According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2010 there were 28,500 victims of assault in Victoria, and of these about 1,500 victims were children under fifteen years of age.

From January 2008 to August 2010 Child Protection reported some 58,500 cases of child abuse, some 30,000 per year, to the police.

There appears to be a significant disparity between the number of reported cases of child abuse, some 30,000, to the actual number of crimes recorded against children, some 1,500, in 2010, which is 5%!

Others, such as Joe Tucci of the Australian Childhood Foundation, and Leza Muza of Bravehearts, also agree that many cases of childhood abuse go unreported, which would indicate that the above figures in respect to the actual numbers of child abuse could be even much higher. There is still a pervasive culture which does not place adequate value on our children nor understand the potential damage that such abuse may have on them.

These figures seem to suggest that up to 95% of children who are at risk of being victims of abuse are unaccounted for. We need to protect our children in order to protect their future and I would call on the State Government to further consider this issue.

If you are a victim of childhood abuse or know someone who is kindly contact Victims of Crime Counselling and Compensation Services on Freecall 1800 000 055 for further advice.

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