CHILD ABUSE: Stopping It Starts With Us

Over 270 reports of child abuse are made in Australia every day. In the last year, a staggering 138,000 cases of child abuse and neglect were reported to Australian community service departments.

In a lead up to Child Protection Week, Marie Claire, stopit.com.au and Femail.com.au are asking you to pledge your support to help stop child abuse. You can register your support at www.stopit.com.au.

"Every year in Australia, thousands of children suffer the pain of either physical or emotional abuse. Our children are our future and what affects them affects us all. The issues surrounding the question of why child abuse occurs are complex, but that is no reason to ignore it. Little by little, we can make a difference" says Jackie Frank, editor of Marie Claire.

Some statistics about child abuse:

• More infants under one are murdered each year in Australia than die in falls, car accidents, poisonings or drownings, categories that are often the subject of public campaigns.
• Of the 316 children murdered in Australia over the past 10 years, 65 % were victims of child abuse and neglect, and killed in their own homes by their own parents.
• The odds of future delinquency, adult criminality and arrest for violent crime increase by 40% for people who were abused and neglected as children.
• Research carried out by children's charity, Australians Against Child Abuse, showed that 59% of those surveyed were unable to estimate how many children were reported abused or neglected each year, while 28 % dramatically underestimated the number of cases believing it to be less than 10,000.
• Over 70% of men and women with a severe mental illness are victims of abuse.
• Early intervention programs that assist and support children and their parents when the children are very young, have been shown to effectively reduce the incidence of child abuse - and consequently sve the community significant amounts of money later on.
• A long term study in Michigan in the US has found that for every $1 put into programs specifically designed for the prevention of child abuse, the community saves $10 later on.

Why should you support this campaign?
Because stopping child abuse starts with us.

We urge you to show your support and pledge your support and make a difference.
www.stopit.com.au & Marie Claire