Source: Young, L. & Brooks, R. 1989, The profile of child abuse and neglect in NSW, NSW Department of Family & Community Services. Figure 2: Children (aged <16 years)="" subject="" to="" substantiated="" child="" maltreatment:="" nsw="" 1987="" :="" relationship="" of="" maltreatment="" of="" child="" by="" sex="" of=""> Note: N = 2,137 (171 children where relationship of abuser to child no known excluded from analysis) Source: Young, L. & Brooks, R. 1989, The profile of child abuse and neglect in NSW, NSW Department of Family & Community Services. Figure 2 shows that whilst a similar percentage of boys and girls were abused by strangers, 40 per cent of boys were assaulted by a family member and 56 per cent by a known person. For girls the pattern is reversed, where 56 per cent are assaulted by a family member and 40 per cent by a known person. However, the numbers reported show girls to be three times more likely than boys to be victims of sexual assault. These figures demonstrate, amongst other things, the problem faced by welfare authorities in substantiating allegations of abuse, particularly sexual abuse. The Department of Health and Social Security in Britain has advised doctors that serious suspicion of child sexual abuse should be aroused when the child makes a clear, unambiguous, verbal allegation of abuse. If this is a spontaneous allegation, it would be most unusual for this to be a fabrication. Exceptions to this might be where a spontaneous allegation is made following access visits to which the child is known to be antagonistic for other reasons, or if allegations are made by an adolescent caught up in a parental dispute such as divorce or custody proceedings. This could reduce suspicion to a moderate level. (Department of Health and Social Security 1988). Because an allegation of child sexual abuse provokes such strong emotions, and because of the serious consequences both to the family and to the alleged offender, it is particularly important to ensure that a balanced appraisal is made. What are the Effects of Child Abuse? I never felt my mother loved me as she loved the others. Perhaps she didn't even like me. Certainly there were times when I felt she hated me ... what makes one go on striving for attention, affection, recognition, acceptance and even that nebulous commodity, love, when the rewards are so very small and so very seldom forthcoming? I know why I kept going. When you have been conditioned to believe that you're not worth much, that you're inferior in some way, then your own standards and expectations are not very high ... a few crumbs keep you going. There's not very much of the little boy left in me now: very little of the frustrated, hurt little boy. But what there is of him still seeks attention, still seeks approval and probably always will. My old physical injuries have healed well, but many emotional traumas are proving extremely slow to mend. Some appear to develop healthy scar tissue, then it sloughs off unexpectedly, once more exposing the original, raw, sensitive wound inflicted many, many years ago. I accept now that a few will never heal completely. (Willich 1978) In a study to determine invulnerability in abused and neglected children, Farber and Egeland (1987, p. 286) concluded that "we ... do not believe that many children can develop coping skills AND be emotionally healthy in a chronically abusive or neglectful environment". There is evidence that the immediate effects of abuse can be catastrophic for children, resulting in mental retardation, brain damage or death. The long-term consequences can also be devastating and leave physical and emotional scars which result in psychiatric illness, inability to form meaningful relationships, and unusual aggressiveness which may be turned inward - youth suicide has doubled in the last twenty years (Kosky 1987) - or outward as assaultive behaviour replicating the abuse inflicted upon them. Eckersley (1988) and the Burdekin Report (1989) both refer to disenfranchised and disillusioned adolescents who are victims of child abuse and family fragmentation. Drug addiction, prostitution, homelessness, alcohol abuse, and violent crime have persistently been linked to the damaging environments which the "junkie", the "hooker", the "drunk" and "crim" experienced as children (Women's Co-operation Unit, Premiers Department NSW 1987). In a study of sexual offenders, for example, (Abel et al. 1983) it was found that nearly half of them had been child victims of abuse. Finkelhor (1984 and 1986) proposes that early experiences have a powerful outcome on adult behaviour for the victim to become the powerful aggressor in attempting to banish the hurt, powerless child victim inside. Studies of parents who physically abuse or neglect their children have found that they frequently report extreme violence in their own childhood, and an abusive childhood has been documented as the most consistent factor in the histories of these parents. They rarely experienced nurturing, trusting relationships with their own care-givers and report a feeling of intense pervasive continuous demands, criticism and resentment from them (Steele & Pollock 1968; Spinetta & Rigler 1972; Ounsted & Lynch 1976; Sullivan 1978). Recent Australian studies (Oates 1985; Lynch 1986) confirm that the long-term consequences of abusive childhoods leave lasting damage in the way in which those adults relate to their own children. What causes Child Abuse and who are the abusers? There is no consensus amongst researchers about the causes of physical abuse and neglect of children. It occurs in all cultural, occupational and socioeconomic groups and there is little evidence to support the idea of a characteristic personality pattern in abusive parents. As we have stated, there is evidence that the experiences of one's own childhood, including parental rejection and emotional deprivation, as well as physical maltreatment, play an important role in determining parental capacity, as does the adequacy of social supports, such as extended family connections (Adler 1986). We must be aware, though, that there is nothing irrevocable about childhood experiences, for the majority of victims of abuse overcome their background to become perfectly adequate parents. Generally speaking, evidence suggests that abusive parents have difficulty controlling their impulses, have low self esteem, poor capacity for empathy and are socially isolated. Environmental factors, such as poverty, poor housing and chronic illness, are not sufficient causes, but such stresses combined with poor parenting skills and a sense of having little control over one's life are all contributing factors (Friedrich & Wheeler 1982). These findings help to explain the high frequency of single mothers among high-risk groups, and the fact that a non-abusive spouse and good living conditions have powerful ameliorating effects. It is important to bear in mind that physical abuse is an interactive phenomenon and there is evidence to suggest that there may be factors in the child as well as the parent which may result in the abusive behaviour. There seems to be a higher than expected number of premature babies among the victims of abuse, although it is impossible to separate out the developmental and neurological problems associated with prematurity from problems arising from mother-infant separation and consequent difficulties in bonding. There is also a higher than expected frequency of mental retardation predating the abuse, while physical handicap and infant temperament may also play a role (Friedrich & Boriskin cited in Adler 1986). In the case of sexual abuse, completely different factors seem to be operating. Perpetrators have been studied very little because they are so seldom identified and brought to account, but there is some indication that many of them were themselves victims of child sexual abuse. It is, therefore, all the more imperative that ways must be found to help them acknowledge their behaviour in a therapeutic context and to provide suitable therapy in order to break the cycle of abuse. What has been done? In the past ten years major strides have been taken in responding to the problem of child abuse. Government agencies have established specialist police, education, health and welfare services to provide assistance to victims and their families. A number of states have produced task force reports, established multi-disciplinary committees and held inquiries. Protective behaviour programs have been introduced into schools, policies have been formulated and assessment, investigation and other procedures have been updated. Legal reforms have been implemented in many states and the training of field workers has been a priority. Financial assistance to self-help groups, strategies to work with abusers and a growing awareness of the problem in the broader community is helping to change attitudes towards child victims and those who hurt them. Non-government and voluntary agencies have worked hard to provide support services to families, the press has drawn attention to specific cases, and films, television and radio have been instrumental in raising the concern of the public. Precedent decisions in the courts have focussed the attention of the legal profession on the complexity of individual cases, and conferences such as the recent National Conference on Child Abuse (Snashall 1986) and the Children as Witnesses Conference (Vernon forthcoming), convened by the Australian Institute of Criminology, have drawn together a cross-section of professional, academic and grassroots practitioners to share their knowledge and debate the current dilemmas. However, because of the focus on responding to children who have already been abused, research and academic attention to the subject in Australia has been inadequate. Universities and other tertiary institutions have only very recently included child abuse in their curriculums. The sense of urgency as reported cases increased so rapidly has meant resources and energy have been directed to dealing with children who have already been abused. The emphasis has been on response to crisis situations. Recently there has been a move away from a medical model of service delivery towards a more integrated multi-disciplinary approach, as it is acknowledged that no one discipline should or can resolve the problem. Overall this has led to a huge "catch up" situation for workers in the field whose responsibilities frequently involve making decisions which are criticised by others (Lawrence 1982; Cooper 1988), and which involve the protective agencies in conflict with groups who promote parental rights. What needs to be done in the future? The greatest chance we have to prevent violence in society is to raise children who reject violence as a method of problem-solving, who believe in the right of the individual to grow in a safe environment and who strive to value the unique contribution all our citizens and especially children can make to our future. Prevention of child abuse must be tackled on a number of levels: Primary Prevention is everyone's responsibility and the goal is to stop abuse before it happens. Part of this strategy is changing societal attitudes towards violence, protecting children's rights and encouraging the community to debate concerns about social issues including the role of the media, films, censorship, videos, gun laws, domestic violence, legal decisions and so on which influence the way we behave as a society. Secondary Prevention includes the recognition that parenting is difficult and that stress on families is a combination of personal and environmental factors. Family support, respite care, personal safety programs, self esteem groups, the elimination of child poverty, community awareness programs, parenting skills courses, non-violent conflict resolution courses in schools and self-help groups all can assist in preventing abuse. This is the responsibility of government and non-government agencies, volunteer groups and others who must offer parents and other care-givers support rather than judgmental criticisms. Tertiary Prevention is the responsibility of agencies which must intervene to protect a child who has already been abused. They must provide the best services available and share decision-making to ensure the child is safe from future harm. How can this be achieved? In order to make a co-ordinated preventive response to the complex problem of child abuse, good research information is essential. Whilst there have been a number of research projects in this area in Australia, these have generally taken the form of hospital surveys, sexual assault service surveys and task force papers which primarily concentrate on incidence and specific effects of the abuse, (NSW [1985], SA [1986], WA [1988] Child Sexual Abuse Task Force Reports). However, useful work on prediction has been carried out by Lynch and Roberts (cited in Oates 1982), who looked at families in the maternity hospital and found five factors which distinguished a control group from the abusive group: more abusive mothers were under the age of 20 when their first child was born; they were more likely to have signs of emotional disturbance recorded in the maternity notes; they were more likely to have been referred to a hospital social worker; the babies were more likely to have been admitted to the special care nursery; and the mothers were more likely to have caused concern amongst the hospital staff over their mothering capacity. Overseas research indicates that predictive factors found in pregnancy, the neonatal period and infancy can be used successfully to identify families in which abuse is likely to occur (Geddes et al. cited in Oates 1982). It has also been shown that health visitors who visit parents in the first year, are able, with reasonable reliability, to predict which families are at risk (Dean et al. cited in Oates 1982). An important limitation to this form of prediction, however, is the risk of labelling, and thereby the creating of self-fulfilling prophecies in high-risk groups. Oates (1982) has carried out a study in Australia in which he compared characteristics of families of abused children with a matched group where abuse had not occurred. His findings reveal that there were marked differences between the two groups in a number of areas: these included the mother's childhood, her experiences during pregnancy and the peri-natal period, the families' expectations for the child, child-rearing techniques, family and community support, health of the parents and development of the child. Oates observes that although all of the factors which are more common in abusive families may occur in non-abusive families, it is possible that many of the abusing families within the community will be located within the larger group identified by these factors. As resources to deal with the problem are always limited, Oates recommends that they should be directed towards providing support for the group which could be identified by the risk factors described in this study. Research carried out for the Western Australian Department for Community Services (Donovan Research 1987) shows amongst many other findings, that attitudes by Australians to children and child-rearing are crucial if child abuse is to be prevented. They found, for example, that 52.4 per cent of parents believe they legally "own" their children and 64.7 per cent believe that "what happens inside the family home is nobody's business but the family's". However, the need for assistance through parent education is demonstrated in the findings of Donovan (1987) that most parents hold negative beliefs about the use of physical force against their children but continue to use it out of frustration or because they do not know of or cannot take the time to adopt other less damaging methods of controlling behaviour. Information like this is extremely useful in targeting prevention programs to change attitudes and give care-givers information about alternative strategies to raise their children. The establishment of NAPCAN (National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect), the Queensland Centre for the Prevention of Child Abuse, Western Australia's proposed multi-faceted Child Value Campaign, South Australia's Child Protection Week (soon to be national under the auspices of NAPCAN) demonstrate the willingness of government and non-government agencies to tackle the problem at all levels. Conclusion Although a variety of child abuse intervention strategies have been introduced around Australia, few have been subject to rigorous independent evaluation. A substantial gap exists in the area of research on intervention outcomes, and the work being done in the field by various agencies needs to be assessed so others can benefit from their experiences. We know little if anything about the relative effectiveness and efficiency of child abuse programs in Australia. Child abuse needs to be tackled on all fronts and if we want to prevent it, we need to provide support for parents, research information for professionals and a community which refuses to condone violence against its most vulnerable members. References Abel, G.G., Mittelman, M., Becker, J.V., Cunningham-Rathner, J. & Lucas, I. 1983, The Characteristics of Men who molest Children, Paper presented at the World Congress of Behaviour Therapy, Washington, D.C. Adler, R. 1986, "Physical Maltreatment of Children", Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 20, pp. 404-12. Anthony, E.J. & Cohler, B.J. (eds) 1987, The Invulnerable Child, The Guilford Press, New York. Boss, P. 1987, Systems for Managing Child Maltreatment in Australia, The Creswick Foundation, Melbourne. Burdekin, B. 1989, Report of the National Inquiry into Homeless Children, AGPS, Canberra. Cooper, L. 1988, Under-Age Parents Inquiry, Department for Community Welfare, Adelaide. Department of Health & Social Security 1988, Diagnosis of Child Sexual Assault: Guidance for Doctors, HMSO, London. Donovan Research 1987, Child Value Project, vols 1-3, Department for Community Services, Western Australia. Eckersley, R. 1988, Casualties of Change: The Predicament of Young in Australia, AGPS, Canberra. Evatt, R. 1977, Royal Commission on Human Relationships, Final Report, vols. 1-5, AGPS, Canberra. Farber & Egeland 1987, "Invulnerability among Abused and Neglected Children" in The Invulnerable Child, eds E.J. Anthony & B.J. Cohler, The Guildford Press, New York. Finklehor, D. 1984 (ed), Perpetrators in Child Sexual Abuse: New Theory and Research, Free Press, New York. Finklehor, D. 1986 (ed), A Source Book of Child Sexual Abuse, Sage Publications, New York. Fontana, V.J. 1964, The Maltreated Child, Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Ill. Friedrich, W.N. & Wheeler, K.K. 1982, "The abusing parent revisited: a decade of psychological research", Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, vol 170, pp. 577-87. Gil, D.G. 1970, Violence against Children, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, M.A. Goldman R. & Goldman, J. 1988, "The prevalence and nature of child sexual abuse", Australian Journal of Sex, Marriage and Family, vol 2, May, pp. 94-106. Helfer, R.E. & Kempe, C.H. 1976, The Abused Child, Ballinger Publishing Co., Cambridge, M.A. Kempe, C.H., Silverman, F.N., Steele, B.F., Droegemueller, W., Silver, H.K. 1962, "The Battered Child Syndrome", Journal of the American Medical Association, no. 181, pp. 17-24. Korbin, J.E. (ed) 1983, Child Abuse and Neglect Cross Cultural Perspectives, University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles. Kosky, R. 1987, "Is Suicidal Behaviour Increasing Among Australian Youth?", The Medical Journal of Australia, vol. 147, 17 August. Lawrence, R.J. 1982, Responsibility for Service in Child Abuse and Child Protection, (The Montcalm Inquiry), NSW Government Printer, Sydney. Lynch, D. (unpub) 1986, Abusing Parents who were Sexually Abused themselves as Children, 6th International Congress on Child Abuse and Neglect, Sydney. New South Wales Child Sexual Assault Task Force 1985, Report of the New South Wales Child Sexual Assault Task Force to the Hon. Neville Wran, Q.C., M.P., Sydney. Oates, K. 1982, "Risk Factors Associated with child Abuse", in Child Abuse: a Community Concern, ed R.K. Oates, Butterworths, Sydney. Oates, K. 1985, Child Abuse and Neglect - What happens eventually, Butterworths Pty Ltd, N. Ryde. Ounsted C. & Lynch, M. 1976, "Family Pathology as seen in England" in The Abused Child, eds R.E. Helfer & C.H. Kempe, Ballinger Publishing Co., Cambridge, M.A. Second Australian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect 1981, Conference Proceedings 21-25 September, Department of Health, Welfare and Police, Brisbane. Snashall, R. (ed) 1986, National Conference on Child Abuse, Seminar Proceedings No. 14, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra. South Australia 1986, South Australian Government Task Force Report on Child Sexual Abuse, Government Publishing Service, Adelaide. South Australian Child Protection Council 1989, Reporting Child Abuse Booklet, South Australian Child Protection Council, Adelaide. Spinetta J.J. & Rigler, D. 1972, "The Child Abusing Parent: a Psychological Review", Psychological Bulletin, no. 77, pp. 296-304. Steele B.F. 1976, "Violence in the Family" in The Abused Child, eds R.E. Helfer & C.H. Kemp, Ballinger Publishing Co., Cambridge, M.A. Steele B.F. & Pollock C.B. 1968, "A Psychiatric Study of Parents who Abuse Infants and Young Children" in The Battered Child, eds R.E. Helfer & C.H. Kempe, University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Sullivan K. 1978, Violence against Children, Women's Health in a Changing Society, vol. 3, AGPS, Canberra. Vernon, J. (forthcoming), Children As Witnesses, Seminar Proceedings, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra. Western Australian Government Task Force on Child Sexual Abuse 1988, Report of the Western Australian Government Task Force, Perth. Willich, R. 1978, Shadows of Childhood, Vista Books, Victoria. Women's Co-ordination Unit, Premiers Department NSW 1986, Girls at Risk, Report of the Girls in Care Project. Young, L. & Brookes, R. (unpub) 1988, The Profile of Child Abuse and Neglect in N.S.W., NSW Department of Family and Community Services, Research Branch."> Source: Young, L. & Brooks, R. 1989, The profile of child abuse and neglect in NSW, NSW Department of Family & Community Services. Figure 2: Children (aged <16 years)="" subject="" to="" substantiated="" child="" maltreatment:="" nsw="" 1987="" :="" relationship="" of="" maltreatment="" of="" child="" by="" sex="" of=""> Note: N = 2,137 (171 children where relationship of abuser to child no known excluded from analysis) Source: Young, L. & Brooks, R. 1989, The profile of child abuse and neglect in NSW, NSW Department of Family & Community Services. Figure 2 shows that whilst a similar percentage of boys and girls were abused by strangers, 40 per cent of boys were assaulted by a family member and 56 per cent by a known person. For girls the pattern is reversed, where 56 per cent are assaulted by a family member and 40 per cent by a known person. However, the numbers reported show girls to be three times more likely than boys to be victims of sexual assault. These figures demonstrate, amongst other things, the problem faced by welfare authorities in substantiating allegations of abuse, particularly sexual abuse. The Department of Health and Social Security in Britain has advised doctors that serious suspicion of child sexual abuse should be aroused when the child makes a clear, unambiguous, verbal allegation of abuse. If this is a spontaneous allegation, it would be most unusual for this to be a fabrication. Exceptions to this might be where a spontaneous allegation is made following access visits to which the child is known to be antagonistic for other reasons, or if allegations are made by an adolescent caught up in a parental dispute such as divorce or custody proceedings. This could reduce suspicion to a moderate level. (Department of Health and Social Security 1988). Because an allegation of child sexual abuse provokes such strong emotions, and because of the serious consequences both to the family and to the alleged offender, it is particularly important to ensure that a balanced appraisal is made. What are the Effects of Child Abuse? I never felt my mother loved me as she loved the others. Perhaps she didn't even like me. Certainly there were times when I felt she hated me ... what makes one go on striving for attention, affection, recognition, acceptance and even that nebulous commodity, love, when the rewards are so very small and so very seldom forthcoming? I know why I kept going. When you have been conditioned to believe that you're not worth much, that you're inferior in some way, then your own standards and expectations are not very high ... a few crumbs keep you going. There's not very much of the little boy left in me now: very little of the frustrated, hurt little boy. But what there is of him still seeks attention, still seeks approval and probably always will. My old physical injuries have healed well, but many emotional traumas are proving extremely slow to mend. Some appear to develop healthy scar tissue, then it sloughs off unexpectedly, once more exposing the original, raw, sensitive wound inflicted many, many years ago. I accept now that a few will never heal completely. (Willich 1978) In a study to determine invulnerability in abused and neglected children, Farber and Egeland (1987, p. 286) concluded that "we ... do not believe that many children can develop coping skills AND be emotionally healthy in a chronically abusive or neglectful environment". There is evidence that the immediate effects of abuse can be catastrophic for children, resulting in mental retardation, brain damage or death. The long-term consequences can also be devastating and leave physical and emotional scars which result in psychiatric illness, inability to form meaningful relationships, and unusual aggressiveness which may be turned inward - youth suicide has doubled in the last twenty years (Kosky 1987) - or outward as assaultive behaviour replicating the abuse inflicted upon them. Eckersley (1988) and the Burdekin Report (1989) both refer to disenfranchised and disillusioned adolescents who are victims of child abuse and family fragmentation. Drug addiction, prostitution, homelessness, alcohol abuse, and violent crime have persistently been linked to the damaging environments which the "junkie", the "hooker", the "drunk" and "crim" experienced as children (Women's Co-operation Unit, Premiers Department NSW 1987). In a study of sexual offenders, for example, (Abel et al. 1983) it was found that nearly half of them had been child victims of abuse. Finkelhor (1984 and 1986) proposes that early experiences have a powerful outcome on adult behaviour for the victim to become the powerful aggressor in attempting to banish the hurt, powerless child victim inside. Studies of parents who physically abuse or neglect their children have found that they frequently report extreme violence in their own childhood, and an abusive childhood has been documented as the most consistent factor in the histories of these parents. They rarely experienced nurturing, trusting relationships with their own care-givers and report a feeling of intense pervasive continuous demands, criticism and resentment from them (Steele & Pollock 1968; Spinetta & Rigler 1972; Ounsted & Lynch 1976; Sullivan 1978). Recent Australian studies (Oates 1985; Lynch 1986) confirm that the long-term consequences of abusive childhoods leave lasting damage in the way in which those adults relate to their own children. What causes Child Abuse and who are the abusers? There is no consensus amongst researchers about the causes of physical abuse and neglect of children. It occurs in all cultural, occupational and socioeconomic groups and there is little evidence to support the idea of a characteristic personality pattern in abusive parents. As we have stated, there is evidence that the experiences of one's own childhood, including parental rejection and emotional deprivation, as well as physical maltreatment, play an important role in determining parental capacity, as does the adequacy of social supports, such as extended family connections (Adler 1986). We must be aware, though, that there is nothing irrevocable about childhood experiences, for the majority of victims of abuse overcome their background to become perfectly adequate parents. Generally speaking, evidence suggests that abusive parents have difficulty controlling their impulses, have low self esteem, poor capacity for empathy and are socially isolated. Environmental factors, such as poverty, poor housing and chronic illness, are not sufficient causes, but such stresses combined with poor parenting skills and a sense of having little control over one's life are all contributing factors (Friedrich & Wheeler 1982). These findings help to explain the high frequency of single mothers among high-risk groups, and the fact that a non-abusive spouse and good living conditions have powerful ameliorating effects. It is important to bear in mind that physical abuse is an interactive phenomenon and there is evidence to suggest that there may be factors in the child as well as the parent which may result in the abusive behaviour. There seems to be a higher than expected number of premature babies among the victims of abuse, although it is impossible to separate out the developmental and neurological problems associated with prematurity from problems arising from mother-infant separation and consequent difficulties in bonding. There is also a higher than expected frequency of mental retardation predating the abuse, while physical handicap and infant temperament may also play a role (Friedrich & Boriskin cited in Adler 1986). In the case of sexual abuse, completely different factors seem to be operating. Perpetrators have been studied very little because they are so seldom identified and brought to account, but there is some indication that many of them were themselves victims of child sexual abuse. It is, therefore, all the more imperative that ways must be found to help them acknowledge their behaviour in a therapeutic context and to provide suitable therapy in order to break the cycle of abuse. What has been done? In the past ten years major strides have been taken in responding to the problem of child abuse. Government agencies have established specialist police, education, health and welfare services to provide assistance to victims and their families. A number of states have produced task force reports, established multi-disciplinary committees and held inquiries. Protective behaviour programs have been introduced into schools, policies have been formulated and assessment, investigation and other procedures have been updated. Legal reforms have been implemented in many states and the training of field workers has been a priority. Financial assistance to self-help groups, strategies to work with abusers and a growing awareness of the problem in the broader community is helping to change attitudes towards child victims and those who hurt them. Non-government and voluntary agencies have worked hard to provide support services to families, the press has drawn attention to specific cases, and films, television and radio have been instrumental in raising the concern of the public. Precedent decisions in the courts have focussed the attention of the legal profession on the complexity of individual cases, and conferences such as the recent National Conference on Child Abuse (Snashall 1986) and the Children as Witnesses Conference (Vernon forthcoming), convened by the Australian Institute of Criminology, have drawn together a cross-section of professional, academic and grassroots practitioners to share their knowledge and debate the current dilemmas. However, because of the focus on responding to children who have already been abused, research and academic attention to the subject in Australia has been inadequate. Universities and other tertiary institutions have only very recently included child abuse in their curriculums. The sense of urgency as reported cases increased so rapidly has meant resources and energy have been directed to dealing with children who have already been abused. The emphasis has been on response to crisis situations. Recently there has been a move away from a medical model of service delivery towards a more integrated multi-disciplinary approach, as it is acknowledged that no one discipline should or can resolve the problem. Overall this has led to a huge "catch up" situation for workers in the field whose responsibilities frequently involve making decisions which are criticised by others (Lawrence 1982; Cooper 1988), and which involve the protective agencies in conflict with groups who promote parental rights. What needs to be done in the future? The greatest chance we have to prevent violence in society is to raise children who reject violence as a method of problem-solving, who believe in the right of the individual to grow in a safe environment and who strive to value the unique contribution all our citizens and especially children can make to our future. Prevention of child abuse must be tackled on a number of levels: Primary Prevention is everyone's responsibility and the goal is to stop abuse before it happens. Part of this strategy is changing societal attitudes towards violence, protecting children's rights and encouraging the community to debate concerns about social issues including the role of the media, films, censorship, videos, gun laws, domestic violence, legal decisions and so on which influence the way we behave as a society. Secondary Prevention includes the recognition that parenting is difficult and that stress on families is a combination of personal and environmental factors. Family support, respite care, personal safety programs, self esteem groups, the elimination of child poverty, community awareness programs, parenting skills courses, non-violent conflict resolution courses in schools and self-help groups all can assist in preventing abuse. This is the responsibility of government and non-government agencies, volunteer groups and others who must offer parents and other care-givers support rather than judgmental criticisms. Tertiary Prevention is the responsibility of agencies which must intervene to protect a child who has already been abused. They must provide the best services available and share decision-making to ensure the child is safe from future harm. How can this be achieved? In order to make a co-ordinated preventive response to the complex problem of child abuse, good research information is essential. Whilst there have been a number of research projects in this area in Australia, these have generally taken the form of hospital surveys, sexual assault service surveys and task force papers which primarily concentrate on incidence and specific effects of the abuse, (NSW [1985], SA [1986], WA [1988] Child Sexual Abuse Task Force Reports). However, useful work on prediction has been carried out by Lynch and Roberts (cited in Oates 1982), who looked at families in the maternity hospital and found five factors which distinguished a control group from the abusive group: more abusive mothers were under the age of 20 when their first child was born; they were more likely to have signs of emotional disturbance recorded in the maternity notes; they were more likely to have been referred to a hospital social worker; the babies were more likely to have been admitted to the special care nursery; and the mothers were more likely to have caused concern amongst the hospital staff over their mothering capacity. Overseas research indicates that predictive factors found in pregnancy, the neonatal period and infancy can be used successfully to identify families in which abuse is likely to occur (Geddes et al. cited in Oates 1982). It has also been shown that health visitors who visit parents in the first year, are able, with reasonable reliability, to predict which families are at risk (Dean et al. cited in Oates 1982). An important limitation to this form of prediction, however, is the risk of labelling, and thereby the creating of self-fulfilling prophecies in high-risk groups. Oates (1982) has carried out a study in Australia in which he compared characteristics of families of abused children with a matched group where abuse had not occurred. His findings reveal that there were marked differences between the two groups in a number of areas: these included the mother's childhood, her experiences during pregnancy and the peri-natal period, the families' expectations for the child, child-rearing techniques, family and community support, health of the parents and development of the child. Oates observes that although all of the factors which are more common in abusive families may occur in non-abusive families, it is possible that many of the abusing families within the community will be located within the larger group identified by these factors. As resources to deal with the problem are always limited, Oates recommends that they should be directed towards providing support for the group which could be identified by the risk factors described in this study. Research carried out for the Western Australian Department for Community Services (Donovan Research 1987) shows amongst many other findings, that attitudes by Australians to children and child-rearing are crucial if child abuse is to be prevented. They found, for example, that 52.4 per cent of parents believe they legally "own" their children and 64.7 per cent believe that "what happens inside the family home is nobody's business but the family's". However, the need for assistance through parent education is demonstrated in the findings of Donovan (1987) that most parents hold negative beliefs about the use of physical force against their children but continue to use it out of frustration or because they do not know of or cannot take the time to adopt other less damaging methods of controlling behaviour. Information like this is extremely useful in targeting prevention programs to change attitudes and give care-givers information about alternative strategies to raise their children. The establishment of NAPCAN (National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect), the Queensland Centre for the Prevention of Child Abuse, Western Australia's proposed multi-faceted Child Value Campaign, South Australia's Child Protection Week (soon to be national under the auspices of NAPCAN) demonstrate the willingness of government and non-government agencies to tackle the problem at all levels. Conclusion Although a variety of child abuse intervention strategies have been introduced around Australia, few have been subject to rigorous independent evaluation. A substantial gap exists in the area of research on intervention outcomes, and the work being done in the field by various agencies needs to be assessed so others can benefit from their experiences. We know little if anything about the relative effectiveness and efficiency of child abuse programs in Australia. Child abuse needs to be tackled on all fronts and if we want to prevent it, we need to provide support for parents, research information for professionals and a community which refuses to condone violence against its most vulnerable members. References Abel, G.G., Mittelman, M., Becker, J.V., Cunningham-Rathner, J. & Lucas, I. 1983, The Characteristics of Men who molest Children, Paper presented at the World Congress of Behaviour Therapy, Washington, D.C. Adler, R. 1986, "Physical Maltreatment of Children", Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 20, pp. 404-12. Anthony, E.J. & Cohler, B.J. (eds) 1987, The Invulnerable Child, The Guilford Press, New York. Boss, P. 1987, Systems for Managing Child Maltreatment in Australia, The Creswick Foundation, Melbourne. Burdekin, B. 1989, Report of the National Inquiry into Homeless Children, AGPS, Canberra. Cooper, L. 1988, Under-Age Parents Inquiry, Department for Community Welfare, Adelaide. Department of Health & Social Security 1988, Diagnosis of Child Sexual Assault: Guidance for Doctors, HMSO, London. Donovan Research 1987, Child Value Project, vols 1-3, Department for Community Services, Western Australia. Eckersley, R. 1988, Casualties of Change: The Predicament of Young in Australia, AGPS, Canberra. Evatt, R. 1977, Royal Commission on Human Relationships, Final Report, vols. 1-5, AGPS, Canberra. Farber & Egeland 1987, "Invulnerability among Abused and Neglected Children" in The Invulnerable Child, eds E.J. Anthony & B.J. Cohler, The Guildford Press, New York. Finklehor, D. 1984 (ed), Perpetrators in Child Sexual Abuse: New Theory and Research, Free Press, New York. Finklehor, D. 1986 (ed), A Source Book of Child Sexual Abuse, Sage Publications, New York. Fontana, V.J. 1964, The Maltreated Child, Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Ill. Friedrich, W.N. & Wheeler, K.K. 1982, "The abusing parent revisited: a decade of psychological research", Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, vol 170, pp. 577-87. Gil, D.G. 1970, Violence against Children, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, M.A. Goldman R. & Goldman, J. 1988, "The prevalence and nature of child sexual abuse", Australian Journal of Sex, Marriage and Family, vol 2, May, pp. 94-106. Helfer, R.E. & Kempe, C.H. 1976, The Abused Child, Ballinger Publishing Co., Cambridge, M.A. Kempe, C.H., Silverman, F.N., Steele, B.F., Droegemueller, W., Silver, H.K. 1962, "The Battered Child Syndrome", Journal of the American Medical Association, no. 181, pp. 17-24. Korbin, J.E. (ed) 1983, Child Abuse and Neglect Cross Cultural Perspectives, University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles. Kosky, R. 1987, "Is Suicidal Behaviour Increasing Among Australian Youth?", The Medical Journal of Australia, vol. 147, 17 August. Lawrence, R.J. 1982, Responsibility for Service in Child Abuse and Child Protection, (The Montcalm Inquiry), NSW Government Printer, Sydney. Lynch, D. (unpub) 1986, Abusing Parents who were Sexually Abused themselves as Children, 6th International Congress on Child Abuse and Neglect, Sydney. New South Wales Child Sexual Assault Task Force 1985, Report of the New South Wales Child Sexual Assault Task Force to the Hon. Neville Wran, Q.C., M.P., Sydney. Oates, K. 1982, "Risk Factors Associated with child Abuse", in Child Abuse: a Community Concern, ed R.K. Oates, Butterworths, Sydney. Oates, K. 1985, Child Abuse and Neglect - What happens eventually, Butterworths Pty Ltd, N. Ryde. Ounsted C. & Lynch, M. 1976, "Family Pathology as seen in England" in The Abused Child, eds R.E. Helfer & C.H. Kempe, Ballinger Publishing Co., Cambridge, M.A. Second Australian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect 1981, Conference Proceedings 21-25 September, Department of Health, Welfare and Police, Brisbane. Snashall, R. (ed) 1986, National Conference on Child Abuse, Seminar Proceedings No. 14, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra. South Australia 1986, South Australian Government Task Force Report on Child Sexual Abuse, Government Publishing Service, Adelaide. South Australian Child Protection Council 1989, Reporting Child Abuse Booklet, South Australian Child Protection Council, Adelaide. Spinetta J.J. & Rigler, D. 1972, "The Child Abusing Parent: a Psychological Review", Psychological Bulletin, no. 77, pp. 296-304. Steele B.F. 1976, "Violence in the Family" in The Abused Child, eds R.E. Helfer & C.H. Kemp, Ballinger Publishing Co., Cambridge, M.A. Steele B.F. & Pollock C.B. 1968, "A Psychiatric Study of Parents who Abuse Infants and Young Children" in The Battered Child, eds R.E. Helfer & C.H. Kempe, University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Sullivan K. 1978, Violence against Children, Women's Health in a Changing Society, vol. 3, AGPS, Canberra. Vernon, J. (forthcoming), Children As Witnesses, Seminar Proceedings, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra. Western Australian Government Task Force on Child Sexual Abuse 1988, Report of the Western Australian Government Task Force, Perth. Willich, R. 1978, Shadows of Childhood, Vista Books, Victoria. Women's Co-ordination Unit, Premiers Department NSW 1986, Girls at Risk, Report of the Girls in Care Project. Young, L. & Brookes, R. (unpub) 1988, The Profile of Child Abuse and Neglect in N.S.W., NSW Department of Family and Community Services, Research Branch."> Source: Young, L. & Brooks, R. 1989, The profile of child abuse and neglect in NSW, NSW Department of Family & Community Services. Figure 2: Children (aged <16 years)="" subject="" to="" substantiated="" child="" maltreatment:="" nsw="" 1987="" :="" relationship="" of="" maltreatment="" of="" child="" by="" sex="" of=""> Note: N = 2,137 (171 children where relationship of abuser to child no known excluded from analysis) Source: Young, L. & Brooks, R. 1989, The profile of child abuse and neglect in NSW, NSW Department of Family & Community Services. Figure 2 shows that whilst a similar percentage of boys and girls were abused by strangers, 40 per cent of boys were assaulted by a family member and 56 per cent by a known person. For girls the pattern is reversed, where 56 per cent are assaulted by a family member and 40 per cent by a known person. However, the numbers reported show girls to be three times more likely than boys to be victims of sexual assault. These figures demonstrate, amongst other things, the problem faced by welfare authorities in substantiating allegations of abuse, particularly sexual abuse. The Department of Health and Social Security in Britain has advised doctors that serious suspicion of child sexual abuse should be aroused when the child makes a clear, unambiguous, verbal allegation of abuse. If this is a spontaneous allegation, it would be most unusual for this to be a fabrication. Exceptions to this might be where a spontaneous allegation is made following access visits to which the child is known to be antagonistic for other reasons, or if allegations are made by an adolescent caught up in a parental dispute such as divorce or custody proceedings. This could reduce suspicion to a moderate level. (Department of Health and Social Security 1988). Because an allegation of child sexual abuse provokes such strong emotions, and because of the serious consequences both to the family and to the alleged offender, it is particularly important to ensure that a balanced appraisal is made. What are the Effects of Child Abuse? I never felt my mother loved me as she loved the others. Perhaps she didn't even like me. Certainly there were times when I felt she hated me ... what makes one go on striving for attention, affection, recognition, acceptance and even that nebulous commodity, love, when the rewards are so very small and so very seldom forthcoming? I know why I kept going. When you have been conditioned to believe that you're not worth much, that you're inferior in some way, then your own standards and expectations are not very high ... a few crumbs keep you going. There's not very much of the little boy left in me now: very little of the frustrated, hurt little boy. But what there is of him still seeks attention, still seeks approval and probably always will. My old physical injuries have healed well, but many emotional traumas are proving extremely slow to mend. Some appear to develop healthy scar tissue, then it sloughs off unexpectedly, once more exposing the original, raw, sensitive wound inflicted many, many years ago. I accept now that a few will never heal completely. (Willich 1978) In a study to determine invulnerability in abused and neglected children, Farber and Egeland (1987, p. 286) concluded that "we ... do not believe that many children can develop coping skills AND be emotionally healthy in a chronically abusive or neglectful environment". There is evidence that the immediate effects of abuse can be catastrophic for children, resulting in mental retardation, brain damage or death. The long-term consequences can also be devastating and leave physical and emotional scars which result in psychiatric illness, inability to form meaningful relationships, and unusual aggressiveness which may be turned inward - youth suicide has doubled in the last twenty years (Kosky 1987) - or outward as assaultive behaviour replicating the abuse inflicted upon them. Eckersley (1988) and the Burdekin Report (1989) both refer to disenfranchised and disillusioned adolescents who are victims of child abuse and family fragmentation. Drug addiction, prostitution, homelessness, alcohol abuse, and violent crime have persistently been linked to the damaging environments which the "junkie", the "hooker", the "drunk" and "crim" experienced as children (Women's Co-operation Unit, Premiers Department NSW 1987). In a study of sexual offenders, for example, (Abel et al. 1983) it was found that nearly half of them had been child victims of abuse. Finkelhor (1984 and 1986) proposes that early experiences have a powerful outcome on adult behaviour for the victim to become the powerful aggressor in attempting to banish the hurt, powerless child victim inside. Studies of parents who physically abuse or neglect their children have found that they frequently report extreme violence in their own childhood, and an abusive childhood has been documented as the most consistent factor in the histories of these parents. They rarely experienced nurturing, trusting relationships with their own care-givers and report a feeling of intense pervasive continuous demands, criticism and resentment from them (Steele & Pollock 1968; Spinetta & Rigler 1972; Ounsted & Lynch 1976; Sullivan 1978). Recent Australian studies (Oates 1985; Lynch 1986) confirm that the long-term consequences of abusive childhoods leave lasting damage in the way in which those adults relate to their own children. What causes Child Abuse and who are the abusers? There is no consensus amongst researchers about the causes of physical abuse and neglect of children. It occurs in all cultural, occupational and socioeconomic groups and there is little evidence to support the idea of a characteristic personality pattern in abusive parents. As we have stated, there is evidence that the experiences of one's own childhood, including parental rejection and emotional deprivation, as well as physical maltreatment, play an important role in determining parental capacity, as does the adequacy of social supports, such as extended family connections (Adler 1986). We must be aware, though, that there is nothing irrevocable about childhood experiences, for the majority of victims of abuse overcome their background to become perfectly adequate parents. Generally speaking, evidence suggests that abusive parents have difficulty controlling their impulses, have low self esteem, poor capacity for empathy and are socially isolated. Environmental factors, such as poverty, poor housing and chronic illness, are not sufficient causes, but such stresses combined with poor parenting skills and a sense of having little control over one's life are all contributing factors (Friedrich & Wheeler 1982). These findings help to explain the high frequency of single mothers among high-risk groups, and the fact that a non-abusive spouse and good living conditions have powerful ameliorating effects. It is important to bear in mind that physical abuse is an interactive phenomenon and there is evidence to suggest that there may be factors in the child as well as the parent which may result in the abusive behaviour. There seems to be a higher than expected number of premature babies among the victims of abuse, although it is impossible to separate out the developmental and neurological problems associated with prematurity from problems arising from mother-infant separation and consequent difficulties in bonding. There is also a higher than expected frequency of mental retardation predating the abuse, while physical handicap and infant temperament may also play a role (Friedrich & Boriskin cited in Adler 1986). In the case of sexual abuse, completely different factors seem to be operating. Perpetrators have been studied very little because they are so seldom identified and brought to account, but there is some indication that many of them were themselves victims of child sexual abuse. It is, therefore, all the more imperative that ways must be found to help them acknowledge their behaviour in a therapeutic context and to provide suitable therapy in order to break the cycle of abuse. What has been done? In the past ten years major strides have been taken in responding to the problem of child abuse. Government agencies have established specialist police, education, health and welfare services to provide assistance to victims and their families. A number of states have produced task force reports, established multi-disciplinary committees and held inquiries. Protective behaviour programs have been introduced into schools, policies have been formulated and assessment, investigation and other procedures have been updated. Legal reforms have been implemented in many states and the training of field workers has been a priority. Financial assistance to self-help groups, strategies to work with abusers and a growing awareness of the problem in the broader community is helping to change attitudes towards child victims and those who hurt them. Non-government and voluntary agencies have worked hard to provide support services to families, the press has drawn attention to specific cases, and films, television and radio have been instrumental in raising the concern of the public. Precedent decisions in the courts have focussed the attention of the legal profession on the complexity of individual cases, and conferences such as the recent National Conference on Child Abuse (Snashall 1986) and the Children as Witnesses Conference (Vernon forthcoming), convened by the Australian Institute of Criminology, have drawn together a cross-section of professional, academic and grassroots practitioners to share their knowledge and debate the current dilemmas. However, because of the focus on responding to children who have already been abused, research and academic attention to the subject in Australia has been inadequate. Universities and other tertiary institutions have only very recently included child abuse in their curriculums. The sense of urgency as reported cases increased so rapidly has meant resources and energy have been directed to dealing with children who have already been abused. The emphasis has been on response to crisis situations. Recently there has been a move away from a medical model of service delivery towards a more integrated multi-disciplinary approach, as it is acknowledged that no one discipline should or can resolve the problem. Overall this has led to a huge "catch up" situation for workers in the field whose responsibilities frequently involve making decisions which are criticised by others (Lawrence 1982; Cooper 1988), and which involve the protective agencies in conflict with groups who promote parental rights. What needs to be done in the future? The greatest chance we have to prevent violence in society is to raise children who reject violence as a method of problem-solving, who believe in the right of the individual to grow in a safe environment and who strive to value the unique contribution all our citizens and especially children can make to our future. Prevention of child abuse must be tackled on a number of levels: Primary Prevention is everyone's responsibility and the goal is to stop abuse before it happens. Part of this strategy is changing societal attitudes towards violence, protecting children's rights and encouraging the community to debate concerns about social issues including the role of the media, films, censorship, videos, gun laws, domestic violence, legal decisions and so on which influence the way we behave as a society. Secondary Prevention includes the recognition that parenting is difficult and that stress on families is a combination of personal and environmental factors. Family support, respite care, personal safety programs, self esteem groups, the elimination of child poverty, community awareness programs, parenting skills courses, non-violent conflict resolution courses in schools and self-help groups all can assist in preventing abuse. This is the responsibility of government and non-government agencies, volunteer groups and others who must offer parents and other care-givers support rather than judgmental criticisms. Tertiary Prevention is the responsibility of agencies which must intervene to protect a child who has already been abused. They must provide the best services available and share decision-making to ensure the child is safe from future harm. How can this be achieved? In order to make a co-ordinated preventive response to the complex problem of child abuse, good research information is essential. Whilst there have been a number of research projects in this area in Australia, these have generally taken the form of hospital surveys, sexual assault service surveys and task force papers which primarily concentrate on incidence and specific effects of the abuse, (NSW [1985], SA [1986], WA [1988] Child Sexual Abuse Task Force Reports). However, useful work on prediction has been carried out by Lynch and Roberts (cited in Oates 1982), who looked at families in the maternity hospital and found five factors which distinguished a control group from the abusive group: more abusive mothers were under the age of 20 when their first child was born; they were more likely to have signs of emotional disturbance recorded in the maternity notes; they were more likely to have been referred to a hospital social worker; the babies were more likely to have been admitted to the special care nursery; and the mothers were more likely to have caused concern amongst the hospital staff over their mothering capacity. Overseas research indicates that predictive factors found in pregnancy, the neonatal period and infancy can be used successfully to identify families in which abuse is likely to occur (Geddes et al. cited in Oates 1982). It has also been shown that health visitors who visit parents in the first year, are able, with reasonable reliability, to predict which families are at risk (Dean et al. cited in Oates 1982). An important limitation to this form of prediction, however, is the risk of labelling, and thereby the creating of self-fulfilling prophecies in high-risk groups. Oates (1982) has carried out a study in Australia in which he compared characteristics of families of abused children with a matched group where abuse had not occurred. His findings reveal that there were marked differences between the two groups in a number of areas: these included the mother's childhood, her experiences during pregnancy and the peri-natal period, the families' expectations for the child, child-rearing techniques, family and community support, health of the parents and development of the child. Oates observes that although all of the factors which are more common in abusive families may occur in non-abusive families, it is possible that many of the abusing families within the community will be located within the larger group identified by these factors. As resources to deal with the problem are always limited, Oates recommends that they should be directed towards providing support for the group which could be identified by the risk factors described in this study. Research carried out for the Western Australian Department for Community Services (Donovan Research 1987) shows amongst many other findings, that attitudes by Australians to children and child-rearing are crucial if child abuse is to be prevented. They found, for example, that 52.4 per cent of parents believe they legally "own" their children and 64.7 per cent believe that "what happens inside the family home is nobody's business but the family's". However, the need for assistance through parent education is demonstrated in the findings of Donovan (1987) that most parents hold negative beliefs about the use of physical force against their children but continue to use it out of frustration or because they do not know of or cannot take the time to adopt other less damaging methods of controlling behaviour. Information like this is extremely useful in targeting prevention programs to change attitudes and give care-givers information about alternative strategies to raise their children. The establishment of NAPCAN (National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect), the Queensland Centre for the Prevention of Child Abuse, Western Australia's proposed multi-faceted Child Value Campaign, South Australia's Child Protection Week (soon to be national under the auspices of NAPCAN) demonstrate the willingness of government and non-government agencies to tackle the problem at all levels. Conclusion Although a variety of child abuse intervention strategies have been introduced around Australia, few have been subject to rigorous independent evaluation. A substantial gap exists in the area of research on intervention outcomes, and the work being done in the field by various agencies needs to be assessed so others can benefit from their experiences. We know little if anything about the relative effectiveness and efficiency of child abuse programs in Australia. Child abuse needs to be tackled on all fronts and if we want to prevent it, we need to provide support for parents, research information for professionals and a community which refuses to condone violence against its most vulnerable members. References Abel, G.G., Mittelman, M., Becker, J.V., Cunningham-Rathner, J. & Lucas, I. 1983, The Characteristics of Men who molest Children, Paper presented at the World Congress of Behaviour Therapy, Washington, D.C. Adler, R. 1986, "Physical Maltreatment of Children", Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 20, pp. 404-12. Anthony, E.J. & Cohler, B.J. (eds) 1987, The Invulnerable Child, The Guilford Press, New York. Boss, P. 1987, Systems for Managing Child Maltreatment in Australia, The Creswick Foundation, Melbourne. Burdekin, B. 1989, Report of the National Inquiry into Homeless Children, AGPS, Canberra. Cooper, L. 1988, Under-Age Parents Inquiry, Department for Community Welfare, Adelaide. Department of Health & Social Security 1988, Diagnosis of Child Sexual Assault: Guidance for Doctors, HMSO, London. Donovan Research 1987, Child Value Project, vols 1-3, Department for Community Services, Western Australia. Eckersley, R. 1988, Casualties of Change: The Predicament of Young in Australia, AGPS, Canberra. Evatt, R. 1977, Royal Commission on Human Relationships, Final Report, vols. 1-5, AGPS, Canberra. Farber & Egeland 1987, "Invulnerability among Abused and Neglected Children" in The Invulnerable Child, eds E.J. Anthony & B.J. Cohler, The Guildford Press, New York. Finklehor, D. 1984 (ed), Perpetrators in Child Sexual Abuse: New Theory and Research, Free Press, New York. Finklehor, D. 1986 (ed), A Source Book of Child Sexual Abuse, Sage Publications, New York. Fontana, V.J. 1964, The Maltreated Child, Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Ill. Friedrich, W.N. & Wheeler, K.K. 1982, "The abusing parent revisited: a decade of psychological research", Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, vol 170, pp. 577-87. Gil, D.G. 1970, Violence against Children, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, M.A. Goldman R. & Goldman, J. 1988, "The prevalence and nature of child sexual abuse", Australian Journal of Sex, Marriage and Family, vol 2, May, pp. 94-106. Helfer, R.E. & Kempe, C.H. 1976, The Abused Child, Ballinger Publishing Co., Cambridge, M.A. Kempe, C.H., Silverman, F.N., Steele, B.F., Droegemueller, W., Silver, H.K. 1962, "The Battered Child Syndrome", Journal of the American Medical Association, no. 181, pp. 17-24. Korbin, J.E. (ed) 1983, Child Abuse and Neglect Cross Cultural Perspectives, University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles. Kosky, R. 1987, "Is Suicidal Behaviour Increasing Among Australian Youth?", The Medical Journal of Australia, vol. 147, 17 August. Lawrence, R.J. 1982, Responsibility for Service in Child Abuse and Child Protection, (The Montcalm Inquiry), NSW Government Printer, Sydney. Lynch, D. (unpub) 1986, Abusing Parents who were Sexually Abused themselves as Children, 6th International Congress on Child Abuse and Neglect, Sydney. New South Wales Child Sexual Assault Task Force 1985, Report of the New South Wales Child Sexual Assault Task Force to the Hon. Neville Wran, Q.C., M.P., Sydney. Oates, K. 1982, "Risk Factors Associated with child Abuse", in Child Abuse: a Community Concern, ed R.K. Oates, Butterworths, Sydney. Oates, K. 1985, Child Abuse and Neglect - What happens eventually, Butterworths Pty Ltd, N. Ryde. Ounsted C. & Lynch, M. 1976, "Family Pathology as seen in England" in The Abused Child, eds R.E. Helfer & C.H. Kempe, Ballinger Publishing Co., Cambridge, M.A. Second Australian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect 1981, Conference Proceedings 21-25 September, Department of Health, Welfare and Police, Brisbane. Snashall, R. (ed) 1986, National Conference on Child Abuse, Seminar Proceedings No. 14, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra. South Australia 1986, South Australian Government Task Force Report on Child Sexual Abuse, Government Publishing Service, Adelaide. South Australian Child Protection Council 1989, Reporting Child Abuse Booklet, South Australian Child Protection Council, Adelaide. Spinetta J.J. & Rigler, D. 1972, "The Child Abusing Parent: a Psychological Review", Psychological Bulletin, no. 77, pp. 296-304. Steele B.F. 1976, "Violence in the Family" in The Abused Child, eds R.E. Helfer & C.H. Kemp, Ballinger Publishing Co., Cambridge, M.A. Steele B.F. & Pollock C.B. 1968, "A Psychiatric Study of Parents who Abuse Infants and Young Children" in The Battered Child, eds R.E. Helfer & C.H. Kempe, University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Sullivan K. 1978, Violence against Children, Women's Health in a Changing Society, vol. 3, AGPS, Canberra. Vernon, J. (forthcoming), Children As Witnesses, Seminar Proceedings, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra. Western Australian Government Task Force on Child Sexual Abuse 1988, Report of the Western Australian Government Task Force, Perth. Willich, R. 1978, Shadows of Childhood, Vista Books, Victoria. Women's Co-ordination Unit, Premiers Department NSW 1986, Girls at Risk, Report of the Girls in Care Project. Young, L. & Brookes, R. (unpub) 1988, The Profile of Child Abuse and Neglect in N.S.W., NSW Department of Family and Community Services, Research Branch."> Petition Put a END to violence and Bullying against CHILDREN

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We must show our children and even children who arent ours that even though times are tough they should always know that there is someone out there willing to help them and protect them. I for one are ONE of those people. It is time to show our children that violenc...e is not the answer to ... anything whether it is, in or out of the school grounds.Any children who are reading this, please lend a voice to help us parents and Adults understnad the full extant of what you are going thru, because this is going to the top. I am your voice and I will work until I dont have a breath left in my body to help aide and protect the children. And I mean all the children all over the world. Yes it wont ... See Morehappen overnight it may take me months, but I am so so SAD and tired of seeing our children hurt because of bullies. Whether the bullies are parents, teachers or other students. IT IS TIME FOR IT TO STOP. Look out government and parliment, because it is time you put down your expensive coffee cups and started doing what we pay you for. No more violence against our children. I will not stop until this is settled. Come on people, wars are fought every day and they are all for the bloody wrong reasons most of them. This is a fight for the RIGHT reason, so why is no-one stepping in to help???? Get up off your arses and help me help our children raise their voices, let us be the voice of the children who can no longer ... See Morespeak for them selves. Wake up people this is the real world. And it is only going to get worse unless people stand up for what is right. For once please, fight for the right reason....

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