❓ Hon. Sue Ellery asks about reports of child abuse in WA for May 2009, including breakdowns by district, reporter type, and charges laid. The Minister provides detailed figures on notifications, investigations, and charges related to child sexual abuse, neglect, physical, and emotional abuse.
AnsweredQoN 979Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
(1) As at 31 May 2009, what was the number of reports of suspected child sexual abuse received during that month, by district and by category of mandated reporter?
(2) As at 31 May 2009, what was the number of suspected child sexual abuse investigations recorded during that month?
(3) As at 31 May 2009, what was the number of individuals charged as a result of a report of suspected child sexual abuse. What was the nature of the charges?
(4) As at 31 May 2009, what was the number of reports of suspected child abuse in the categories of, -
(a) neglect;
(b) physical abuse; and
(c) emotional abuse?
(2) As at 31 May 2009, what was the number of suspected child sexual abuse investigations recorded during that month?
(3) As at 31 May 2009, what was the number of individuals charged as a result of a report of suspected child sexual abuse. What was the nature of the charges?
(4) As at 31 May 2009, what was the number of reports of suspected child abuse in the categories of, -
(a) neglect;
(b) physical abuse; and
(c) emotional abuse?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
8 September 2009
Responded by
Minister for Child Protection
Response time
28 days
(1) The Department's June reporting snapshot shows there were 209 notifications of suspected child sexual abuse that were received in the month of May 2009. 104 of these arose from Mandatory Reports made to the Department. There were 114 Mandatory Reports made to the Department during this period.
A notification is a report of concern about a child where each child in the referral is counted as one notification as per nationally agreed counting rules for the reporting of child protection statistics. Repeat or additional referrals about the same child/incident are not counted as a notification. Mandatory Reports are counted at the referral level rather than by the number of children in the Mandatory Report. Unlike notifications, repeat or additional referrals about the same child/incident are counted when reporting the number of Mandatory Reports received.
The 104 Notifications of suspected child sexual abuse from Mandatory Reports by District are as follows:
· Armadale 4
· Joondalup 5
· Midland 13
· Mirrabooka 2
· Perth 4
· Rockingham 7
· Goldfields 3
· Great Southern 3
· Kimberley (West) 5
· Murchison 4
· Peel 5
· Pilbara 3
· South West 9
· Wheatbelt 4
· Crisis Care 28
· ChildFIRST 5
The 104 Notifications of suspected child sexual abuse from Mandatory Reports by Referrer are as follows:
· Doctor 36
· Nurse 15
· Teacher 34
· Police Officer 19
The 209 Notifications of suspected child sexual abuse by district are as follows:
· Armadale 11
· Cannington 11
· Fremantle 6
· Joondalup 12
· Midland 19
· Mirrabooka 10
· Perth 6
· Rockingham 14
· Goldfields 7
· Great Southern 10
· Kimberley (East) 2
· Kimberley (West) 6
· Murchison 11
· Peel 11
· Pilbara 9
· South West 18
· Wheatbelt 5
· Crisis Care 33
· ChildFIRST 8
The 209 Notifications by referrer are as follows:
· Doctor 36
· Nurse 16
· Teacher 42
· Police Officer 49
· Other not mandated reporters 66
(2) During the month of May 2009, there were 53 cases where it was determined that a child protection investigation was required where the matter related to suspected child sexual abuse.
(3)Information provided by the WA Police shows that during the month of May 2009, 18 offenders were apprehended and charged with 43 offences as a direct result of Mandatory Reports. The offences included sexual penetration, indecent dealing and physical assaults.
In relation to this data, it is important to note the Mandatory Report figures are not entirely representative of the arrests made and the charges referred by WA Police with respect to child sexual abuse. WA Police, specifically the Sex Crime Division, can provide broader statistical data.
(4) There were 884 notifications received between 1 May 2009 and 31 May 2009, the primary nature of concern for these notifications were as follows:
· sexual abuse (209 notifications)
· neglect (287 notifications)
· physical abuse (199)
· emotional abuse (120)
· psychological abuse (14)
· no suitable caregiver (8)
· primary nature of concern has not been recorded as yet (47).
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
A notification is a report of concern about a child where each child in the referral is counted as one notification as per nationally agreed counting rules for the reporting of child protection statistics. Repeat or additional referrals about the same child/incident are not counted as a notification. Mandatory Reports are counted at the referral level rather than by the number of children in the Mandatory Report. Unlike notifications, repeat or additional referrals about the same child/incident are counted when reporting the number of Mandatory Reports received.
The 104 Notifications of suspected child sexual abuse from Mandatory Reports by District are as follows:
· Armadale 4
· Joondalup 5
· Midland 13
· Mirrabooka 2
· Perth 4
· Rockingham 7
· Goldfields 3
· Great Southern 3
· Kimberley (West) 5
· Murchison 4
· Peel 5
· Pilbara 3
· South West 9
· Wheatbelt 4
· Crisis Care 28
· ChildFIRST 5
The 104 Notifications of suspected child sexual abuse from Mandatory Reports by Referrer are as follows:
· Doctor 36
· Nurse 15
· Teacher 34
· Police Officer 19
The 209 Notifications of suspected child sexual abuse by district are as follows:
· Armadale 11
· Cannington 11
· Fremantle 6
· Joondalup 12
· Midland 19
· Mirrabooka 10
· Perth 6
· Rockingham 14
· Goldfields 7
· Great Southern 10
· Kimberley (East) 2
· Kimberley (West) 6
· Murchison 11
· Peel 11
· Pilbara 9
· South West 18
· Wheatbelt 5
· Crisis Care 33
· ChildFIRST 8
The 209 Notifications by referrer are as follows:
· Doctor 36
· Nurse 16
· Teacher 42
· Police Officer 49
· Other not mandated reporters 66
(2) During the month of May 2009, there were 53 cases where it was determined that a child protection investigation was required where the matter related to suspected child sexual abuse.
(3)Information provided by the WA Police shows that during the month of May 2009, 18 offenders were apprehended and charged with 43 offences as a direct result of Mandatory Reports. The offences included sexual penetration, indecent dealing and physical assaults.
In relation to this data, it is important to note the Mandatory Report figures are not entirely representative of the arrests made and the charges referred by WA Police with respect to child sexual abuse. WA Police, specifically the Sex Crime Division, can provide broader statistical data.
(4) There were 884 notifications received between 1 May 2009 and 31 May 2009, the primary nature of concern for these notifications were as follows:
· sexual abuse (209 notifications)
· neglect (287 notifications)
· physical abuse (199)
· emotional abuse (120)
· psychological abuse (14)
· no suitable caregiver (8)
· primary nature of concern has not been recorded as yet (47).
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
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.