Child maltreatment : introduction to the special issue

"Similar to other countries, child abuse and neglect is a problem here in Australia. A recent estimate suggests that around 200,000 children in Australia in 2007 were subject to some form of abuse or neglect. A more upper bound estimate, however, suggests much higher numbers, over 500,000 (Taylor et al., 2008). Additionally, reported cases have grown substantially in some areas. For example, in New South Wales, reports rose by 79% between the 2001–2002 and 2006–2007 reporting periods (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2008)."--p. 143.