Your rights 

We all have human rights. 

Human rights are things that countries agree we all need to live safe, happy and healthy lives. 

Children have extra rights. These are written down in an international law called the Convention on the Rights of the Child. These extra rights apply all the time, including when you are taking part in the arts. 

Your rights cannot be taken away from you. 

• You have the right to be safe. No one should do anything to you that makes you feel frightened, upset or uncomfortable.
• You have the right to privacy. Your body belongs to you. No one should touch you or take photos or videos of you unless you say it is OK.
• You have the right to be treated fairly. No matter who you are, what you look like, who your family is, where you are from, what language you speak or what your religion is. This might mean that you, or other children, need individual attention to help you feel happy, supported and included to participate like everyone else.
• You have the right to have a say about things that affect you. Adults should listen to what you have to say. If you ask for help and someone doesn’t listen, you can speak to someone else. Please keep trying until someone helps you.
• Adults should do what is best for you. Everyone should treat you with care and respect. When making decisions, the most important thing is what’s best for you. 

Some organisations have a set of rules that say how they will keep children and young people safe. These rules explain what behaviours are OK and what behaviours are not OK. They also say what you can do if someone hurts you or if you do not feel safe.  

These rules are sometimes called a ‘policy’ or a 'code of conduct'. You can ask to read them. Sometimes they can be hard to understand. You can ask someone older who you trust to help you understand them.  

Even if your organisation doesn’t have rules written down, there are still laws that say they have to keep you safe.

Your responsibilities 

All rights come with responsibilities. Everyone must treat you with respect — and you must treat others with respect. 

Everyone in the arts has the right to be safe, supported and included. This means that everyone should behave towards others in a way that is welcoming, respectful and kind. 

• Be respectful of other people. You should not do anything that might make other people feel unsafe.
• Treat other people fairly. You should not treat people unfairly because of things like where they were born, the colour of their skin, their religion, the language they speak at home, whether they are a boy or girl or trans or non-binary, who they are attracted to or whether they have a disability.
• Don't hurt other people. You should not say or do things that upset or hurt another person on purpose. This includes things like hitting, pushing, name-calling, spreading rumours, or deliberately excluding people.
• Respect other people’s privacy. You should not take or share images or videos of other people unless they say it’s OK.
• Respect other people’s boundaries. If someone doesn’t want to add you on social media or won’t meet you privately outside of your classes or rehearsals, you must respect that. 

Things adults should do to keep you safe 

The adults in your life must keep you safe. This includes teachers, instructors, directors, performers and artists. It also includes any of the supporting crew behind the art, from people in the office, make up and costume, to people who do the lights and sound or drive you places.    

• Adults must not hurt you. They should not touch you, or ask you to touch them, in a way that makes you feel scared or uncomfortable.
• Adults should not speak to you in a way that makes you feel upset or unsafe. They should not constantly criticise you. They should not constantly ignore.
• Adults should not talk to you about things that make you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, such as about sex.
• Adults should speak to you respectfully and in a way that encourages you.
• Adults should not pick on you or treat your unfairly because of where you were born, the colour of your skin, your religion, the language you speak at home, whether you are a boy or girl or trans or non-binary, who you are attracted to or whether you have a disability. Adults may need to treat you differently to other children, or give you more attention, to make sure you can be included. You can speak up if this makes you uncomfortable.
• Adults should respect your culture. They should make you feel that your identity and experiences are valued, including if you are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
• Adults should treat everyone fairly. They should not give you special gifts or treat you as a favourite. They should not contact you privately online, or meet you alone when you are not making art. They should not ask you to keep secrets from other adults, or from your friends, or from anyone else.
• Adults should not take photos or videos of you unless you or your parents say they can. Adults should not make art based on you or your experiences unless you or your parents say they can. If your parents say its OK but you don’t want to, you should always feel like you can speak up.
• Adults should not be alone with you in a changing room. They should not touch you in a way that is not needed to teach you or physically support you.
• Adults should listen to you when you raise a concern. You should feel that they take you seriously.
• Adults should listen to you and help you if you tell them that another person has hurt you or made you feel unsafe. This includes if you are hurt by another child, or by a parent, carer or another adult. Sometimes the adults you tell may need to tell other people so that they can keep you safe.
• Adults should not treat you badly if you speak up about feeling unsafe. 

What to do when something feels wrong 

If you, or another child you know, feels unsafe:  

• Find an adult you trust. This can be a parent, guardian or other adult family member, a teacher or instructor, or another grown up who you trust.
• Tell them what happened. It’s OK to do this in whatever way is most comfortable for you. You can write it down or draw a picture if speaking is too hard.
• It’s OK if you get upset. Lots of people get upset talking about things that hurt them or make them feel unsafe.
• Your trusted adult may have some questions for you. Try to answer these as best you can, but it’s OK if you don’t know all the answers.
• Your trusted adult might ask you to tell your story to other people who can help you. You can stop if you do not feel safe or if you feel uncomfortable talking about what happened.
• If an adult is worried you may be unsafe, they may have to tell someone else. For example, they may have to the police or child protection. If they have to do this, they must only tell the people who need to know to keep you safe.
• Remember — you have done nothing wrong. 

Where to get help 

If you feel unsafe and you need help, you can talk to an adult you trust, like a parent, family member, teacher or instructor.

You can also ask for free and confidential help from experts. Confidential means the person you speak to will not share what you tell them with anybody unless you agree — but they may have tell someone if you or someone else is in danger. 

• Kids Helpline
  • www.kidshelpline.com.au
  • Free call 1800 55 1800 (available 24/7)
  • counsellor@kidshelpline.com.au
• Headspace
  • www.headspace.org.au
  • Email or chat online
  • Free call 1800 650 890 (9am–1am AEST, 7 days a week)
  • Visit a Headspace Centre
• Youth Law Australia if you need legal information
  • www.yla.org.au
  • Free call 1800 950 570 (9am–5pm AEST, Monday to Friday)
  • advice@lawmail.org.au   

You can also call the police. 

• Call 000 if you need urgent help right away
• Call 131 444 if it is not urgent
• Visit your local police station.