An interim report of the Growing Up in Queensland 2020 project has been presented by the Queensland Family and Child Commission.
Releasing the report, Chief Executive and Principal Commissioner, Cheryl Vardon said the first six months of this year had been like few others in most people’s memory.
“They began with bushfires, floods and an appalling act of family violence that killed three children and their mother in Queensland,” Ms Vardon said.
“While the nation was struggling with these events, COVID-19 was spreading across the world. In Queensland, effects on the economy and employment have created uncertainty and hardship.”
She said children’s education had been disrupted and individuals and families had experienced physical and social isolation.
“However, Government and the community, including children and young people, have been uniting in Queensland’s recovery,” Ms Vardon said.
“Despite the challenges encountered in 2020, early responses to the project reveal young Queenslanders’ hope and resilience. One young person tells us: ‘It is important that young people hold…hope for their future, despite this pandemic’.”
She said data showed some young Queenslanders were less likely than others to share this positive view and that others at the time of publication simply had not had, or had not taken, the opportunity to be heard.
“This last point has led the Queensland Family and Child Commission to increase its efforts to hear from young males, young people in remote areas of Queensland and young people who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders so their voices can be heard in the final Growing Up in Queensland report,” Ms Vardon said.
The interim report is based on 3,727 responses to the youth survey, 53 responses to the junior survey, 189 responses to the postcard activity and 16 responses to the art activity.
The 11-page interim report can be accessed at this PS News link.