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Child protection and the health professional: mandatory responding is our duty

Peter M Winterton
Med J Aust 2009; 191 (5): . || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2009.tb02775.x
Published online: 7 September 2009

Don’t just report, respond — inaction injures children

Every Australian state has enacted mandatory reporting of child abuse. Child abuse is a ubiquitous problem affecting at least one in 13 children, and among Indigenous Australians, this rate is higher.1 The most important comorbidities for child abuse — poverty, domestic violence, mental ill health and substance misuse2 — are seen by all health professionals on a daily basis.


  • Child Protection Unit, Princess Margaret Hospital, Perth, WA.


Correspondence: pwinter@cyllene.uwa.edu.au

  • 1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Child Protection Australia 2006–07. Child welfare series no. 43. Canberra: AIHW, 2008. (AIHW Cat. No. CWS 31.) http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/index.cfm/title/10566 (accessed Jul 2009).
  • 2. Gilbert R, Spatz-Widom C, Browne K, et al. Burden and consequences of child maltreatment in high-income countries. Lancet 2008; 373: 68-81.
  • 3. Mandatory reporting of child abuse: evidence and options. Report by the Discipline of Social Work and Social Policy, University of Western Australia for the Western Australian Child Protection Council. Perth: UWA, Jul 2002. http://www.childprotectioncouncil.com.au/documents//issues/1/Mandatory Reporting.pdf (accessed Jun 2009, link no longer available).
  • 4. Wood J. Report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection Services in NSW. Executive summary and recommendations. Nov 2008. http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/Special_Projects/ll_splprojects.nsf/vwFiles/Report_Executive_Summary_Recommendations.pdf/$file/Report_Executive_Summary_Recommendations.pdf (accessed Jul 2009).
  • 5. Goddard CR. Child abuse and child protection: a guide for health, education and welfare workers. Melbourne: Churchill Livingstone, 1996: 173-183.
  • 6. The Victoria Climbié Inquiry. The independent, statutory inquiry set up to investigate the circumstances leading to the death of Victoria Climbié and to recommend action to prevent such a tragedy happening again. www.victoria-climbie-inquiry.org.uk/ (accessed Jul 2009).
  • 7. Fresco A. After 17 months of unimaginable cruelty, Baby P finally succumbed. The Times 2008; 12 Nov. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article5140511.ece (accessed Jul 2009).
  • 8. Reece RM, Christian CW. Child abuse: medical diagnosis and management. 3rd ed. Elk Grove Village, Ill: American Academy of Pediatrics, 2008.
  • 9. Flaherty EG, Sege RD, Griffith J, et al. From suspicion of physical abuse to reporting: primary care clinician decision making. Pediatrics 2008; 122: 611-119.

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