<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There are calls for men to be banned from working in childcare centres after allegations of sexual assault and child rape were levelled at ex-sector employee Joshua Brown in </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/melbourne" rel="" target="_blank" title="Melbourne"><span>Melbourne</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Brown has been charged with 70 offences and the case remains before the courts, while health authorities have urged the parents of 1200 children who may have been in care centres where Brown was employed, to have them tested for infectious disease.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Police said Brown worked at 20 childcare centres over a number of years, though the charges relate to eight alleged victims at a single centre.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/diddy-update-sean-combs-found-not-guilty-on-most-serious-charges-in-sex-trafficking-trial/05f4fcdf-86cf-4d76-91d1-3090cb7da44c" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Sean 'Diddy' Combs denied bail after mixed verdict</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Louise Edmonds, founder of the Independent Collective of Survivors, said banning men from the childcare sector was an "extreme" position, but that the safety of children, many of them too young to speak, should be the priority.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Without, you know, staining all the good men who are in there wanting to be positive role models for the young boys who are in daycare centres, there are some measures that can be taken place," Edmonds told </span><em><span>Today</span></em><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We actually have to look at the safety first and foremost of our most vulnerable citizens, which are our children, and a lot of them are voiceless."</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/calls-for-male-childcare-workers-to-be-banned-after-sexual-assault-charges-melbourne/c73705cd-19ca-49c6-9b58-732bb72db06c" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/visas-australia-south-korean-family-in-melbourne-facing-deportation-over-document-error-plea-to-immigration-minister/fbe7e793-9a9f-4a63-a16a-ed0accae724e" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Melbourne family face being deported to South Korea over 'misunderstanding'</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Edmonds said the vast majority of child sex offenders were men. A </span><a href="https://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/tandi429" rel="" target="_blank" title="study published by the Australian Institute of Criminology"><span>study published by the Australian Institute of Criminology</span></a><span> found that women made up just 1.7 per cent of child sex offenders, though the author cautioned the figures may be unreliable due to such offending often going unreported.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Edmonds said there could be measures put in place "overnight" in daycare centres to help protect children, including an intimate care waiver.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"All daycare centres can literally say to the parent, do you opt in or do you opt out at this very moment to actually have a male carer look after your child?" Edmonds said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/community-expresses-disgust-at-alleged-childcare-rapist-as-urgent-review-launched/ecf4dda8-7f8a-435f-93ea-43f7fd152b74" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Personal devices to be banned in childcare centres</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="styles__Wrapper-sc-2o34ro-0 cmwkBV"><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><a href="/content/2025/07/02/08/30/today-in-history-july-3-what-happened-on-this-day"><img alt="" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 636px, (min-width: 768px) 396px, 100vw" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/LdXvn4TZ-gZKqiCUF9Ajauts0Fk=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Fdb51d93a-b43b-4faa-b59e-c7af1de4b1a8" srcset="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/LdXvn4TZ-gZKqiCUF9Ajauts0Fk=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Fdb51d93a-b43b-4faa-b59e-c7af1de4b1a8 396w, https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/gqSSjZi06qm0hpdmp27qcimqxqE=/636x358/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Fdb51d93a-b43b-4faa-b59e-c7af1de4b1a8 636w"/></a></div><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><div class="styles__Headline-sc-2o34ro-4 hpbOlz">The murder theory at the heart of iconic rock star's legacy</div><div class="styles__Button-sc-2o34ro-1 eBjlmW"><a class="styles__ButtonLink-sc-2o34ro-2 hqpklJ" href="/content/2025/07/02/08/30/today-in-history-july-3-what-happened-on-this-day">View Gallery</a></div></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She also advocated for the use of cameras to cover "blind spots".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It takes seconds to abuse a child. I'm sorry to say that, but this is the reality," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"But what we can do with the CCTV, it is linked to a third party child protection agency. It is a deterrent if you put it into the areas that are blind spots, like the sleeping quarters, the change tables and the toilets, and it is off-site."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Edmonds suggested another option would be for men working in childcare to be moved out of "intimate areas", while still interacting with the children in the play and outside areas.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"So it's not removing them entirely, but it's also safeguarding them to make sure that they're all not thrown out with the bathwater," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>Support is available from the</span></strong><span> </span><strong><span>National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service</span></strong><span> </span><strong><span>at</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.1800respect.org.au/" title="https://www.1800respect.org.au/"><strong><span>1800RESPECT (1800 737 732)</span></strong></a><strong><span>.</span></strong></div></div>