29 June 2007
Two leading child protection organisations, the Australian Childhood Foundation and the National Research Centre for the Prevention of Child Abuse at Monash University have today called on the Australian Government to extend its effort to tackle child abuse and adopt an urgent 12 point action plan to ensure that all Australian children are better protected from abuse and neglect.
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| Professor Chris Goddard, Director of the National Research Centre for the Prevention of Child Abuse, Monash University. |
Dr Joe Tucci, CEO of the Australian Childhood Foundation said child abuse is a national emergency, not only for children in Indigenous communities.
"In Australia, there has not been a formal national child abuse prevention strategy since 1990, despite the fact that there are more than 25,000 abused or neglected children each night who are forced to live away from their family for their own protection," Dr Tucci said.
"The number of reports of child abuse has more than doubled from 115,471 in 2000/2001 to 266,000 in 2005/06. An exclusive focus on abuse in Indigenous communities makes it easier for governments and the public to deny the extent to which children are violated on a daily basis throughout Australia," added Dr Tucci.
Professor Chris Goddard, Director of the National Research Centre for the Prevention of Child Abuse at Monash University said the Federal Government has taken an important first step.
"A law enforcement approach is one strategy to protect children. However, a national emergency requires truly national solutions that are sustained over time. It is critical that community commitment to child protection is now harnessed with structural reform."
The 12 point action plan jointly released by the Australian Childhood Foundation and the National Research Centre for the Prevention of Child Abuse at Monash University emphasises the implementation of a series of interconnected strategies aimed at making a real difference to the protection of all Australian children from abuse and neglect.
1. Develop and Implement a National Child Abuse Prevention Strategy.
Australia has not had a national child abuse prevention strategy since 1990. A well funded national strategy, like those in place for depression and homelessness, will drive innovation in practice and build co-operative and sustainable programs.
2. Establish the position of National Children's Commissioner with matching positions in every state and territory.
A national independent Children's Commissioner will review the effectiveness of Australian government policies at all levels in relation to the protection of and support for children. State and territory commissioners will undertake this role at state and territory levels. Each commission should include an Indigenous child guardian with the watching brief to ensure that the failure to respond to the needs of Indigenous children will not be repeated.
3. Establish a National Child Protection Inspectorate to regularly inspect, audit and review the effectiveness of state-run children's services, child protection systems and out of home care.
Over the past five years, there has been a major inquiry about failures in most state based child protection systems. Yet, there is no systematic review or comparison of their effectiveness. As in the United Kingdom, a National Child Protection Inspectorate will regularly audit all state run child protection systems and related support services and make independent recommendations for reform.
4. Develop and implement a national child abuse and child protection research plan.
There has been no investment in research into child abuse and child protection. A fully funded national research plan will provide the evidence required to create effective initiatives to prevent abuse and reduce the harm caused to children.
5. Establish co-operative approaches with state and territory governments to introduce uniform national child protection legislation.
Without uniform child protection legislation, there is a lack of consistency of approach, unreliable data collection and inadequate resourcing. Children must not receive different levels of protection according to where they live.
6. Provide sustainable funding for a National Child Abuse Community Education Program.
There has never been a national child abuse awareness program in Australia. Our research has consistently demonstrated that child abuse rates lower than problems with roads and footpaths and council rates on a list of community concerns. A third of adults have said that they would not necessarily believe children who disclose abuse to them. Without accurate understanding, the general public will not feel confident about how best to respond to children who are being abused. A sustained national education program is essential in building long term community engagement with the efforts to prevent abuse and protect children.
7. Implement a national child protection workforce strategy with HECS exempt postgraduate courses and scholarships.
There is a national shortage of appropriately trained social work and welfare practitioners to fill key child protection roles. No improvements will be possible without an adequately trained workforce. In conjunction with Indigenous communities, there is an urgent need to develop a similar plan for an Indigenous child protection and child welfare workforce.
8. Implement a national visiting nurse service for all Australian children up to primary school age.
All infants in Australia should receive regular health and welfare checks by suitably qualified early childhood nurses. This needs to incorporate outreach services for hard to reach and vulnerable families. These programs have been proven internationally to reduce the incidence of child abuse and neglect.
9. Conduct an urgent review of training about child abuse in medical, education, and legal courses.
There is an inadequate emphasis on child abuse and protection in the qualifying courses for all key professional disciplines dealing with children. It is critical that knowledge about child abuse is better urgently incorporated into the training of all these disciplines.
10. Conduct a national review of and co-ordinated plan for improving the out of home care system for children removed from their family for their own protection.
Out of home care systems in many areas of Australia are in crisis. Without a nationally coordinated plan to improve placement options and resources for children in need of protection, all other reform measures will be jeopardised.
11. Establish regional child protection consultations to reflect local needs and requirements, in particular to ensure support by Indigenous communities.
A lack of community consultation will reduce support by local communities for initiatives aimed at improving the welfare of children. All plans should be based on long term commitment to forming genuine partnerships that will work towards systemic and sustainable change to better protect children from abuse and neglect.
12. Re-establish immediately the position of Federal Minister for Children.
The Australian Government should re-establish the position of Minister for Children abolished following the 2004 election. The Minister for Children should be a senior cabinet role with the mandate to oversee the implementation of government policy affecting Australian children.
Dr Joe Tucci, CEO of the Australian Childhood Foundation is available for interview on 0418 991 766. The Australian Childhood Foundation is national not for profit organisation that provides specialist trauma counselling to child victims of abuse, as well as providing education, prevention and research programs.
Professor Chris Goddard is available for interview on 0409 146 896. He is Director of the National Research Centre for the Prevention of Child Abuse at Monash University.
For further information, please contact Steve Pogonowski, Media Communication, on 9905 1253 or 0417 568 781 . | 
