Exposing children to, or involving children in, incidences of domestic violence is being increasingly recognised as a form of child abuse throughout Australia. These children are often referred to as the ‘silent’ or ‘invisible’ victims. Witnessing domestic violence can have a vast range of psychological or behavioural effects on children. Depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, moodiness,…
DetailsSexting trends have surged recently in young people throughout Australia. Police and schools across the state are now having to deal with this issue regularly. There would hardly be a school in the state which has not had to respond to at least one incident of teens sending or possessing naked pictures of a girlfriend,…
DetailsChild sex abuse is an issue of serious concern in Australian Society with around 12 % of women and 4.5 % of men reporting incidences of sexual abuse prior to the age of 15 years. In 2008–09 there was 5,591 child abuse notifications for sexual abuse of children aged 17 years or less. However, the…
DetailsThe cost of alcohol’s harm to others is estimated to be around $14 billion annually in Australia. The increased prevalence of assaults on Friday and Saturday nights is an alarming trend throughout Victorian. On Friday and Saturday nights offenders arrested for assault make up more than 20% of all detained offenders with males aged between…
DetailsDespite the fact that the offence of sexual penetration of a child between the ages of 10 and 16 carries a maximum penalty of 10 years, sentences are consistently lenient offering very little restitution for victims. Imprisonment accounted for only 41% of offenders found guilty of sexual penetration of a child between the ages of…
DetailsStalking by adolescent usually occurs as a result of incidences of bullying as opposed to talking by adults which occurs largely due to rejection. The majority of stalking offenders are males who have had some form of prior relationship to the victim. Relationships can include former school peers, relatives and former partners with around 70%…
DetailsThe internet is an increasingly risky place for young males to spend time. It allows perverted persons to gain anonymous and often low-risk access to child victims for sexual exploitation. Online chat rooms, gaming sites and file transfer systems provide the tools for offenders to sexually abuse and exploit young males. Whilst young girls are…
DetailsCarrying a knife and using it, particularly amongst youth is an escalating problem within Australia. Police have emphasised this as an issue in need of attention and have recently cracked down on knife possession with a number of public searches and seizures, including at train stations. A survey showed that 57% of youths on the…
DetailsIn recent years the maximum penalty in Victoria for sexual penetration of a child under the age of 10 years has been increased from 20 to 25 years. This change has brought the offence in line with the statutory offence of rape. Extraordinarily, though,, once a child is age between 10 to 16 years, the…
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