Stats from Victoria on the number of abuse notifications. In 2007, less than a third of all notifications were investigated, of which around half were substantiated. Sexual abuse notifications were the smallest category; about half of them were investigated, and about a third of those investigated were substantiated. This does not paint a picture of nervous teachers, doctors, etc rushing off at the drop of a hat to report suspected paedophiles - nor of child protection workers whipping out the binoculars and bugs at the slightest report.
A 2004 AIHW report includes data on who makes notifications. The overwhelming majority of notifications which were investigated came from police, school personnel, medical personnel, and parents, guardians, and relatives. The report also shows that a large proportion of notifications aren't investigated; in NSW, for example, there were far more cases "dealt with by other means", such as "referral to police, referral to family services or provision of advice". So again, this doesn't paint a picture of paranoia and persecution.
As this is all very serious, I'd like to conclude by noting that Frank the cat was sitting on top of my monitor as I was typing it, and at one point he nodded off and fell on the keyboard.
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Date: 2009-07-28 09:24 am (UTC)Stats from Victoria on the number of abuse notifications. In 2007, less than a third of all notifications were investigated, of which around half were substantiated. Sexual abuse notifications were the smallest category; about half of them were investigated, and about a third of those investigated were substantiated. This does not paint a picture of nervous teachers, doctors, etc rushing off at the drop of a hat to report suspected paedophiles - nor of child protection workers whipping out the binoculars and bugs at the slightest report.
A 2004 AIHW report includes data on who makes notifications. The overwhelming majority of notifications which were investigated came from police, school personnel, medical personnel, and parents, guardians, and relatives. The report also shows that a large proportion of notifications aren't investigated; in NSW, for example, there were far more cases "dealt with by other means", such as "referral to police, referral to family services or provision of advice". So again, this doesn't paint a picture of paranoia and persecution.
As this is all very serious, I'd like to conclude by noting that Frank the cat was sitting on top of my monitor as I was typing it, and at one point he nodded off and fell on the keyboard.