Page 4748 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 10 November 2009
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and Mr Seselja proposing that matters of public importance be submitted to the Assembly. In accordance with standing order 79, Mr Speaker has determined that the matter proposed by Ms Le Couteur be submitted to the Assembly, namely:
The importance of tackling child abuse and neglect.
MS LE COUTEUR (Molonglo) (3.17): Today I would like to highlight the important work of many Australians and Canberrans in the area of child protection. From 6 September through to 1 November 2009, the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, NAPCAN, conducted Australia’s largest ever survey on community attitudes. This survey will assist NAPCAN and other agencies to further improve care and protection across the country.
NAPCAN seeks to motivate and empower all individuals within the community to be part of a process that will prevent child abuse. This vital organisation keeps this critical issue on the agenda year after year by providing leading advocacy in the area of prevention of child abuse and neglect.
It is important that we understand and acknowledge the true meaning of the term “child abuse”. It is physical abuse, aggressive acts towards a child; psychological abuse, which includes rejecting or not providing emotional support and care; sexual abuse—any sexual activity between a child and an adult or older person who is five years or more older; neglect—failure to provide for a child’s basic needs, including not providing enough food, shelter or supervision; and witnessing family violence—a child being present, either seeing or hearing, while a parent or sibling is subjected to physical, sexual or psychological abuse or is exposed to damage caused by the abuser.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child has been ratified by the Australian government and is recognised by jurisdictions within Australia as a tool for legislative and policy improvement. NAPCAN notes that the convention:
… incorporates the whole spectrum of human rights—civil, political, economic, social and cultural—and sets out the specific ways these rights should be ensured for children and young people.
It says:
The CRC recognises that the degree to which children can exercise these rights independently is influenced by their evolving maturity. It also emphasises the rights and responsibilities of parents where applicable.
Despite our recognition of this convention, the figures in Australia are alarming. One child is abused in Australia every nine minutes according to statistics on substantiated instances of child abuse. And a child abuse report is made in Australia every two minutes. Indigenous children are five times more likely to be subject to a substantiated notification than other children and seven times more likely to be in care. The number of children in care has increased by a third from 2002 to 2006, with 25,454 children in state care in Australia.
If we are being honest, it is difficult to even say these things in public, let alone hear and believe that they are actually happening in our communities. On these numbers,
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