The day I turned 14, two of my sister’s friends were found dead.

They were 10 and 11 years old. Both had significant disabilities and attended the special-needs school my sister with severe disabilities also attends. Slowly, details emerged: their father had planned a murder-suicide, killing both children, his wife and himself.

It’s impossible to imagine what it must be like to lose a child to violence. Children who grow up inside places of abuse are forced to sacrifice themselves in unimaginable ways. Instead of learning to read, they learn how to anticipate anger; instead of playing with their friends, they isolate to keep away, out of fear. And when they cannot escape or do not have the words to explain what is happening to them, our system – and the adults around them – do not see their suffering.

A new landmark decade-long study by University of Sydney researchers shows that sexual and family violence against children is at a crisis point. Analysing Australian data from 2014 to 2024, researchers found that recorded sexual assaults against children had increased by 32% among girls under 10, 51% among girls 10 to 17 and 60% among boys 10 to 17. Family and domestic violence-related assaults against children also increased sharply in recent years.

This is a national emergency.

This study cannot explain exactly why violence is increasing. We know greater reporting, economic pressures and changing online cultures are all contributing factors. But the fact that assault-related hospitalisations and substantiated child maltreatment cases did not rise in step exposes a disturbing gap between what police are recording and what systems around them........

© The Guardian