Marie Hume
National Abuse Free Contact Campaign
Dear Editor,
It is with dismay that we read the headline "Single-mum kids prominent in abuse cases". It would appear that your newspaper is aiming to demonise single mothers rather than providing them with the support that they so desperately need. The article goes on to say that "sole parents were more likely to have low incomes and be financially stressed, suffer social isolation and have less family support". The headline of this article can only be seen to increase the social isolation that single mothers are subjected to. Perhaps there could be some investigation into why single mothers are financially stressed and why the Federal Government is contributing to this state of affairs.
The article fails to note the statement made by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare in its report that "a family member with whom the child was living may not have been responsible for the abuse, neglect or harm to the child".
Rather the article leaves the reader with the impression that single mothers are the ones responsible for the abuse of their children.
The report also notes that Tasmania has recently included children's exposure to domestic violence as being a form of child abuse. Domestic violence is overwhelmingly perpetrated by men. When women leave domestic violence relationships, it is well documented that violence against them and their children is likely to escalate at this time. This would increase the number of child abuse cases reported to the child protection authorities, and the number of such cases where children are living with single mothers.
Perhaps some investigation of how many children are being abused during contact visits with their fathers, but deemed to be living with single mothers, should be addressed. Nowhere does your article raise this as a concern. Given the Federal Government's recent changes to family law, which prioritises shared care of children, over the safety of women and children, we can expect that there will be more children at risk of ongoing violence and abuse.
It should also be noted that the report also states that "the children of lone fathers are also over-represented in relation to their frequency in the general population".
The article also fails to identify the figures in the report that show that 2 parent intact families are evident in 30% of abuse cases.
We also know that the majority of sexual abuse is perpetrated by males.
If we are serious about the protection children from abuse it is essential that we provide support, both emotionally and financially to mothers, stop the mother-blaming culture that is developing in Australia and take seriously concerns about ongoing violence and abuse within the separated family.
Yours sincerely
Marie Hume
National Abuse Free Contact Campaign