Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Marginalised Families

Abstract

In this chapter we draw on two qualitative studies we conducted in Queensland, Australia, to consider how frontline workers (both support workers in nongovernment organisations and lawyers) who work with marginalised groups, for example, with families from culturally and linguistically diverse groups, Indigenous families and families living with poverty and homelessness or domestic violence, view mandatory reporting of abuse to child protection authorities. Our research suggests that workers’ experiences of the interaction between their clients and child protection services are extremely negative overall. As a result, some workers are very reluctant to report abuse because they perceive the response of child protection services to be poor.