Save the Children
'The police and the judicial system must be made more aware of the best interest of the child'
(Menaca Calyaneratne, spokeswoman for Save the Children, Sri Lanka)
Child abuse is an issue faced in every country in the world, every day. When people hear the words 'child abuse' most automatically think sexual abuse. However, there are four types of child abuse; physical, sexual, emotional abuse and neglect. It can be a single incident or many incidents occurring over a period of time.
The Department of Child Safety is responsible for supervising and upholding child protection in Queensland. The principle law of child abuse in Queensland comes under the Child Protection Act 1999 (QLD). The Family Law Act 1975 (Cwth) and Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000 (Cwth) are also relevant acts helping to guide the process of child protection. Despite the laws, child abuse continues in Australia, therefore the laws regarding child abuse need to be strengthened to include a more in depth and clearer definition as to what is the "best interest" of the child.
English: A true story of horrific child abuse and ...
English: Mel Carnahan at the 13th National Confere...
Picture taken at the Come Alive New Testament Chur...This would ensure rights and responsibilities are clearly separate from the rights of a child as sadly the lack of understanding of meaning of "best interest" is what causes the confusion and controversy.
The purpose of Child Protection Act 1999 (QLD) is to provide for the protection of children. The law states that "it does not matter how much a child is harmed but whether a child has suffered harm, is at risk of suffering harm or does not have a parent willing or able to protect them from harm." (Section 10 of the Child Protection Act 1999 (QLD). This shows that if you hurt a child no matter how much or how little,