Overview
Australia is grappling with a significant child maltreatment crisis, highlighted by the 2023 Australian Child Maltreatment Study, which found 62.2% of children and youth experiencing maltreatment, leading to potential mental health problems, behavioural harms and health-risk behaviours.
This position statement underscores the necessity for a public health approach to child abuse and neglect. It offers nurses insights into the current child protection systems and the role of a public health approach in addressing the underlying causes of child abuse and neglect. The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) advocates for nurses to spearhead health and social reforms, emphasising prevention and early intervention in clinical care to safeguard at-risk children from harm.
Key recommendations
That ACN:
- Facilitates collaboration across health and welfare disciplines to build a shared commitment to a public health response to child abuse and neglect.
- Lobbies governments and other decision-makers to ensure the role of nurses is recognised and that nurses are adequately educated, prepared, supported and resourced to enact change for children.
- Partners with First Nations and culturally and linguistically diverse nursing and consumer advocacy groups to develop continuing professional development courses that prepare nurses to lead nuanced, strengths-based, and culturally competent approaches to child safety.
- Advocates for government-funded preventative programs and strategies targeting families and communities to reduce the number of girl victims of childhood sexual assault.
ACN calls on state, territory, and federal governments to:
- Ensure nurses are represented at all levels of decision-making in addressing child abuse and neglect, from Primary Health Network policies and guidelines to evaluation of the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children.
- Provide tangible support for nurses involved in public health responses to child abuse and neglect.
- Create, fund, and expand community nursing positions for universal and early intervention services for nurse navigators, school nurses and sustained nurse home visiting for all children/families (e.g. right@home).
