Safe on Social

One of the worlds most courageous and influential voices on child protection, Madeleine West has transformed personal trauma into powerful public advocacy. A survivor of childhood sexual abuse who successfully took her abuser to court and saw him convicted, she has dedicated her life to ensuring that children are protected, heard, and believed.

 

Through her acclaimed work on Predatory Podcast and her advocacy for a public child sex offender register, Madeleine has helped shift the national conversation towards accountability, prevention, victim support, and systemic reform. She has become a fearless advocate for survivors and a leading voice challenging institutions and systems that too often protect perpetrators rather than children.

 

Madeleine actively works alongside ACCCE (Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation) and Project Paradigm, working to combat child exploitation, strengthen prevention strategies, and improve outcomes for vulnerable children and young people. Her advocacy extends beyond awareness, focusing on practical reforms that deliver meaningful protection and support for survivors.

 

A passionate campaigner for economic justice for survivors of abuse, Madeleine has also been a prominent supporter of Australia’s campaign for Super for Survivors, advocating for legislative change that would allow survivors of institutional child sexual abuse to access superannuation contributions as part of compensation and redress arrangements. Her work continues to highlight the lifelong impact of abuse and the need for survivor-centred reforms.

 

Through her work with Safe on Social, Madeleine stands on the frontline of modern child protection, educating schools, parents, workplaces, and communities about the realities of online harm. Her presentations address issues including social media misuse, online grooming, group chats, image-based abuse, sextortion, deepfakes, digital footprints, coercive control, and the rapidly evolving tactics used by predators to target children and young people online.

 

She works across media, education, policy, and advocacy, partnering with law enforcement, educators, governments, and community organisations to strengthen child protection frameworks and improve safety outcomes for women and children, including those living in rural, regional, and remote communities.

 

A mother of seven, Madeleine brings lived experience, national influence, deep empathy, and unwavering courage to every conversation. She is driven by a simple belief: that every child deserves to grow up safe, every survivor deserves to be heard, and every system responsible for protecting children must be held accountable.

Madeleine is based in Northern NSW Australia.