Editor: Justin Healey
ISBN 1 920801 46 4
Year 2006

Price: $19.95

  
Child Maltreatment

Volume 236, Issues in Society
Child abuse and neglect, also known as ‘child maltreatment’, is a confronting reality for many Australians. Children often experience different forms of maltreatment in combination, whether they be physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional/psychological abuse or neglect. This book examines definitions of child abuse and neglect, and looks at its prevalence, causes, the actions of perpetrators, and the effects on their victims. A particular focus of this book is how to deal with such abuse and neglect in Australia through mandatory reporting, child protection policies and practices, and prevention measures. What are the signs of child maltreatment? And what are the most appropriate ways of protecting our most vulnerable?

Chapter 1 Defining Child Abuse and Neglect
Defining child abuse; What is child abuse?; Defining child neglect; Legal definitions of child neglect; children as victims of violence; Child abuse and neglect statistics: did you know...?; Stop child abuse – be aware of the causes; What causes child abuse?; The effects of child abuse and neglect; Long-term consequences of child abuse

Chapter 2 Dealing with Child Abuse and Neglect
Mandatory reporting of child abuse; Reporting abuse: a directory of contact organizations; Children in care up 70 per cent in 10 years; Child protection in Australia; Child abuse and neglect: a picture of Australia's children; The child protection process; Child sexual assault: protecting your child; How do I supervise the internet at home?; Keeping children safe on the internet; Stop child abuse – take action; Preventing child abuse before it starts; When does physical punishment become physical abuse? Discipline versus abuse: can you tell the difference?

Glossary; Facts and Figures; Additional Links and Resources; Index of Contents

 

Facts and Figures

• Child abuse and neglect, also known as 'child maltreatment' is the broad term for the acts or behaviour of parents, caregivers and others that endanger a child or young person's physical or emotional health or development. Child maltreatment can be a single incident, but it is usually a pattern of behaviour that takes place over time.

• Child maltreatment is commonly classified into four main types: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and neglect. It is important to note that children often do not experience just one form of maltreatment, often they experience different forms of maltreatment in combination.

• 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 6 boys (23%) of all Australian children will be the victim of child sexual assault before the age of eighteen. NB: statistics vary.

• 85% of sexual abuse occurs in the home.

• 80-85% of women in Australian prisons are victims of incest or other types of abuse.

• The odds for future delinquency, adult criminality overall, and arrest for a violent crime specifically, increased by around 40% for people abused or neglected as children.

• Homeless youth who have been physically or sexually abused are more at risk (2-4 times) for attempting suicide than non-abused adolescents.

• Definitions of what constitutes child abuse vary across the different states and territories. Similarly, child protection legislation, including mandatory reporting requirements and child protection practice, differs between the states. Thus it is difficult to obtain consistent and comparable national statistics.

• The groups of people mandated to notify their concerns, suspicions, or reasonable grounds to the statutory child protection authority, range from a limited number of specified persons in specified contexts (Western Australia, Queensland) through to every adult (Northern Territory, Tasmania). The Australia Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria have a list of particular occupation groups that may come into contact with children.

• Some states have a limited number of occupations listed such as Queensland (doctors, departmental officers, and employees of licensed residential care services) and Victoria (police, doctors, nurses and teachers). Other jurisdictions have more extensive lists (Australian Capital Territory, South Australia) or use generic descriptions 'professionals working with children'.

• The rate of Indigenous children in state and foster care is more than six times that of other children – in 1996 there were 13,979 children in care. By 2005, that had risen to 23,695.

• The number of children on orders, usually issued by the Children's Court, also rose dramatically, up 60%, from 15,718 in 1997, to 25,065 in 2005.

• The most common type of abuse reported in Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory was neglect, while in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and the ACT, emotional abuse was most common.

• A high proportion of children taken from their parents were living in single-parent families.

• Children are entering care for increasingly complex reasons associated with parental substance abuse, mental health and family violence.

• Over the last 6 years the number of child protection not-ifications in Australia more than doubled from 107,134 in 1999-00 to 252,831 in 2004-05. From 2003-04 to 2004-05 the number of notifications increased in all jurisdictions. Some of this increase reflects changes in child protection policies and practices in the jurisdictions and could also reflect increased public awareness of child abuse.

• The number of substantiations in most jurisdictions also increased over the last 6 years, the most notable being Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory. Again, this increase is affected by changes in policies and practices in the various jurisdictions.

• Rates of children aged 0-16 years who were the subject of a child protection substantiation in 2004-05 ranged from 2.3 per 1,000 in Western Australia to 14.1 per 1,000 in Queensland.

• There were more children on care and protection orders in 2004-05 than 2003-04 in every jurisdiction that provided data.

• At 30 June 2005 the rates of children aged 0-17 years per 1,000 on care and protection orders ranged from 3.7 in Western Australia to 7.0 in the Northern Territory.

• Across Australia the rates of Indigenous children on care and protection orders were higher than for non-Indigenous children.

• Nationally, the number of children in out-of-home care rose each year from 1996 to 2005, the period for which national data have been collected. The numbers in care increased by 70% from 13,979 at 30 June 1996 to 23,695 at 30 June 2005.

• Only 4% of children in care at 30 June 2005 were in residential care, with 54% in foster care and 40% in relative or kinship care.

• The rates of children in out-of-home care in Australia increased from 3.0 per 1,000 at 30 June 1997 to 4.9 per 1,000 at 30 June 2005.

• At 30 June 2005 there were 23,695 children in out-of-home care in Australia. This compares with 21,795 children who were in out-of-home care at 30 June 2004, an increase of 9%.

• In 2004-05 the rates of children in out-of-home care ranged from 3.8 per 1,000 in Victoria and Western Australia to 5.8 per 1,000 in New South Wales and Queensland.

• The rate of Indigenous children in out-of-home care was over 6 times the rate of other children.