About Child Abuse

Child abuse is a serious social problem. Information frequently requested by students, the general public and professionals is found here. You will find definitions of abuse, causes and effects, legislation, statistics, research and an overview of the child protection community network.

For immediate help

For concerns that are life threatening ring

• Victoria Police 000

For concerns about the immediate safety of a child within their family unit ring

• After Hours Child Protection Crisis Line 131 278.

For all other notifications of Child Abuse see Contact Child Protection.

Information available

What is Child Abuse? defines child abuse, indicators of abuse, causes and effects, and some introductory material on this topic.

Child Protection System summarises the role of the community network in protecting children; provides a brief history of Child Protection in Victoria and the role of the Victorian Child Protection Service; and briefly describes the law on reporting child abuse.

Child Abuse Reporting Statistics provides tables of statistics of reports to the Victorian Child Protection Service. It includes notifications of the past 10 years, information on flow-through of notifications to investigations, and substantiations and notifications by abuse type.

Other useful documents include Responding to Child Abuse and You and Your Child – for Parents Whose Child Has Been Sexually Abused.

Refer also to the relevant legislation