Type:	Report
Title:	Childhood abused : the pandemic nature and effects of abuse and domestic violence on children in Australia
Authors:	Brown, David F Endekov, Zoran
Keywords:	Impact on children and young people;Child protection;Statistics
Year:	2005
Publisher:	The Alannah & Madeline Foundation
Notes:	The Executive Summary can be downloaded from http://www.amf.org.au/downloads/ChildhoodAbusedExecutiveSummary2005.pdf. This report is the result of a joint partnership between the Alannah and Madeline Foundation, and the La Trobe University, Melbourne. Its aim is to present an overview of current data and literature on the linked problems of child abuse and domestic violence in Australia. In 2003-04, there were 219,384 reports of suspected child abuse and neglect, which amounts to 1 child being reported in Australia every 2 minutes, or about 1 report of child abuse for every 25 children. It finds that most State and Territory Child Welfare Departments do not investigate reports of child abuse by non custodial parents when family court proceedings are taking place, since family courts do not have the investigative capacity to do so. It cites estimates of between 30% and 60% of children exposed to domestic violence also suffering some form of abuse. It suggests that environments where both domestic violence and child abuse occur also represent the greatest risk to children’s safety. These children experience a diminished quality of life and consequently, adults who were abused as children are also at greater risk of facing problems later in life, including: suicide attempts, anxiety and depression, dissociative disorders, drug and alcohol abuse, juvenile delinquency, homelessness, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The major classifications of child abuse indicate the most prevalent forms of abuse in 2002-03 include: emotional abuse (34%); physical abuse (28%); neglect (28%); and sexual abuse (10%). It concludes that the multi-factorial nature of child abuse calls for a diversity of remedial and preventative services, including both at an individual and at a societal level, requiring greater education, information dissemination, community and support services.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/19276
Appears in Collections:	Reports

Items in ANROWS library are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.