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- During 2012-13, there were 184,216 Australian children suspected of being harmed or at risk of harm from abuse and\/or neglect. This resulted in 272,980 notifications being issued by state and territory authorities (a rate of 35.5 notifications per 1,000 Australian children). <\/li>\n
- Between 2011-12 and 2012-13 the total number of notifications increased by almost 8 per cent from the 252,962 reports made in the previous year[1]<\/a>. <\/li>\n
- Most allegations of harm\/risk of harm relate to physical abuse (20%) or sexual abuse (13%).\u00a0\u00a0 However, the harm types most commonly substantiated were emotional abuse and child neglect.<\/li>\n
- In a survey of child protection workers, 57 per cent and 42 per cent, respectively, of workers reported they thought parents had total or a great deal of responsibility for the safety of children.\u00a0 Eight per cent and 65 per cent, respectively, of child protection workers thought the government had total or a great deal of responsibility for the safety of children.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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\n[1]<\/a> While these numbers may reflect an actual change in the magnitude of child maltreatment in Australia, it is also possible that the numbers of notifications may reflect changes in legislation, public awareness, and\/or child protection process enquiries.<\/p>\n
Survey Results Analysis <\/h2>\n
More than 2,440 people responded to the Relationships Australia online survey in May, with more than eighty per cent of survey respondents (81%) identifying as female.<\/p>\n
As was the case for last month\u2019s survey, more females than males responded in every age group (see figure below).\u00a0 Eighty-five per cent of survey respondents were aged between 20\u201159 years, with one\u2011quarter of responses contributed by women aged between 30-39 years (inclusive).<\/p>\n
The demographic profile of survey respondents remains consistent with our experience of the groups of people that would be accessing the Relationships Australia website.<\/p>\n
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![](\"https:\/\/www.relationships.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/Maysurveygraph1.jpg\")
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There were small but significant differences between the responses of men and women.\u00a0 Women were more likely to attribute higher levels of responsibility (a great deal or total responsibility) for the safety of children to extended family, the local community, State and Territory governments, the Australian Government or society than men (see figure below).\u00a0 The reports of men and women were similar when asked whether they considered the safety of children to be the responsibility of parents.<\/p>\n
Visitors to our website who participated in the online monthly survey reported that they thought total responsibility (55%) or a great deal of responsibility (43%) for child safety rested with parents.\u00a0 Only ten per cent of respondents reported that they thought total responsibility for child safety rested with extended family, while more than half of respondents (56%) considered that a great deal of responsibility for child safety rested with extended family.\u00a0 Between 7 and 10 per cent of survey respondents thought that total responsibility for the safety of children lay with the community, government or society, while between 39 and 45 per cent reported that they considered a great deal of responsibility for the safety of children lay with the local community, government or society.<\/p>\n
The survey responses of Relationships Australia website visitors are consistent with the reports of child protection workers in the study of Macarthur et al. (2011).\u00a0 Similar to child protection workers, Relationships Australia online survey participants recognise parents as most responsible for the safety of children, but family, the broader community and governments also have a great deal of responsibility in keeping children safe.<\/p>\n
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![](\"https:\/\/oldra.mooball.biz\/what-we-do\/research\/online-survey\/may-2015-child-safety\/\/..\/..\/..\/..\/images\/Maysurveygraph2.jpg\")
<\/p>\nReferences <\/h2>\n
National Framework for Protecting Australia\u2019s Children 2009\u20132020, available at https:\/\/www.dss.gov.au\/our-responsibilities\/families-and-children\/publications-articles\/protecting-children-is-everyones-business<\/a><\/p>\n