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Developments in Australian laws requiring the reporting of suspected child sexual abuse

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 February 2016

Ben Mathews ,
Chris Goddard ,
Bob Lonne ,
Stephanie Short  and
Freda Briggs
Ben Mathews
Affiliation:
Faculty of Law, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Email: b.mathews@qut.edu.au
Chris Goddard
Affiliation:
Child Abuse Prevention Research Australia, Monash University, Victoria
Bob Lonne
Affiliation:
Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove Campus
Stephanie Short
Affiliation:
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney
Freda Briggs
Affiliation:
University of South Australia
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Abstract

Thousands of Australian children are sexually abused every year, and the effects can be severe and long lasting. Not only is child sexual abuse a public health problem, but the acts inflicted are criminal offences. Child sexual abuse usually occurs in private, typically involving relationships featuring a massive imbalance in power and an abuse of that power. Those who inflict child sexual abuse seek to keep it secret, whether by threats or more subtle persuasion. As a method of responding to this phenomenon and in an effort to uncover cases of sexual abuse that otherwise would not come to light, governments in Australian States and Territories have enacted legislation requiring designated persons to report suspected child sexual abuse. With Western Australia’s new legislation having commenced on 1 January 2009, every Australian State and Territory government has now passed these laws, so that there is now, for the first time, an almost harmonious legislative approach across Australia to the reporting of child sexual abuse. Yet there remain differences in the State and Territory laws regarding who has to make reports, which cases of sexual abuse are required to be reported, and whether suspected future abuse must be reported. These differences indicate that further refinement of the laws is required.

Type
Research Article
Information
Children Australia , Volume 34 , Issue 3 , 2009 , pp. 18 - 23
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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