'If I had known': This Canberra mum has a plan to help stop child sex abuse
Paula first thought something might be wrong when she didn't hear her baby crying in the night.
The Canberra mum was holidaying at her father's house in Perth, along with her one-year-old son and three-year-old daughter.
After her daughter's horrific assault, Paula is campaigning for funding to put together information packs for Canberra parents on how to spot child abuse.
Photo: karleen minneyHer father had set up the children in a room beside his own, and gone out of his way to make them feel welcome, giving the kids a bath, fixing Paula cups of tea before bed. Her son had even started sleeping through the night, or so Paula thought, pulled under by a "wave of sleep" each evening.
It was only after, while watching her daughter explain what happened to her during "grandad's special hugs" that Paula began to suspect he had laced those cups of tea with sleeping tablets.
Paula and her daughter are determined to help stop abuse from happening to other families.
Photo: karleen minney"I have that moment playing over and over in my mind, I hear her saying 'I called for you Mummy, but you didn't come'," Paula said.
On Wednesday, Paula's father will be released from a WA prison, having spent the past four years behind bars for sexually assaulting his granddaughter.
The same day, the Canberra Liberals will move a motion in the legislative assembly calling on the ACT government to fund Paula's plan to help protect other kids - a new information pack for first-time parents teaching them to recognise the signs of abuse.
There were moments during their visit to her father's house five years ago, "secret chocolates" given to her daughter, or something possessive, even obsessive in his voice when he spoke of the little girl, that made Paula uneasy. But she was told she was being paranoid. She admits now she felt "rude" to accuse him of anything without proof.
Having since sought help through child protection organisation Bravehearts, Paula realises those moments were clues to a danger she "never thought would happen" to her family.
"I only ever saw a little girl in nappies, I didn't see what he saw in her, and so I couldn't protect her but if I'd known what to look for, how to help her tell me, this might not have happened," Paula said.
"No other mother should have to go through what we went through, no other little girl should have to sit in a courtroom, be cross-examined.
"My daughter did it all because she doesn't want this happen to any other kid...and now I want to show her one person can make a difference."
Last year, in its final report, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse recommended giving parents more education on preventing abuse.
Bravehearts founder Hetty Johnston said the idea had been suggested by "every report in the last 15, 20 years" but there were still not enough resources for prevention.
This week, she is hopeful. She believes Paula's "parent packs" will save lives and could one day be offered around Australia.
Each pack will include a Bravehearts guide for adults on recognising red flags, such as a grooming behaviours, as well as colouring books, songs and games to help teach kids how to "trust their instincts" and put safety first.
"About 15 years of research has gone into this, we know it works," Ms Johnston said.
"It gives adults the language they need to talk about this stuff [without] offending anyone, because no one wants to talk about it...When you have a baby, you get information on breastfeeding, immunisation, brushing your kid's teeth...but no one taps you on the shoulder and says by the way one in five kids will be sexually assaulted before they turn 18, here's what to look out for."
Paula says she needs about $180,000 to get an information pack into the hands of every first-time parent in the capital, a small figure next to the economic cost of child abuse in Australia, which is estimated to run into the billions of dollars each year.
Shadow minister for families, youth and community services Elizabeth Kikkert described Paula's story as heartbreaking. Her packs would bridge "an information gap" for parents on abuse, Ms Kikkert said.
"Unfortunately most parents have no idea how to detect the warning signs.
"If these safety packs can save even one child, one family, from this type of trauma then they will be worth it."