child abuse epidemic in white australia, page-87

Dilligent, I'm replying here cause I couldnt reply to your other post cause it was moderated.

Dilligent, emotional abuse, I guess, is just that. Having a child living in constant fear, subject to continual abuse, constant affronts to their feeling of "self-worth", etc.
You CAN destroy a person like that.
The effects can be worse than physical beatings.

What constitutes physical abuse in that report? Dunno.
In my time beatings were par for the course. Teacher took to me with a broom handle in primary school - absolutely thrashed me till it broke across my back -had black stripes for a couple of weeks.( for pulling faces in class). Went home, showed Mum, who called Dad, who then beat the crap out of me for upsetting the teacher. I used to get thrashed with a strap at home till I got older, and then I just got "decked", till I grew tall enough to look the old man in the eye & say :"I wouldnt." So was I an abused child? How did I treat my kids?
I certainly didnt thrash them like I received, but I certainly whacked them when I thought necessary. Why? Because it had been instilled in me to have some semblance of discipline in the house.
But those little kids reported with broken ribs & limbs & skull fractures - thats abuse with a capital A.
The worst I can think of is that little girl in Perth who STARVED to death recently. No one deserves that.

But you're right, Dilligent, convenient pigeon-holing of data by beaurocrats can contain errors.
but they can certainly indicate something is wrong.

cheers
GZ