❓ A WA parliamentary question seeks data on child sexual abuse and domestic violence reports and charges in the South West region for 2016-2018. The answer provides limited data on child protection notifications and redirects other queries to the Minister for Police.
AnsweredQoN 4056Legislative Assembly
Asked
13 September 2018
Member
Portfolio
Child Protection; Women's Interests; Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence; Community Services
QuestionView source ↗
(1) In each of the years 2016–2017 and 2017–2018, how many reports of suspected child sexual abuse were received in the South West region? (2) For each of the years specified in (1), how many of the suspected cases resulted in criminal charges? (3) In each of the years 2016–2017 and 2017–2018, how many domestic violence reports were recorded in the South West region? (4) For each of the years specified in (3), how many resulted in criminal charges? (5) In each of the years 2016–2017 and 2017–2018, how many family and domestic violence incidents in the South West were attended by police?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
16 October 2018
Responded by
Minister for Child Protection; Women's Interests; Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence; Community Services
Response time
7 days
(1) The number of child protection notifications where sexual abuse was one of the concerns reported to the Child Protection South West district [Please see Tabled Paper No.] were as follows:
A child protection notification can be made by anyone who is concerned that a child may be being abused or neglected.
If the person making the notification is classed as a Mandatory Reporter and has formed a belief that sexual harm has occurred to a child, a referral can be made directly to the Mandatory Reporting Service for assessment and follow up, as necessary.
The Children and Community Services Amendment (Reporting Sexual Abuse of Children) Act 2008 requires reporters (doctors, nurses, midwives, teachers and police) to make a report to the Department of Communities if they form a belief on reasonable grounds, in the course of their work, that a child has been or is subject to ongoing sexual abuse.
(2-5) Not applicable. The Department of Communities does not hold this information. This matter should be referred to the Minister for Police.
A child protection notification can be made by anyone who is concerned that a child may be being abused or neglected.
If the person making the notification is classed as a Mandatory Reporter and has formed a belief that sexual harm has occurred to a child, a referral can be made directly to the Mandatory Reporting Service for assessment and follow up, as necessary.
The Children and Community Services Amendment (Reporting Sexual Abuse of Children) Act 2008 requires reporters (doctors, nurses, midwives, teachers and police) to make a report to the Department of Communities if they form a belief on reasonable grounds, in the course of their work, that a child has been or is subject to ongoing sexual abuse.
(2-5) Not applicable. The Department of Communities does not hold this information. This matter should be referred to the Minister for Police.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.