13th April, 2005

A report of a child being abused or neglected is made every two minutes in Australia, according to a new study.

The study, a joint initiative of children’s charity the Alannah and Madeline Foundation (AMF) and Melbourne’s La Trobe University, found that there were nearly 220,000 reported incidents of child abuse last year - a figure double that of five years ago and one which equates to one report every two minutes.

John Bertrand, AMF chairman, said research showed the figures were only the “tip of the iceberg” with countless cases of abuse never coming to light.

“Australia is currently facing a pandemic in relation to child abuse,” he said.

The study also found that of the 198,355 child abuse notifications made in 2002-2003 (a figure which increased to 219,384 in 2003-2004), some 40,416 were substantiated.

In 2002-2003 the most prevalent forms of abuse were emotional (34 per cent), physical (28 per cent), neglect (28 per cent) and sexual (10 per cent).

Mr Bertrand called on a greater collaborative effort by police, government, support agencies, not-for-profit organisations, business and the general community to address what he described as an “alarming issue”.

For more information, visit www.amf.org.au.

- DAVID ADAMS