Child sexual abuse is a matter of concern in Australia, and is the subject of investigation and prosecution under the law, and of academic study into the prevalence, causes and social implications.
According to a report that recorded the types of child abuse reported in Australian states and territories in 2011–12, there were 48,420 substantiated cases of child endangerment, of which 5,828 were cases of sexual abuse.[1] Recent relevant cases include Madden v Callanan [2016] FCCA 59;[2] Hughes v R [2015] NSWCCA 330;[3] R v Maurice Van Ryn [2016] NSWCCA 1.[4]
Evidence from reports indicate that the majority of sexual assaults in Australia are undertaken by perpetrators known to the victims. According to a 2009 report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 42% of sexual assaults reported to law enforcement agencies in Australia that year took place against children under the age of 14; this statistic includes sexual assaults that adults said were committed against them when they were under the age of 14. The percentage of cases in which the child had a familial relationship with the perpetrator were: 26% of cases in southern Australia, over 20% of cases in the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania, 39% of cases in New South Wales, and 30% of cases in Queensland.[5]
In March 2014, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported that police had identified about 30 to 40 children under the care of the Department of Human Services of Victoria who have been abused by paedophile gangs.[6]
In March 2006, the ABC aired a show that contained allegations of large amount of child sexual abuse with Aboriginal communities. As a reaction, the government commissioned a report into child sexual abuse in the Northern Territory, which developed a report with recommendations. From this, there were a series of legislation passed that came to be known as "the intervention", as the government was intervening with these Northern Territory communities. However, this received widespread criticism and has been largely unsuccessful.[7]
Child sexual abuse has been connected to later emotional and behavioural problems in victims, and to an increased tendency toward alcoholism, depression, mental illness, and suicide.[8] In 2007 the Queensland Children's Commission reported that "[s]ome 70% of psychiatric patients are known to have been sexually abused as children".[9] A study carried out in 27 prisons in New South Wales found that 65% of male and female prisoners had been sexually and physically abused as children.[9]
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