Child abuse and neglect

In 2018, 5.1% of the total disease burden among Indigenous Australians was due to child abuse & neglect, making it the 7th leading risk factor contributing to total disease burden.

These estimates reflect the amount of burden that could have been avoided if all Indigenous Australians were not exposed to child abuse & neglect.

This estimate attributes the mental health and injury outcomes experienced at all ages attributable to exposure during childhood. Child abuse & neglect were causally linked to anxiety disorders, depressive disorders and suicide & self-inflicted injuries (see ABDS 2018 Risk factor estimates for Indigenous Australians data table S1).

How much burden was attributable to child abuse and neglect?

In 2018 among Indigenous Australians, child abuse & neglect was responsible for 41% of the total disease burden due to suicide & self-inflicted injuries, 35% of anxiety disorders burden, and 31% of depressive disorders burden.

This interactive data visualisation shows the burden attributable to child abuse among Indigenous Australians by linked disease. The main section shows a horizontal bar graph which can be customised to report data according to year, sex and measure of attributable burden. Each bar represents the attributable burden of the disease linked to child abuse.

How did burden attributable to child abuse and neglect vary by age and sex?

Burden due to child abuse & neglect estimates the mental health and injury outcomes experienced at all ages attributable to exposure during childhood.

The majority of the total burden due to child abuse & neglect among Indigenous Australians was experienced in those aged between 15 and 64 years, peaking in those aged 25–44 years.

Of the total burden due to child abuse & neglect, most was from suicide & self-inflicted injuries in Indigenous males and anxiety disorders in Indigenous females.

This interactive data visualisation shows the amount of burden attributable to child abuse among Indigenous Australians by age group and linked disease. The main section shows a stacked bar graph which can be customised to report data according to year, sex and measure of attributable burden. Each bar represents the attributable burden within a particular age group. Each bar is also split into separate components with each colour representing a disease linked to child abuse.

How has disease burden due to child abuse and neglect changed over time?

The age-standardised rate of total burden due to child abuse & neglect (from all linked diseases) among Indigenous Australians increased by 23% between 2003 and 2018 (from 12.7 to 15.6 DALY per 1,000 population). This increase was only due to changes in the linked disease burden. The same exposure to child abuse & neglect was applied for all 3 years due to lack of suitable data.

This interactive data visualisation shows the rate of burden attributable to child abuse and neglect among Indigenous Australians by year. The main section shows a horizontal bar graph which can be customised to report data according to year, sex and measure of attributable burden. Each bar represents the attributable burden within a particular year due to child abuse.

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