Why we should never trust a Working With Children Card

In the wake of recent horrific allegations involving sexual abuse at multiple childcare centres, many have pointed to the fact that the accused held a valid working with children card. But this revelation shouldn't surprise us, and it highlights a dangerous misconception about child safety that we desperately need to address.

The Reality Behind the Card

Working with children cards create a false sense of security. The requirements are minimal: essentially, you need a clean criminal record and must not be on the sex offenders register. While this might sound reasonable on the surface, it ignores some stark realities about child sexual abuse:

• Most sexual abuse cases are never reported
• When abuse is reported, it happens an average of 23 years after the offense
• Of the cases that are reported, only a tiny fraction result in convictions

This means that the vast majority of people who pose a genuine threat to children can legitimately obtain these cards. The system isn't designed to screen out dangerous individuals, it's designed to screen out those who have already been caught and convicted.

The Danger of Misplaced Trust

The real problem isn't just that these cards fail to identify threats — it's that we trust them. When we see someone with a working with children card, we relax our guard. We think, "They must be safe; they've been checked." This false confidence can override our most powerful protective tool: our instincts.