“Counting the Cost of Abuse”

1. “Counting the Cost of Abuse” Chief Federal Magistrate Pascoe, AO CVO

2. Prevalence of Child abuse and neglect 187,000 child protection notifications in 2009-10 31,000 of these notifications substantiated (AIHW, 2011) 18% of Australians experience abuse before the age of 15 (ABS Personal Safety Survey, 2005)

3. Economic costs of abuse Child abuse cost the Australian community $10.7 billion in 2007 (Access Economics, 2008); Cost of child abuse in 2002 was almost $5 billion (Keatsdale Consultants, 2003) By comparison, obesity costs the Australian community $8.3 billion annually (Access Economics, 2008)

4. Child sexual abuse by sub-region Andrews et al., Child sexual abuse, WHO, 2004

5. Impact of child neglect on brain development These images illustrate the negative impact of neglect on the developing brain. Left: CT scan of healthy 3 yr old with average head size. Right: 3 yr old child suffering from severe sensory-deprivation neglect. Brain is significantly smaller than average and has abnormal development of cortex

6. Prevention as solution $1.1 billion already spent on government programs designed to prevent child abuse (Access Economics, 2008) $2.5 billion spent on child protection and out-of-home care services on 2009-10 (Productivity Commission)

7. Prevention as solution “More importantly, the prevention of child abuse and neglect is a critical priority because of the social costs of child abuse and neglect and the imperative to prevent children from experiencing its devastating effects.” National Child Protection Clearinghouse, April 2011