QUT Professor Ben Mathews will lead a team of international researchers examining the prevalence, health and economic effects of all five forms of child maltreatment in Australia. The five-year study, funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council, is the first ever to examine the health outcomes and burden of disease caused by child maltreatment in Australia. Professor Mathews claims the study’s scope of 10,000 Australians will provide the most comprehensive data to date on details related to exposure and effect, both on victims across the lifespan and to the national economy. Professor Daryl Higgins, Director of ACU’s Institute of Child Protection Studies, considers that a study such as this could provide a national benchmark against which to measure child maltreatment prevention efforts. For further information, contact Professor Ben Mathews.
