Comparing Reports of Child Sexual and Physical Abuse Using Child Welfare Agency Data in Two Jurisdictions with Different Mandatory Reporting Laws

Ben Mathews,Kerryann Walsh,Leah Bromfield

doi:10.3390/socsci9050075

Abstract

Empirical analysis has found that mandatory reporting legislation has positive effects on case identification of child sexual abuse both initially and over the long term. However, there is little analysis of the initial and ongoing impact on child protection systems of the rate of reports that are made if a reporting duty for child sexual abuse is introduced, especially when compared with rates of reports for other kinds of child maltreatment. This research analysed government administrative data at the unique child level over a seven-year period to examine trends in reports of child sexual abuse, compared with child physical abuse, in two Australian states having different socio-legal dimensions. Data mining generated descriptive statistics and rates per 100,000 children involved in reports per annum, and time trend sequences in the seven-year period. The first state, Western Australia, introduced the legislative reporting duty in the middle of the seven-year period, and only for sexual abuse. The second state, Victoria, had possessed mandatory reporting duties for both sexual and physical abuse for over a decade. Our analysis identified substantial intra-state increases in the reporting of child sexual abuse attributable to the introduction of a new legislative reporting duty, and heightened public awareness resulting from major social events. Victoria experienced nearly three times as many reports of physical abuse as Western Australia. The relative burden on the child protection system was most clearly different in Victoria, where reports of physical abuse were relatively stable and two and a half times higher than for sexual abuse. Rates of children in reports, even at their single year peak, indicate sustainable levels of reporting for child welfare agencies. Substantial proportions of reports were made by both legislatively mandated reporters, and non-mandated community members, suggesting that government agencies would benefit from engaging with communities and professions to enhance a desirable reporting practice.

Highlights

Child sexual abuse causes substantial psychological, behavioural and physical harms which often continue through adolescence and endure through adulthood
In Western Australia, at the peak of reporting in 2012, this equated to 1 in 156 children being the subject of a report of suspected sexual abuse
The two states had not dissimilar levels of reporting of child sexual abuse, with intra-State increases attributable to the introduction of a new legislative reporting duty, and heightened public awareness resulting from major social events

Summary

Introduction

Child sexual abuse causes substantial psychological, behavioural and physical harms which often continue through adolescence and endure through adulthood Sexual abuse involves contact and non-contact sexual acts, inflicted by any adult or child in a position of power over the victim, to seek or obtain physical or mental sexual gratification, when the child does not have capacity to provide consent, or has capacity, but does not provide consent (Mathews and Collin-Vézina 2019). It is widespread worldwide, with meta-analyses finding prevalence rates of approximately 15–20% for girls, and 7–10% for boys (Barth et al 2013; Pereda et al 2009; Stoltenborgh et al 2011). In Ireland, a national study found that 30.4% of girls and 23.5% of boys experienced any kind of sexual abuse, and 12.8% of girls and 12% of boys experienced contact sexual abuse (McGee et al 2011)

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Discussion

Conclusion