How many children were the subject of a substantiation of abuse in care?
Introduction
In 2022–23, about 1,200 children in Australia were the subject of a substantiation of abuse in care. Of these children:
- 54% (670) were girls and 45% (560) were boys
- 51% (630) were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
- 40% (485) were aged 10–14 at the time of substantiation.
Sources: Supplementary data tables S9.1, S9.4 and S9.5
Similar proportions of boys and girls were the subject of a substantiation of abuse in care across the youngest age groups. Of these children:
- about 5% (59) were girls aged less than 5, and about 4% (53) were boys aged less than 5
- 14% were boys aged 5–9 (175) and 14% were girls aged 5–9 (170).
Source: Supplementary data table S9.6
The proportion of children subject to a substantiation of abuse in care was higher for older girls than older boys.
- About 21% (260) were girls aged 10–14, compared to 18% (220) who were boys aged 10–14.
- About 15% (180) were girls aged 15 and over, compared to 9% (105) who were boys aged 15 and over (Figure 1).
Source: Supplementary data table S9.6
Figure 1: Children who were the subject of a substantiation of abuse in care, by age and sex, 2022–23
This figure is a clustered column chart that shows the age and sex distribution. Most children who were the subject of a substantiation of abuse in care were aged 5–9 or 10–14 for boys and 10–14 or 15 and over for girls. The proportion of children who were the subject of a substantiation of abuse in care was similar for boys and girls aged less than 5 and 5–9.
- Age is based on the child’s age on the date the substantiation was recorded, not age at the time the abuse occurred. As such, the ’15 and over’ category may include children who were under 18 at the time of abuse, but were aged 18 and over at the time of substantiation.
- Percentages presented in this figure are of the total population of children who had substantiations of abuse in care.
Source:
Supplementary data table S9.6.
Type of substantiated abuse
The type of substantiated abuse presented in this section is the ‘primary’ type of abuse or neglect – the type of abuse that is considered most likely to place the child at risk or be most severe in the short term.
In 2022–23, physical abuse (29% or about 355) and emotional abuse (29% or 355) were the most common primary types of abuse for all children in care.
Source: Supplementary data table S9.2
For boys (about 560), the most common forms of substantiated abuse were:
- physical abuse (32% or 175)
- emotional abuse (30% or 165) (Figure 2).
For girls (about 670), the most common forms of substantiated abuse were:
- emotional abuse (28% or 190)
- physical abuse (27% or 180) (Figure 2).
Among all children who were the subject of a substantiation of abuse in care, sexual abuse was more common among girls (8% or 93) than boys (3% or 43), while neglect was similar among boys (8% or 100) and girls (9% or 115).
Source: Supplementary data table S9.5
Figure 2: Children who were the subject of a substantiation of abuse in care, by type of abuse and sex, 2022–23
This figure is a stacked column chart that shows how type of substantiated abuse varied by sex. Physical abuse and emotional abuse were most common for boys and girls. Sexual abuse was most common among girls while neglect was similar for boys and girls.
Total includes children whose sex was not stated or recorded as ‘intersex or indeterminate’, and children whose substantiated abuse type was not stated. As such, the subcategories may not sum to 100%.
Source:
Supplementary data table S9.5.
The most common type of substantiated abuse varied across age groups. Among those:
- aged under 5 the most common abuse type was emotional (34% or 38)
- aged 5–9 the most common abuse type was physical (32% or 110)
- aged 10–14 the most common abuse type was emotional (32% or 155)
- aged 15 and over the most common abuse type was physical (29% or 84) (Figure 3).
Across all age groups, sexual abuse was most common among the 15 and over age group (41% or 56), while neglect was most common among children aged 10–14 (37% or 80).
Source: Supplementary data table S9.4
Figure 3: Children who were the subject of a substantiation of abuse in care, by type of abuse and age, 2022–23
This figure is a stacked column chart that shows how type of substantiated abuse varied across age groups. The proportion of emotional abuse was highest among those aged under 5 and 10–14. Physical abuse was highest among children aged 5–9 and 15 and over. Substantiations of sexual abuse increased with each age group, with sexual abuse being highest among those aged 15 and over.
1. Total includes children whose substantiated abuse type was not stated. As such, the subcategories may not sum to 100%.
2. Age is based on the child’s age on the date the substantiation was recorded, not age at the time the abuse occurred. As such, the ’15 and over’ category may include children who were under 18 at the time of abuse, but were aged 18 and over at the time of substantiation.
Source:
Supplementary data table S9.4.
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children subject to a substantiation of abuse in care (about 630) and non-Indigenous children subject to a substantiation of abuse in care (about 600), the incidence of emotional and physical abuse was similar:
- emotional abuse (33% or 205) and physical abuse (26% or 165) were the most common types of substantiated abuse among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
- physical abuse was the most common type of substantiated abuse (32% or 190) for non-Indigenous children, followed by emotional abuse (25% or 150) (Figure 4).
Among all children with a substantiation of abuse in care:
- sexual abuse was more common among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (53% or 73) than non-Indigenous children (46% or 64)
- neglect was more common among non-Indigenous children (53% or 115) than Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (46% or 100).
Source: Supplementary data table S9.3
Figure 4: Children who were the subject of a substantiation of abuse in care, by type of abuse and Indigenous status, 2022–23
This figure is a stacked column chart that shows how type of substantiated abuse varied by Indigenous status. Substantiations of physical abuse and neglect were more common among non-Indigenous children than Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander children. Emotional abuse and sexual abuse were more common among Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander children than non-Indigenous children.
Total includes children whose Indigenous status was not stated, and children whose substantiated abuse type was not stated. As such, the subcategories may not sum to 100%.
Source:
Supplementary date table S9.3.
Rate of substantiated abuse among all children in care
Currently, it is not possible to estimate the rate of substantiated abuse among all children in care because:
- Data are based on the date of substantiation (not date of abuse), so may include historical cases of children who were in care at the time the abuse occurred, but subsequently exited care before the date of the substantiation. This may mean it is not possible to identify a directly comparable numerator and denominator for use in rate calculations. It may only be feasible to identify a ‘best estimate’ of all children in the in-care population to use as a denominator.
- Abuse in care substantiations data include children in out-of-home care, and children on selected types of court orders who may be in other (non-out-of-home care) living arrangements. Currently, there are no readily available data on other living arrangements. Data are readily available for the out-of-home care population; however, this is a narrower scope than the abuse in care substantiations data (so any comparisons may overestimate the rate of abuse in care).