Knowmore has called on the Australian Government to fund a nation-wide legal and related support service for victims and survivors of all forms of child abuse.  

The call comes as the Australian Government works on new action plans to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse and to end violence against children. Knowmore has made detailed submissions to the Australian Government to inform both action plans.   

Knowmore’s submissions draw on the Australian Child Maltreatment Study, the first nationally representative study of the prevalence and health impacts of child abuse. Child abuse includes physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect and exposure to domestic and family violence.  

The study highlights that child abuse is widespread. More than 3 in 5 people in Australia – that is, millions of people – have experienced child abuse.  

Rachel Neil, Executive Director of Integrated Services at Knowmore, explains the importance of access to legal and related support for victims and survivors of child abuse.  

‘Legal and related support helps victims and survivors to make informed choices about their options,’ said Rachel. ‘They may need help accessing a victims’ support scheme, reporting abuse to the police or child protection, accessing information about what happened to them, or understanding their rights and the risks when speaking out.’   

The Australian Child Maltreatment Study confirmed that victims and survivors of child abuse generally experience multiple forms of abuse – a reality that we see in our practice assisting victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and the Stolen Generations.  

‘Our clients’ experiences don’t neatly align with distinctions between different forms of abuse,’ said Jackie Mead, Chief Executive Officer of Knowmore. ‘It makes the mind spin to say we can help with the sexual parts of abuse, but not the physical parts – yet this is what our funding agreements require.’  

‘With the right funding, we could provide more holistic support to victims and survivors of child abuse, reducing the need for survivors to re-tell their story to a variety of services.’  

Knowmore’s submissions also highlight the need for national leadership on a range of issues, including the prevention of child abuse.  

‘We’ve been pleased to see state and territory governments implement reforms to improve working with children checks over the past year or so,’ said Jackie.  

‘Working with children checks are an important safeguard, but not a complete solution. They must be combined with child safe policies, training, supervision and reporting mechanisms.’  

‘There also needs to be greater national consistency in approaches to child safety,’ said Jackie. ‘As a nation-wide service, we see how inconsistencies between states and territories contribute to gaps in protection for children.’  

Read our submissions on the new action plans to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse and end violence against children.