Books aim to keep Indigenous children safe online

The Australian Federal Police has worked with two Northern Territory communities to create picture books on child safety online in Indigenous languages.

Western Arrarnta translator Maxine Malbunka said the books would get important information to parents and children, while sharing culture.

Ms Malbunka hopes the books can be made in other languages to suit other Indigenous communities around Australia.

Indigenous translators and illustrators in the Northern Territory have teamed up with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to create two picture books to support education and awareness of child safety online.

The Wise Emu and the Digital Dingo in Paradise, and The Wise Brolga and the Digital Dingo in Paradise, written in Western Arrarnta and Old Tiwi respectively, are aimed at teaching children and parents about the risks of child sexual exploitation in a culturally and age appropriate way.

Hermannsburg resident and Western Arrarnta woman Maxine Malbunka translated The Wise Emu.

"My role was to get this message across to my community and to educate the young ones that online is not safe," she said.

"Nowadays, kids, they like internet all the time … the little ones, they like phones, they like to watch YouTube.

Ms Malbunka said she could not give specific examples to protect the privacy of families, but there had been instances where children in the community had encountered "nasty people" online.

In the past financial year, the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) received more than 100,000 reports of online child sexual exploitation, according to Online Child Safety Team leader Kristy Thomson.

"That equates to about 275 reports per day, and it's a 21 per cent increase from the previous financial year," she said.

Ms Thomson said one of the biggest online threats was child grooming, when an adult made contact with a child to enable their sexual abuse.

"Offenders use a variety of tactics to get children to engage with them and then sort of groom them to share intimate images of themselves," she said.

Hermannsburg mother Kara Katakarinja welcomed the books, both to preserve culture and to educate families about the dangers online for their children.

"Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and all that. Yeah, it's not good for the kids," she said.

"It's really good to show it to the mums, so the mums can teach the young ones not to play with the phone."

Ms Malbunka said she would like to see the books made in more Aboriginal languages for other communities around Australia.

"We hope we get more communities involved, sharing our knowledge," she said.

"I am so proud and happy for what I have done for the community."

Digital versions of the books are available on the ACCCE website, along with additional learning resources.