PROTECTING children is everybody's business - this was the theme spread across the state last week and our region took it especially serious.

September 4-10 marked Child Protection Week and, in a bid to raise awareness throughout the wider community, five major events were held across the Whitsundays.

Whitsunday Crisis and Counselling Service senior counsellor Mandy Coles said it was great to see so many people getting involved.

"It was really positive to see the community are taking it seriously and that they're trying to work collaboratively in the community to prevent child abuse and create awareness,” Ms Coles said.

"Considering 20% of the population experience child abuse or neglect, it's time to start talking about it and taking it seriously.”

On September 4, the Whitsunday PCYC began its Back to the Table Challenge which encouraged families to eat together at the dinner table for the entire week.

PCYC distributed packs to involved families, which included kid-friendly recipes, dinner time conversation starters and activities.

Students at local schools were also given the opportunity to express what Child Protection Week meant to them through art with competition run by Whitsunday Crisis and Counselling.

For the adults, a forum was held where a number of guest speakers from different services across the region came together to explain the different facets of child protection.

Ms Coles said roughly 75 people registered for the event and she was pleased to see such a keen interest from the community.

For the kids, a movie night was held at the Whitsunday Arts and Cultural Centre last Friday night where the movie Inside Out was shown.

To end the week, the PCYC held a free family fun day on Sunday where the community members could spend the day enjoying plenty of enjoyable activities.

For more information about Child Protection Week visit www.childprotection week.org.au.