Arabic version: قضايا إساءة معاملة الأطفال في كوينزلاند تدفع إلى الدعوة للتدخل المبكر

According to ABC News, experts say child sexual abuse offending rates in Queensland are “going in the wrong direction”, with more than 1,400 people dealt with for related crimes in the state each year. Twenty years of sentencing data shows convictions for one of the most serious related offences have risen by more than 60 per cent.

A review of one month of Brisbane Magistrate Court lists found more than 120 adults facing over 750 child abuse-specific charges, including indecent treatment of a child, carnal knowledge and grooming offences. The figures exclude youth offending and most adult rape, attempted rape and sexual assault charges because those offences are not categorised by victim age. Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows more than 4,000 sexual assault victims who reported to Queensland Police last year were under 18.

Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council data dating to 2005 shows more than 95 per cent of people sentenced for child abuse-specific crimes were men. The most common demographic sentenced for repeated sexual conduct with a child from 2005 to 2021 was non-Indigenous men in their mid to late 30s living in south-east Queensland, although offenders spanned all age groups. Beth McNamara of the Daniel Morcombe Foundation said women also commit these crimes and that affected people can feel “invisible”.

A new Australian Institute of Criminology review, co-authored by Dr Sarah Napier, examined 15 years of studies from Australia, the United States, Germany, Canada and the United Kingdom. It identified 15 factors that may contribute to the onset of contact child sexual abuse offending, including adverse experiences during key developmental years and a lack of sexual education. Dr Napier said there was no single factor that meant someone would offend, and called for early support for both children who perpetrate harmful sexual behaviour and child victims.

McNamara and Napier also pointed to online risks and inappropriate early sexual exposure. Napier said psychological treatment could help when a person first recognises problematic fantasies. McNamara stressed that most people sexually abused as children do not go on to abuse others.