NT indigenous child abuse rate rises 30pc in past year

The rate of child abuse substan­tiations involving NT indigenous children has jumped by almost 30 per cent in a year

The rate of child abuse substan­tiations involving Northern Territory indigenous children has jumped by almost 30 per cent in a year to its highest level in a decade, a government report out today says.

The overall rate rose by about 23 per cent in the same ­period, masking a slight decline in abuse and neglect substan­tiations in the non-indigenous population.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s Children’s Headline Indicators study showed an average of 33.7 confirmed cases of sexual, physical or emotional abuse or neglect per 1000 children in 2016–17 compared with 27.3 a year earlier.

The rate of substantiated child abuse in the NT was still almost three times higher than the next highest jurisdiction, Victoria, at 12.4 cases per 1000 children.

Children under one were ­proportionally over-represented among victims across Australia.

The changes do not necessarily imply corresponding vari­ations in the actual numbers of youngsters being maltreated. It could be that authorities were more or less vigilant or that greater or fewer numbers of children and their carers came forward.

In 2007–08, the official rate of abuse and neglect was 13.2 substantiated cases per 1000 children in the NT compared with six in Victoria. The Australian average was 7.5 then, and 10 now.

A case is substanti­ated once authorities have received an allegation, chosen to investigate and judged a designated form of maltreatment did occur.

The study showed that nationwide, indigenous children were 7.1 times more likely than non-­indigenous to fall victim to substantiated abuse or neglect. The over-representation was blamed on past policies, lower socio-economic status and “perceptions arising from cultural differences in child-rearing practices”.

The rise in the rate of NT child abuse substantiations was because of more cases being detected involving indigenous children. Whereas the rate in non-indigenous kids was seven per 1000 in 2015–16 and 6.6 last year, the corresponding rates in indigenous NT children were 56.3 and 72.8 respectively — a 29 per cent jump.

The AIHW report looked at 19 indicators in total. As well as highlighting an “unfavourable increase” in child abuse and neglect nationwide, it pointed to an “unfavourable decrease” in immunisations over the decade to 2017.

Teenage birth rates for women aged 15–19 years dipped from 17.6 per 1000 to 11.4 averaged across Australian between 2006 and 2015. The decline was particularly marked in the NT, from 63.6 in 2006 to 39.7 in 2015.

The report’s figures on child abuse and neglect considered only children up to 12 years.