For societies to flourish sociaIly and economicaIly, all children must have the opportunity to reach their physical, psychological, inteIlectual and social potential. For our most vulnerable children, including those at risk of abuse or neglect, we have a special duty of care. 1 —Professor Dorothy Scott, 2009
Child protection is a global challenge
Protecting children from exploitation and abuse is a global chaIlenge and an integral component of protecting their rights to survival and development. In 2009, UNICEF2 estimated that in excess of 300 miIlion children worldwide were being subjected to sexual exploitation and physical abuse, the worst forms of child slavery, prostitution, enforced child marriages to adult men, armed conflict (child soldiers) and harmful practices such as female genital mutilation. Some 1.2 miIlion children were known to have been trafficked worldwide each year and more than a miIlion children had been detained by law enforcement officials.
Child trafficking involves kidnapping children or deceiving parents that children will be given “domestic work” that is more likely to involve imprisonment in a brothel or a factory using child slave labour. Traffickers target the most impoverished rural families and those in debt. This is a highly lucrative business that is hard to address. Victims may be sent to western countries for child brothels and when located, they are arrested, detained then deported as illegal migrants. In 2009, it was reported that Australian and American families had unwittingly adopted Indian babies and toddlers who were not orphans but had been kidnapped and sold for adoption. UNICEF estimates that in Guatemala alone some 1,000 to 1,500 babies and toddlers are seized each year for the lucrative adoption market in North America and Europe.
UNICEF confirms that lax and uncaring community attitudes increase children’s vulnerability. Myths, such as the belief that HIV/AIDS can be cured through sex with virgins, sex tourism and the 4 billion dollar child pornography market have all added to children’s vulnerability to sexual exploitation3. UNICEF found that of the 1.39 million people involved in forced commercial sexual exploitation, 40-50% were children.
In addition, it is estimated that more than 130 million females have been subjected to primitive genital mutilation/cutting. This mainly affects girls from countries stretching from Senegal in West Africa to Somalia in East Africa and to Yemen in the Middle East, but it is also practised in some parts of south-east Asia. Reports from Europe, North America and Australia indicate that migrants from these regions take these practices with them4.
Child maltreatment in Australia
Children in out-of-home care
Every day in Australia, more than 30,000 children are living in out-of-home care. In addition, an unknown number of children are living with relatives. The number in care rose by an alarming 115% from 1998 to 2008. Most importantly, the rate of indigenous children in out-of-home care is almost nine times that of other children. Those found to have suffered sexual abuse or serious physical abuse or neglect can be removed from their homes by child protection authorities but this is usually undertaken only as a last resort. In 2008, 31% of children in out-of-home care were aged 10-14 years; 30% were aged 5-9 years, 25% were under 5 years and 14%, aged 15-17 years (2008)5. The increase in young children in care was attributed to (a) drug and alcohol abuse by parents and consequent mental illness and (b) immature mothers abandoning their children.
Ninety-five percent of children removed from their homes were placed in home-based care. The three categories are:
foster care – (50%) where care is provided in the private home of a substitute family that receives payment to cover the child’s living expenses
kinship care – (44%) where the caregiver is a family member or a person with a pre-existing relationship with the child
other “out-of-home” care such as motels, caravans and apartments with casual carers employed by private agencies. This is a major concern given that workers are often on 8-hour contracts and cannot provide continuity of care needed by young children. It is also a concern that minimally trained people are working with the most traumatised children in Australia. Cheap motels usually lack playgrounds. Children’s education is disrupted and they tend to eat in fast food outlets. School attendance may be spasmodic
Given the social factors involved, it is likely that the current trend will continue. Countless children are living with grandparents and other relatives because their mothers have been killed in car accidents, murdered or because they are immature and/or drug-dependent and have neglected or abandoned them.
Removal can provide safety in the short term but the child protection system can also be damaging. Children can be further traumatised when placed in emergency foster care followed by multiple foster homes supervised by multiple case-workers who organise multiple (failed) attempts to reunite them with their parents, often against children’s wishes. Worse, because of the shortage of foster placements, children may be housed in motels, caravan parks or apartments with minimally and inadequately trained carers employed by private agencies on daily contracts.
For several years, foster carers have been resigning at a faster rate than they can be recruited. In successive studies, they have registered dissatisfaction with conditions of service, inadequate compensation for essential expenses, bullying, lack of professional support and poor communications with predominantly young, inexperienced and inadequately trained case workers. They accused workers of failing to listen to and communicate with foster children, especially ignoring disclosures of re-abuse by their mothers and boyfriends on forced weekend visits6.
In addition, foster carers’ own children are at risk of sexual abuse if their foster children were victims of sexual abuse.
The child protection system in Australia
The protection of children in Australia is the responsibility of state and territory governments which fund departments, all using different and frequently changing nomenclatures. Children who come into contact with these departments include those who:
are suspected of being physically, emotionally or sexually abused, abandoned, neglected or otherwise harmed
have carers who are unwilling or unable to provide adequate care and protection
State child protection departments are legally required to provide assistance to these children through the provision of a range of government and/or non-government services that will provide practical, parenting or psychological help. Police make the largest proportion of notifications of child abuse to child protection services7. They are involved in cases of a criminal nature, that is, where there is sexual abuse or physical abuse or neglect that results in the serious injury or death of a child. Other government-funded services also play a part in protecting children. Paediatricians and health professionals are involved in the assessment of child abuse cases, and the delivery of medical and allied health care. Therapeutic and counselling services are often provided by child and youth mental health services.
Who reports child maltreatment?
All Australian, American and Canadian states have laws requiring certain professionals to report suspected cases and evidence of child abuse and neglect to statutory child protection authorities. Details of reporting requirements in Australia are set out in the Appendix to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s Annual Report, Child Protection Australia. Readers are urged to check the requirements for their state or territory and note the penalties for failing to report. In western countries that lack mandatory reporting laws, education authorities usually have regulations outlining the responsibilities of staff.
When reports of abuse are made, a social worker decides whether they should be dealt with by the child protection service or referred to family support agencies. The child protection service determines whether action is required. Family support cases are assessed and may be referred to non-government family services such as Anglicare or Barnados. At any point, the department can apply to the youth court to place a child on a care and protection order but that is usually a last resort when supervision