MJA
MJA

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.

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