- Thousands of Victorian children are being brutally assaulted in their homes and experts are accusing the community of turning a blind eye.
Victoria Police figures have revealed 2915 cases where a child was assaulted during a domestic dispute last financial year.
Almost 650 of the children abused were under the age of 10. The figures shocked the state’s top child advocate, Bernie Geary, who called on the community to report all suspected cases of domestic abuse – especially when children were involved.
Sexual and Family Violence Unit Detective Superintendent Rod Jouning supported the call and said the smallest action by friends and family could save lives.
In the past two years shocking cases included:
- A mother and her two children, aged 6 and 2, abducted by her ex-boyfriend, who drove a car at high-speed into a building, leaving the kids seriously injured.
- A 13-year-old girl exposed to sadistic violence by her mother’s new partner and forced to watch her mother’s abuse.
Mr Geary, Victoria’s Child Safety Commissioner, said neighbours, friends and family needed to help break the cycle and report domestic abuse.
Since June 2007 police have responded to 70,000 domestic incidents where children were at the scene – Alex White
