Child 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 true figure is likely to be much higher as many incidences of child sexual abuse go unreported.

Underreporting may be due to the fact that child sex abuse can take many forms, unbeknown to many people. ‘Child sex abuse’ includes contact of a sexual nature (eg. fondling genitals, genital penetration, masturbation) as well as non-contact behaviours (eg. Exposing genitals to a child, exposing the child to pornography).

Victims of child sex abuse crimes  are entitled to make a Crimes Compensation application. For more information or assistance on a child sex abuse matters call Victims of Crime Counselling Services on Freecall 1800 000 055.

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