Research Partners

The project is funded by the National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse and is a collaboration between the AiLECS lab at Monash University and the Bravehearts Foundation.

About the AiLECS lab

AiLECS was launched as a research lab in July 2019 in a formal partnership between Monash University and the Australian Federal Police (AFP). Evolving out of research collaboration on accelerating digital forensics and countering online child exploitation, AiLECS has subsequently grown to a Research Centre that brings together Australia’s largest university and Australia’s national police agency to research how AI can help create a safer and more just community through effective, ethical, and explainable technology and data practices.

Since its inception, AiLECS has continued to broaden its portfolio. The lab continues its work in countering child exploitation but is also undertaking research in areas ranging from ethical dataset curation through to detection of illegal firearms. We invite you to explore our website to find out more about AiLECS and our mission of advancing ethical and transparent AI for keeping communities safe.

You can read more about what the AiLECS lab does here.

About Bravehearts

Bravehearts Foundation is a national non-government organisation working to protect children. Established in 1997, Bravehearts has been solely dedicated to the prevention and treatment of child sexual abuse and exploitation. We work holistically to educate, empower and protect children and young people from child sexual abuse and exploitation, and advocate for the rights of children and adult survivors by supporting evidenced-based legislative reform. Bravehearts aims to stop the stigma around child sexual abuse and exploitation through innovative research, public awareness campaigns and community education, and by collaborating with sector partners as we strive to eradicate child sexual abuse.

You can read more about the amazing work of Bravehearts here.

About the National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse

The establishment of a national centre to raise awareness and understanding of child sexual abuse, support help-seeking and guide best practice, was a key recommendation (9.9) of the 2017 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The Royal Commission identified that ongoing national leadership is necessary to improve outcomes for victims and survivors of past child sexual abuse and prevent future child sexual abuse. Founded in late 2021, the National Centre is a partnership between three respected organisations with strong histories of leadership in responding to the child sexual abuse – the Australian Childhood Foundation, Blue Knot Foundation and the Healing Foundation.

You can read more about the innovtive focus of the National Centre here.