Cyra Fernandes

Senior Specialist, Therapeutic Care

Cyra is our Senior Specialist, Therapeutic Residential Care. Her work with the CETC is focused on evolving understanding and education around harmful sexual behaviours and sexual exploitation. More recently she is also interested in understanding the needs of children and young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in out-of-home care and exploring how to best meet their needs Cyra Fernandes is a social worker and family therapist with extensive experience in working with children, young people and their families. For the past eighteen years, she has been working for the Australian Childhood Foundation in clinical, management and project roles. She has a wealth of experience in managing therapeutic out-of-home care programs and is a national leader in therapeutic work with children and young people with harmful sexual behaviours. She co-authored an article with Dr Russell Pratt exploring the role of pornography in young people’s sexually abusive behaviour. Cyra lives on Wurundjeri country and likes to spend her time walking and running in the beautiful bush and forest area surrounding her home.
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Articles written by

Cyra Fernandes

Let’s Talk About the Summer Holiday – a poem about detention
Let’s Talk About the Summer Holiday – a poem about detention
"Let’s talk about the summer holiday, even though I’m in detention in was still fun aye. Because it was so hot, there was no time...
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“If you don’t feed the staff, they’ll eat the kids” Kevin Creeden on self-care and harmful sexual behaviours
“If you don’t feed the staff, they’ll eat the kids” Kevin Creeden on self-care and harmful sexual behaviours
Kevin Creeden, Director of Assessment and Research at Whitney Academy Massachusetts and a speaker at the 2022 International Child Trauma Conference said in recent training,...
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Responding to children and young people living in out-of-home care who engage in harmful sexual behaviour – Practice guide
Responding to children and young people living in out-of-home care who engage in harmful sexual behaviour – Practice guide
This practice guide aims to support carers and professionals working in and around the out of home care system to know how to best understand...
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Q&A with the trainer: Harmful sexual behaviour
Q&A with the trainer: Harmful sexual behaviour
Working with young people who engage in harmful sexual behaviour is complex and challenging. Cyra Fernandes and Dan Howell have spent over a 1000 hours in the past...
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Mandatory consent education, a win for all young people
Mandatory consent education, a win for all young people
Consent education will be mandatory in Australian schools from 2023, a win for Chanel Contos’ #teachusconsent movement and all young people who have called out a lack...
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Safe Connections – A resource kit to support young people in care at risk of child sexual exploitation – Practice guide
Safe Connections – A resource kit to support young people in care at risk of child sexual exploitation – Practice guide
The Safe Connections resource kit has been designed for use with young people at risk of or experiencing child sexual exploitation in care. Child sexual...
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Working with young people with harmful sexual behaviours – Research brief
Working with young people with harmful sexual behaviours – Research brief
This research briefing provides an overview of the current literature reporting on young people who engage in harmful sexual behaviours. Workers at the front line...
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