WA Parliamentary Question on Notice regarding the number of reported STIs, both generally and specifically for children in the care of the CEO, broken down by region and financial year. The response provides the requested data and outlines measures to address sexual abuse and STIs.

AnsweredQoN 929Legislative Assembly
Asked
10 October 2023
Portfolio
Child Protection

QuestionView source ↗

(1) By region, what is the number of sexually transmitted infections reported to the Department for the following periods: (a) 2020-2021 ; (b) 2021-2022 ; and (c) 2022-2023 ? (2) Have any children contracted a sexually transmitted infection while in the care of the CEO and, if yes, what are the numbers by region for the following periods: (a) 2020-2021; (b) 2021-2022; and (c) 2022-2023?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered
13 February 2024
Responded by
Minister for Child Protection
Response time
16 days
The Department of Communities (Communities) advises:
(1)   The Department of Health notify Communities of confirmed cases of a notifiable sexually transmitted infection for children under the age of 14.  The below answer refers to the total number of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) for all ages reported to Communities.
(a)
North Metropolitan Region – 1
South Metropolitan Region - 3
Goldfields Region - 2
Kimberley Region - 14
Midwest Gascoyne Region - 5
Pilbara Region - 5
(b)
North Metropolitan Region – 1
South Metropolitan Region – 7
Goldfields Region – 3
Kimberley Region – 5
Pilbara Region – 2
South West Region – 1
(c)
North Metropolitan Region – 3
South Metropolitan Region – 3
Goldfields Region – 1
Kimberley Region – 8
Midwest Gascoyne Region – 1
South West Region – 1
(2)   Through the Mandatory Reporting Interagency Training Group, Communities works to address sexual abuse, early onset of sexual activity and STIs. This group is delivering increased education around mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse, indicators of sexual abuse including STIs, harmful sexual behaviours and managing disclosure and reporting pathways into Communities.
Symptoms of STIs take time to appear. Therefore, infections may already be present in children who come into the care of the CEO. The below answer refers to the total number of children in the care of the CEO with a STI.
(a)
North Metropolitan Region – 1
Goldfields Region – 1
Kimberley Region – 2
Midwest Gascoyne Region – 1
Pilbara Region - 3
(b)
North Metropolitan Region – 1
Kimberley Region – 2
(c)
North Metropolitan Region – 1
South Metropolitan Region – 1
South West Region – 1

Explore WA Government Data

Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.

Explore more