Safeguarding Families From Child Sexual Abuse – Exclusive Interview With Laurenza Buglisi

Laurenza Buglisi is a qualified Social Worker and Family Therapist who specialises in child sexual abuse. She was the founder of Juno’s Circle: Counselling, Training and Consulting, supporting families with complex trauma. Laurenza is committed to ensuring all families are equipped with the necessary tools and resources to parent protectively. As a mother to three young children herself, she understands the challenges of raising children in a digital age with an increased prevalence of child sexual exploitation. Laurenza is passionate about working with organisations and social work professionals to ensure a clearer understanding of compliance with child safe practice standards and reporting obligations.

Laurenza Buglisi, Social Worker & Family Therapist

Introduce yourself! Please tell us about you and your life, so we can get to know you better.

My name is Laurenza and I have been working with children and families in some capacity for almost twenty years. I am also a mother to three young children – two girls and a boy. Life is exceptionally busy juggling work and the responsibility that comes with being a parent. On top of this, I play a part-time role as the family magician. I have quite the knack of being able to make magic happen, seemingly out of nowhere at times. It usually revolves around celebrations of some kind, with Sicilian food, loud music, and dancing but there’s always a central element of imagination and playfulness. I guess I like to bring people together. I love hosting parties at my house and enjoy showing my appreciation for the people I love through my cooking and baking.

What inspired you to start your business, and how has your journey evolved over time?

I’m really passionate about combining theoretical frameworks and practise knowledge with lived experience, which I think is especially important when trying to safeguard children from harm and abuse. I do believe there are some things you can’t fully understand until you become a parent yourself and so I feel a sense of duty in some way to draw on this knowledge when working with both families and organisations. I initially felt inspired to start my former business (Juno’s Circle: Counselling, Training & Consulting) because I wanted to provide a tailored service to families and the community which was the cumulation of years of professional work in the sexual violence sector. I also hoped to use my clinical knowledge and direct parenting experience to identify gaps in what was being provided elsewhere and what might be helpful to strengthen a broader understanding of what causes sexual violence and how we can address it. I am especially keen to find creative ways to translate current research findings into something more digestible for everyday families. I think parents are often trying their very best to protect their children but there are many things that get in the way of them fully understanding the risks or long-term consequences of sexual abuse. I’d like to contribute to a shift in how society views child sexual abuse, especially when it occurs within families or institutions. 

What challenges have you faced in building your business, and how did you overcome them?

Without a doubt, the most challenging thing I have faced has been trying to juggle work with raising small children. I think all working mothers can relate to this, but particularly so for mothers in business. Unfortunately my caregiving responsibilities often meant that my business plans have moved at a glacial pace, however I have been fortunate that I’ve always been self-motivated and driven to keep going. Most people in my extended family have started their own successful businesses and I often held on to their advice that I just have to focus on finding ways (albeit small) to move forward in some capacity. I guess I’ve always been surrounded by family who have relied on their intuition and work ethic to create their own opportunities in life and it was impossible not to be inspired by this.

Can you share a success story that highlights the impact of your work?

I would have to say working with a local community organisation to assist them with understanding and applying the Victorian Child Safe Standards. This involved reviewing their current Child Safety Policy and providing training to staff and volunteers to ensure compliance. At the end of delivering this training, I was approached by a staff member who disclosed some concerning information about a child. This was able to be dealt with promptly and I could immediately see the effectiveness of the policy and procedure in keeping children safe.

If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why?

I would like to see more government funding provided for public specialist sexual assault services, with a focus on supporting the entire family, not just the ‘identified patient’ (often the direct victim/survivor). Sexual abuse has a ripple effect on families and communities but often these public funded services prioritise individual clinical work. Whilst this is definitely important, I also think there is value in a systemic approach. Relational trauma requires work committed to relational healing, which goes beyond managing individual symptoms. 

Tell us about a pivotal moment in your life that brought you to where you are today.

I was working with a family in my private practice (Juno’s Circle) who had experienced estrangement with their extended family due to their child’s recent disclosure of sexual abuse by another family member. The level of disenfranchised grief all family members were experiencing was quite devastating and made me reflect on the many complex layers of how sexual abuse permeates through an entire system. I was motivated to explore ways to reach out to other families in similar situations and wondered if moving my business online might make it more accessible for parents who are not quite ready to access face-to-face counselling but still wanted support in understanding how to balance protective parenting with processing their own disenfranchised grief. 

What’s next for you and your business—any exciting plans or developments on the horizon?

Absolutely! I’ve stopped taking face-to-face counselling clients and in 2025 will focus on building up a suite of online resources for families and social work professionals who want to better understand the complexity of family estrangement within the context of abuse or dysfunction. I also want to create tools that will support parents to protect their children from harm and abuse. Ultimately, my goal is to contribute to the growing momentum worldwide which acknowledges that child safety is everyone’s responsibility.

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