation. She has previous experience in the regulatory and compliance environment, working in the UK in Complaints Investigator Roles for accountancy and telecommunications regulatory bodies.
Rebecca heads up the Southern Privacy Network, providing opportunities for Privacy Officers and Professionals to network and hear presentations from experts in the field of privacy and security.
Previous Privacy Officer work has led her to have a keen interest in children’s privacy issues, and more recently to focus on health technologies and privacy.
Annette Mills is a Professor in Information Systems in the UC Business School (University of Canterbury, New Zealand), and current chair of the IS Group at UC. , and Chair of the Professors and Heads of IS, New Zealand group. She holds a PhD in Information Systems (Waikato), BSc in Management and Accounting (Jamaica, West Indies) and a Diploma in Computer Science. Prior to her PhD, she worked in the public sector as a programmer/analyst on various revenue projects. She teaches courses at the intersection of IT and Business.
Annette’s research focused on the potentials, challenges, and impacts of new and emerging technologies on people and society, in particular the privacy concerns raised through pervasive data collection, digital monitoring and surveillance, profiling and automated decision-making. Her work seeks to provide insights into people’s use of new technologies, the impacts (both positive and negative), and how these may be addressed. Recent work has led to a keen interest in children’s privacy and the challenges raised by new and emerging technologies.
She is the current Convenor of the Foundation’s Children’s Privacy Working Group and a member of other groups including the Digital Economy working Group.
This webinar was recorded in 2024 for Child Safeguarding Week; Safeguarding in a Digital Age’
PODCAST
Protecting children in New Zealand and overseas
Tim Houston is the Manager of the Digital Child Exploitation Team at the Department of Internal Affairs. Launched in 2019, Tim and his team led an international operation investigating offences relating to online child sexual exploitation and abuse. It identified over 90,000 online accounts possessing or trading child sexual abuse material. In New Zealand alone, 71 suspects were identified, 46 arrested with further investigations ongoing. In this podcast, Willow (Safeguarding Children CEO) talks to Tim about his work protecting children in New Zealand and overseas.
