Australian Child abuse reports double in four years
Pastor Dale Morgan
Australian Child abuse reports double in four years*
January 25, 2007 11:18am
Article from: AAP
REPORTS of child abuse have almost doubled in the past four years,
according to new figures.
But child welfare advocates believe the figure is the tip of the iceberg
and that upwards of 550,000 children were being abused or neglected
every year.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare figures showed there were
266,745 reports of child abuse in 2005-06, up 93 per cent on the 2001-02
figures.
Some 55,921 of those reports were substantiated - up 84 per cent on the
2001-02 figures.
The National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect
(NAPCAN) said the figures did not even come close to the true extent of
child abuse and neglect.
NAPCAN executive officer Adam Blakester said a radical new approach was
needed to combat the horrifying statistics.
"We need to establish community action networks in every town, city and
suburb to build the capacity of communities to support families, and the
capacity of families to raise children," Mr Blakester said.
"The fact that this is the seventh year running that every national
indicator of child abuse and neglect has worsened shows that what we are
doing is not good enough."