The ACMS team continues its focus on engagement ahead of the public launch in April. Professor Ben Mathews (Lead Investigator) provided advanced in-confidence briefings to the Office of the Prime Minister and the Sex Discrimination Commissioner about the primary findings including the prevalence of different types of child maltreatment and the associated impact of these over life. "It is essential these national policymakers have access to this data which are able to inform p

Research on child maltreatment is essential to generate new knowledge and inform advances in policy and practice. However, researchers must comply with a range of legal duties to survey participants. These duties are complex, vary across jurisdictions, and are difficult for all researchers and institutions to navigate. Prof Mathews has published a new article on the legal duties of researchers to protect participants in child maltreatment research . This new article provides

ACMS investigators Prof Ben Mathews, Prof Daryl Higgins, and Prof James Scott presented some of the preliminary findings of the ACMS youth sample at the Australian Institute of Family Studies national conference today. The symposium covered a number of early findings from the Australian Child Maltreatment youth sample comprising of 3500 young people (aged 16-24 years) from across Australia. This is a nationally representative sample so conclusions are likely to be represent

This month we published an important paper that examines the issue of participant distress in child maltreatment surveys. The paper, led by Professor Mathews, includes key co-authors from Canada as well as other members of the ACMS team. In this paper we address the tension between the need for maltreatment research with the ethical obligation to prevent distress and ensure research beneficence. A thorough review of the literature shows that frequency and severity of particip

Since the ACMS data collection began in April this year we have completed almost 6500 interviews! We want to take a moment to thank all the people who have generously donated their time to participate in this important research. The feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive, and many are reporting being glad to do something that will help others. We have now filled all our required quotas for people over the age of 25. We are still seeking youth ages 16-24.

On 9 December 2020, Professor Ben Mathews delivered a presentation on the Australian Child Maltreatment Study to the Australian Child Safe Sectors Leadership Group. The audience included representatives from child sector peak bodies and organisations with a national footprint that engage with children and young people. We were delighted to provide an update on our progress and future planning. Thanks to the National Office of Child Safety for hosting the presentation and prov

On 20 November 2020, Professor Ben Mathews and Professor Daryl Higgins delivered a presentation on the Australian Child Maltreatment Study to the Australian State and Territory Government Children and Family Secretaries (CAFS) Child Safety Working Group. The audience included over 100 representatives of 21 agencies from State and Territory government departments of health, education, families, communities, child protection, youth justice, and Treasury, and the Australian Depa

As part of the ACMS team’s expanding engagement with peak sector organisations, we were invited to discuss the Study at the Annual General Meeting of Families & Children Tasmania, the peak body for organisations providing child and family services in Tasmania. Thanks to Caroline Brown, Noel Mundy and the FACT Board for the invitation, and we look forward to further discussions in coming months and years!  The presentation is available  here .

On 8 October 2020, Professor Ben Mathews and Professor Daryl Higgins delivered a webinar on the Australian Child Maltreatment Study to Victoria’s Tri-Peaks Project. Tri-Peaks is a collaboration between the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare, the Victorian Healthcare Association (VHA) and the Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association (VAADA), to support integrated practice and good governance. We were delighted to provide an update on our progress, including a disc

The ACMS aims to provide data and evidence about the best ways to protect children from all kinds of abuse. It's our belief that the whole of society including government, the community, and schools, as well as parents and families, has a role to play in protecting our children. This week two of our team, Dr Divna Haslam and Prof Ben Mathews, in collaboration with Prof Kerryann Walsh , published articles in The Conversation that aim to directly equip parents with practical st

The current COVID-19 crisis is placing countries, families, and individuals under significant pressure and stress. We encourage everyone to reach out to support their family, friends, neighbours and communities. While it is heartening to see the community stand together in the face of this adversity, we acknowledge that many people are also struggling. High levels of stress can be associated with an increased risk of child maltreatment so looking after yourself is important.

And we are off! Pilot data collection has officially commenced! In 2019 the ACMS team was hard at work refining the survey we will be using in the study. We've ensured it fits the most robust conceptual models and have consulted with a team of experts around the globe. Now, in our pilot studies, we are asking the opinions of the people who really matter- every day Australians. The goal is to ensure the questions make sense and are easy to answer for the thousands of Australia

Dr Divna Haslam and Prof Daryl Higgins presented at the biennial Helping Families Change conference in Brisbane this February. This conference, hosted by the Parenting and Family Support Centre at The University of Queensland, showcases some of the best family based research and innovation from around the globe. On behalf of the ACMS team Dr Haslam presented a paper tilted “Issues in child maltreatment research: A case study of an Australian population survey”. The presentati

The accurate and valid measurement of the prevalence of child maltreatment can be difficult but is is vitally needed. A new systematic review addressing this issue has just been published in PlosOne by Prof Ben Mathews, Prof Rosana Pacella, and Prof Michael Dunne, from the ACMS team, along with their colleagues Marko Simunovic and Cicely Marston. This review makes a significant contribution to the field at large and formed part of the preparatory work for the ACMS. The system