A WA parliamentary question on notice seeks data on child sexual abuse inquiries and safety/wellbeing assessments, broken down by district, referrer type, and harm category, for September-October 2011. The response provides the requested data but notes that information on charges laid is not routinely collected by the Department of Child Protection.

AnsweredQoN 4941Legislative Council
Asked
2 November 2011
Portfolio
Child Protection

QuestionView source ↗

(1) For the period 1 September 2011 to 31 October 2011, what was the number of initial inquiries in relation to suspected child sexual abuse received by district and by category of mandated referrer?
(2) For the period 1 September 2011 to 31 October 2011, what was the number of Safety and Wellbeing Assessment with harm assessment, by district and by category of harm -
(a) neglect;
(b) sexual;
(c) physical abuse; and
(d) emotional abuse?
(3) Has Western Australia Police notified the Department of Child Protection that charges had been in respect of any of the Safety and Wellbeing Assessments recorded in the period 1 September 2011 to 31 October 2011?
(4) If yes to question (3), how many individuals were charged and what was the nature of these charges?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered
30 November 2011
Responded by
Minister for Child Protection
Response time
28 days
(1) There were 520 initial inquiries between 1 September and 31 October 2011 where the primary concern was sexual abuse, in the following districts:
Armadale - 29
Cannington - 15
Crisis Care - 222
East Kimberley - 4
Fremantle - 7
Goldfields - 17
Great Southern - 11
Joondalup - 42
Midland - 18
Mirrabooka - 31
Murchison - 18
Peel - 19
Perth - 21
Pilbara - 10
Rockingham - 20
South West - 19
West Kimberley - 3
Wheatbelt - 14
By category of mandated reporter:
Doctor - 41
Midwife - 2
Nurse - 26
Police officer - 197
Teacher or principal - 69
Non-mandated referrers - 185.
(2) There were 1,448 safety and wellbeing assessments with harm concerns recorded between 1 September and 31 October 2011, in the following districts:
Armadale - 112
Cannington - 118
Crisis Care - 154
East Kimberley - 33
Fremantle - 30
Goldfields - 67
Great Southern - 29
Joondalup - 136
Midland - 104
Mirrabooka - 169
Murchison - 74
Peel - 83
Perth - 76
Pilbara - 54
Rockingham - 60
South West - 83
West Kimberley - 26
Wheatbelt - 38
Other - 2.
By category of harm:
(a) Neglect - 491
(b) Sexual - 505
(c) Physical - 427
(d) Emotional/psychological - 467.
When disaggregated by harm type, the number of safety and wellbeing assessments exceeds the total as an assessment may include more than one harm type.
(3) These data are not routinely collected in the Department for Child Protection's client information system. Questions regarding charges should be referred to the Minister for Police.
(4) Not applicable.
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