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Current Issues
Who's Looking after the Kids? An Overview of Child Abuse and Child Protection
in Australia
E-Brief: Online Only issued 13 September 2002; updated 16 October 2002
Greg McIntosh, Analysis
and Policy
Janet Phillips, Information/E-links
Social Policy Group
Scope of E-brief
This E-brief provides an overview of child abuse and child protection
in Australia, including relevant
Internet links to a variety of other sites. It only covers some of the
main issues and data related to child abuse and is in no way comprehensive
or all-inclusive. At the end of the e-brief there are links to some overseas
Internet sites that may be of interest to readers.
What is Child Abuse?
Increasing public attention and concern about child abuse has seen an
increasing role for governments with respect to child protection policy.
However, it is only comparatively recently that this concern has been
translated into systematic strategies and programs designed to help alleviate
the problem. Much has been written about how child abuse and neglect (the
latter often being seen as a 'less serious' form of abuse) should, or
could be defined, but in the Australian context there seems to be a fairly
broad consensus as to what constitutes child abuse.
In Australia whilst there are
some differences across the eight State and Territory jurisdictions (who
are primarily responsible for policies to deal with child abuse) as to
just how child protection matters are defined, the broad categories of
abuse and neglect are essentially consistent. The four main categories
of abuse are physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect and emotional abuse.
A National Child Protection Council Report from the early 1990s (Preventing
Child Abuse A National Strategy, page xv) defined 'child abuse'
as 'the term for a variety of acts or behaviours which result in harm
to children. It encompasses physical abuse, sexual assault, emotional
abuse and, neglect'.
An Australian Institute of Health and Welfare publication (Australia's
Welfare 1997), explains how child abuse is defined and how
data is collected on child abuse:
The term 'child abuse and neglect' can mean very different things to
different people, depending on the context in which it is used. For the
purposes of collecting national information, however, 'child abuse and
neglect' can generally be defined as occurring when a child has been,
is being, or is likely to be subjected to physical, emotional or sexual
actions or inaction's which have resulted in, or are likely to result
in significant harm or injury to the child. In the main, it refers to
situations where there are protective issues for the child because the
person believed to be responsible for the abuse or neglect is a parent,
family member or some other person with responsibility for the care of
the child; or where the person responsible for the child is unable or
unwillingly to protect the child from abuse or neglect. Only incidents
of abuse or neglect notified to community services departments are included
in the national data collection on child abuse and neglect. (Page 190.)
Thus, it is important to note that the main published data on child abuse and neglect only includes
abuse and neglect that is reported via the various departments of community
services across Australia and
to that extent the data will not reveal the true extent of the problem.
The rate of 'non reporting' of child abuse and neglect is largely unknown.
An excellent article on the history of child abuse in Australia
and how child protection measures have been developed over time is Adam
Tomison's A
History of Child Protection (Australian Institute of Family Studies,
Family Matters, no. 60, Spring/Summer 2001).
In this article Tomison argues that child protection policies have tended
to be 'cyclical' and that many present policies have been tried by governments
and other agencies over many years.
In recent years there has been much more awareness of child abuse as
an issue and the reporting and analysis of it is now much more 'open'
than has been the case in the past. This increased awareness and reporting
has meant that a number of institutions (for example, sectors of the church,
various institutions that house or care for children and government departments
responsible for child protection), have increasingly come under the spotlight
for past and present practices that may have, or are, adversely affecting
children in their care.
A major trend over the past decade or so in terms of child protection
policy has been a move away from more punitive measures to an increased
emphasis on early intervention and educative strategies. There is now
a greater recognition of the complex nature of the causes of child abuse
and the advantages of preventing child abuse before it happens as opposed
to dealing with it after it has occurred. A more 'holistic' policy framework
is being gradually developed whereby a whole range of areas including
employment, education, health and family relationships are considered
when child protection policies are being considered.
There are three main sets of data that are published to indicate the
extent of child abuse in Australia.
These are notifications of abuse; investigations of abuse and substantiations
of abuse. The following tables (adapted from Australian Institute of Health
and Welfare, Child Protection
Australia 200001, 2002) give data in each of these areas for
all States and Territories and for Australia
as a whole. Data is also shown on the types of abuse and neglect.
Table 1: Number of notifications and substantiations, Australia,
199596 to 200001
Note: Missing years not shown due to lack of data
Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Child Protection
Australia 200001, 2002, Tables 2.3 and 2.4, pp. 1314.
Table 1 shows that the number of reports or notifications of child abuse
has been increasing over the period 199596 to 200001. In the latter
year there were over 115 000 notifications of abuse, compared to
a figure of almost 92 000 in 199596. However, these figures in themselves
do not necessarily mean that the rate of abuse is increasing. The increasing
number of notifications may well be due to a greater awareness of child
abuse over the period reviewed and the fact that some of the States and
Territories have changed the way they report on matters of child abuse.
As well, the amount of non-reporting of child abuse is not known.
Table 1 also shows the number of substantiations over the period 199596
to 200001 and the line indicates that substantiations have in fact declined
slightly over the period covered from 29 800 in 199596 to 27 300
in 200001. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
the reason for the decline in substantiations over the period is more
to do with changes in administrative procedures related to child abuse
in some of the States and Territories rather than a reduction in the amount
of abuse.
Table 2: Number of notifications, by State and Territory, 199596
to 200001
Notes:
- Data for the 199697 financial year were not available from New South
Wales.
- Data for the 199899 financial year were not available from the Northern
Territory.
- Data for Queensland 199697 refer to the calendar year 1996, rather
than the financial year.
- The number of notifications in 199900 in the Northern Territory was
higher than in previous years due to the introduction of a new information
system that enabled improved reporting of all reports received.
- In 200001 the classification of notifications in South Australian
was changed to exclude reports that did not meet the criteria of reasonable
suspicion of child abuse or neglect.
Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Child
Protection Australia 200001, 2002, Table 2.3, p. 13.
Table 3: Number of substantiations, by State and Territory, 199596
to 200001
Notes:
- Data for the 199697 financial year were not available in New South
Wales.
- Data for the 199899 financial year were not available from the Northern
Territory.
- Data for Queensland 199697 refer to the calendar year 1996, rather
than the financial year 199697.
Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Child
Protection Australia 200001, 2002, Table 2.4, p. 14.
Tables 2 and 3 show notifications and substantiations by State and Territory
over the period 199596 to 200001. The same qualifications noted for
Table 1 apply to these two Tables.
Table 4: Substantiations, by main type of abuse or neglect and
State and Territory, 200001
Notes: The category 'other' used for New South Wales comprises children
identified as being at hight risk but with no identifiable injury or harm
Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Child
Protection Australia 200001, 2002, Table 2.5, p. 16.
Table 4 shows substantiations by State and Territory by the main type
of abuse. The Table shows that child neglect is the highest category of
abuse in Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland whilst physical
abuse is the largest category in New South Wales. In Victoria
the most reported category is emotional abuse. Again, according to the
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare the differing results by jurisdiction
is more likely to be with the way the types of abuse are defined and reported
rather than real differences in terms of the type of abuse.
The following summary of some of the effects of child abuse comes from
the web site of the Abused Child Trust, a Queensland
based professional organisation that provides specialised treatment programs
for abused children and their families:
The long-term impact of child abuse and neglect cannot be easily predicted.
Many factors must be taken into account, including the degree and duration
of abuse, the perpetrator, family structure and support, types of interventions,
and resiliency factors of those involved (Cicchetti & Toth, 1995;
Edari & McManus, 1998). Current research tends to conceptualise child
maltreatment in a developmental framework.
Research has indicated that child abuse and neglect can have the following
consequences on subsequent growth and development:
Personal
- Retarded cognitive development
- Poor self development
- Poor language development
- Diminished verbal skills
- Possible psychiatric disorders
- Lower self esteem
Interpersonal
- Inability to form meaningful relationships
- Lower in social maturity
- Diminished life coping skills
Increased likelihood of:
- Poor health
- Self destructive behaviours
- Homelessness & depression
- Abusing own children
- Future delinquency
- Adult crime - violence
- Substance abuse
- Personality abnormalities
- Youth suicide
- Violence or aggressive behaviour
- Sexual adjustment
These events have a significant impact upon an individual's ability to
function within society, specifically with employment, educational attainment,
relationship development, and parenting.
Many of these consequences also incur a significant cost to the community.
For example, it costs $60 000 per year to maintain one prisoner in
a high security jail cell.
In terms of child sexual abuse a recent study, Long Term Effects of Child Sexual
Abuse, (Paul Mullen and Jillian Fleming, Australian Institute
of Family Studies, Issues in Child Abuse Prevention, no. 9,
Autumn 1998), found that it is widely held that child sexual abuse is
a major cause of mental (and other) health problems when these children
are adults.
According to the study:
Child sexual abuse is not randomly distributed throughout the population.
It occurs more frequently in children from socially deprived and disorganised
family backgrounds
Marital dysfunction, as evidenced by parental separation
and domestic violence, is associated with higher risks of child sexual
abuse, and involves intrafamilial and extrafamilal perpetrators
Similarly,
there are increased risks of abuse with a step-parent in the family,
and when family breakdown results in institutional or foster care. Poor
parent-child attachment is associated with increased risk of child sexual
abuse, though it is not always easy to separate the impact of abuse
on intimate family relationships from the influence of poor attachments
on vulnerability to abuse
There is also a considerable overlap between
physical, emotional and sexual abuse, and children who are subject to
one form of abuse are significantly more likely to suffer other forms
of abuse
There is now an established body of knowledge clearly linking
a history of child sexual abuse with higher rates in adult life of depressive
symptoms, anxiety symptoms, substance abuse disorders, eating disorders
and post-traumatic stress disorders.
The findings of this study are supported by Professor
Kim Oates (Chief Executive
of the New Children's Hospital in Sydney)
who has carried out extensive research on the long term effects of child
abuse. Professor Oates says that:
almost half of sexually abused children are sad or depressed, have low
self-esteem and higher level of anxiety five years after the incident
nine years after the abuse, victims still had low levels of self-esteem,
were depressed, anxious, felt despair, had behavioural problems and were
more likely to have had adverse life experiences. They also were significantly
more likely to have been involved in self-induced vomiting and binge eating,
as well as amphetamine, cocaine and ecstasy use. It is quite clear that
the sexual abuse of children is something which in addition to the initial
adverse effects on the child and family has serious ongoing effects for
many of the children
These include suicide and other cause of death,
behavioural problems, low self-esteem, depression, and anti-social behaviour.
Treatment efforts should be directed towards these areas in the hope of
ameliorating some of the adverse consequences of abuse and neglect. (As
reported in the West Australian, 'More Children Victims of Abuse
and Neglect', 18 October 1999.)
The Response of the Church to Child Abuse
In recent times there has been media coverage of alleged child abuse
by the Church and discussion of how child abuse matters are dealt with
by various parts of organised religion in Australia.
Below is a selection of church related Internet links that give some background
information on this area, including examples of how some denominations
are responding to child abuse.
- Anglican Church of Australia's news
page with links to an apology to child abuse victims, 21 February 2002,
and their Child Protection Committee's progress
- Anglican Diocese of Brisbane
site links to the inquiry into past handling of complaints of sexual
abuse
- Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn pastoral
letter on child abuse
- Anglican Diocese of Sydney pastoral
letter on child abuse
- Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference Towards
Healing report, 2000, including an apology to victims in the introduction
- Australian Catholic Bishops Conference sexual abuse
page
- Pope's apology
to victims of sexual abuse, 22 November 2001, (in 'Life of the Ordained'
section)
- Uniting Church in Australia
letter to all congregations on child abuse, 2002.
One key response to child abuse in recent times has been the introduction
by most of the States and Territories of mandatory reporting of child
abuse. This means that medical practitioners, and often other professionals
such as teachers, police and health workers, are required by law to report
any suspected or actual cases of child abuse to the relevant authorities
for an overview of the mandatory reporting regime across Australia
see Appendix 4 of the AIHW publication Child Protection
Australia 200001.
(a) States/Territories
The basic framework of protection and support services aimed at preventing
child abuse and helping children and families affected by child abuse
is essentially a State responsibility. In essence there are two direct
strands of policies aimed at preventing and reducing child abuse child
protection services (the receiving and assessment of abuse cases, provision
and referral of clients to support services and the use of statutory responses
where necessary) and supported placement services (essentially 'out of
home' services to remove the child from harmful situations). The various
Departments of Community Services (or similar) in each State and Territory
provide the bulk of the services and support aimed at preventing and reducing
child abuse. According to the Report
on Government Services 2002 (Productivity Commission) there
was recurrent expenditure of $712 m in 200001 across Australia
on child protection and supported placement services.
The following links direct you to the relevant Departmental sites in
each State and Territory and also to a copy of the main legislation that
covers child protection in each jurisdiction.
(b) Commonwealth
In recent years there has been a trend towards a more systematic and
national approach with respect to child abuse issues and as a consequence
the Commonwealth has become more involved in the area of child abuse prevention
and child abuse monitoring. The role of the Commonwealth in this area
can perhaps be best divided into two parts an indirect role and a direct
role.
The Commonwealth's Indirect Role in Child Abuse Prevention
Many of the mainstream programs that the Commonwealth funds and administers
in the field of human and community services can be viewed as indirectly
impacting on the goal of child abuse prevention. These programs all help
to indirectly (and in some cases directly) protect children. For example:
- health (early prevention programs, immunisation programs)
- social security (the payment of an array of benefits to those in need)
- housing (rent assistance, programs under the Commonwealth-State Housing
Agreement and other joint programs like the Supported Accommodation
Program)
- disability services (programs funded under the Commonwealth-State-Territory
Disability Agreement)
- family policy (the 'Stronger Families Strategy' and various activities
of the Attorney General's Department and the Family Court that are designed
to help and strengthen families)
One of the major reasons why child abuse occurs is because families are
under some sort of stress (poverty, unemployment, illness or disability
etc.). The mainstream programs that the Commonwealth funds all are designed
to help individuals and families 'cope' better and be more able and equipped
to raise their children in a caring environment. Thus, much of what the
Commonwealth does in a whole range of portfolio areas can be viewed as
at least having some impact on protecting children. This impact, because
it covers such a wide range of activities, is essentially impossible to
quantify or measure in any meaningful way.
The Commonwealth's Direct Role in Child Abuse Prevention
The main role in child abuse prevention directly carried out by the Commonwealth
is via programs funded by the Department of Family and Community Services.
As well, to help provide advice to the Minister for Children and Youth
Affairs, there is the Australian
Council for Children and Parenting that provides a community perspective
on issues relating to children and parents, including child abuse prevention.
In 200102, the Commonwealth, via the Department of Family and Community
Services, outlaid about $4 million on direct child abuse prevention projects.
According to information provided to a recent Estimates Committee (Community
Affairs Legislation Committee Budget Estimates 200203, August 2002, Volume
1, p. 81), these projects were divided into three broad categories:
- Early Intervention Parenting ($3.4m) a range of projects run by
community groups aimed at child abuse prevention and improved parenting
- Good Beginnings Prototype Projects ($157 000) further projects
aimed at preventing child abuse
- National Child Protection Clearinghouse
($359 000) a major 'one stop' shop on research and background
on child abuse in Australia.
Tomorrow's Children A National Plan of Action Against the
Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children
The Commonwealth has also recently undertaken a National Plan to help
stop the commercial sexual exploitation of children. On 9 August 2000
the Federal Minister for Community Services, Larry
Anthony, launched Tomorrow's
Children Australia's National Plan of Action against the Sexual Exploitation
of Children, to help reduce the incidence of sexual exploitation of
children. Among the various recommendations contained in the Plan are:
- the need for early intervention programs to help prevent the risk
factors that lead to sexual abuse
- the need to constantly review existing legislation to ensure that
the new technologies are not an avenue for sexual exploitation
- the need to ensure that children are aware and understand what sexual
exploitation is
- the need for Australia to
continue efforts at international cooperation so that those who sexually
exploit children are caught and dealt with
- that Australia continue to
help countries where such exploitation is rife with a view to lessening
its incidence.
At the launch of the plan, Mr Anthony
said that Australia had recently
strengthened the legislation dealing with pornography on the Internet
and also with respect to Australians engaging in sex with children whilst
overseas. (The Age, 10 August 2000.)
An excellent Internet site containing a wealth of material and useful
links related to child abuse is that of the National Child Protection Clearinghouse.
The Clearinghouse is a key information and research resource on child
abuse and is part of the National Strategy for the Prevention of Child
Abuse and Neglect. It is funded by the Commonwealth Department of Family
and Community Services (FACS).
Child Protection Links
Commonwealth
General
International
For copyright reasons some linked items are only available to
Members of Parliament.
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