Impact of a new mandatory reporting law on reporting and identification of child sexual abuse: A seven year time trend analysis
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Child sexual abuse is widespread and difficult to detect. To enhance case identification, many societies have enacted mandatory reporting laws requiring designated professionals, most often police, teachers, doctors and nurses, to report suspected cases to government child welfare agencies. Little research has explored the effects of introducing a reporting law on the number of reports made, and the outcomes of those reports. This study explored the impact of a new legislative mandatory reporting duty for child sexual abuse in the State of Western Australia over seven years. We analyzed data about numbers and outcomes of reports by mandated reporters, for periods before the law (2006-2008) and after the law (2009-2012). Results indicate that the number of reports by mandated reporters of suspected child sexual abuse increased by a factor of 3.7, from an annual mean of 662 in the three year pre-law period to 2448 in the four year post-law period. The increase in the first two post-law years was contextually and statistically significant. Report numbers stabilized in 2010-2012, at one report per 210 children. The number of investigated reports increased threefold, from an annual mean of 451 in the pre-law period to 1363 in the post-law period. Significant decline in the proportion of mandated reports that were investigated in the first two post-law years suggested the new level of reporting and investigative need exceeded what was anticipated. However, a subsequent significant increase restored the pre-law proportion, suggesting systemic adaptive capacity. The number of substantiated investigations doubled, from an annual mean of 160 in the pre-law period to 327 in the post-law period, indicating twice as many sexually abused children were being identified.
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These duties had substantial impacts on reporting and case-finding, which is likely to have increased detection of offenders and diminished the likelihood of their future offending through incarceration and desistance.
“These duties had substantial impacts on reporting and case-finding (Mathews, Bromfield, Walsh, Cheng, & Norman, 2017; Mathews, Lee, & Norman, 2016), which is likely to have increased detection of offenders and diminished the likelihood of their future offending through incarceration and desistance.”
From Child sexual abuse by different classes and types of perpetrator: Prevalence and trends from an Australian national survey (2024) · cites this paper as Mathews, Lee, & Norman, 2016
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- Authors
- Mathews, B., Lee, X. J., & Norman, R. E.
- Affiliations
- Queensland University of Technology (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Mathews, Ben
- Venue
- Child Abuse & Neglect
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2016-06
- Volume
- 56
- Pages
- 62-79
- ISSN
- 0145-2134 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2347086258
- Cited by
- 85
- References
- 75
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 6 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 10.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- papers.ssrn.com
- Locations
- Child Abuse & Neglect (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- SSRN Electronic Journal (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Australian Government Department of Social Services
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Military, Security, and Education Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Child Abuse and Related Trauma
- Keywords
- child sexual abuse, mandatory reporting laws, mandated reporters, child abuse reporting, child welfare investigations, time trend analysis, Western Australia, child protection law
- MeSH terms
- Child Protective Services, Child, Child Abuse, Sexual, Female, Humans, Male, Models, Psychological, Western Australia, Mandatory Programs
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