NCJ Number
73404
Date Published
1980
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Factors hindering child abuse reporting, and official schemes for encouraging the reporting of maltreatment in Australia are surveyed.
Abstract
Though great international efforts have been made to set up effective child reporting systems, individuals are reluctant to report maltreatment to agencies outside the family. Reasons for this reluctance are partly rooted in social attitudes toward the family and include belief in the autonomy and privacy of the family and in the value of physical punishment in the upbringing of children. The lack of clear-cut criteria for identifying child abuse, and the fear that the report will result in legal liability, are further deterrents to reporting. Three approaches have been taken in various Australian jurisdictions to overcome public reluctance to report child abuse. Following the example of the United States, Australia now possesses reporting statutes guaranteeing legal immunity for all reports made in good faith. Though several jurisdictions have also introduced compulsory reporting legislation, the legislation is limited to physical abuse and to neglect precipitating physical manifestations, while in the United States sexual molestation and emotional or mental neglect are often also reportable conditions. Like Great Britain, Western Autralia has no reporting legislation but maintains a network of registers to which notifications are made on a voluntary basis. None of these schemes has met with the anticipated success, and underreporting, even among doctors and hospitals, still remains a serious problem. The article concludes that reporting schemes must not be regarded as alternatives for appropriate rehabilitative services and should not become the focus of a child abuse program. Included are 15 references.