Final Speech

He was sitting there again in the corner of his bedroom drowning in shame and low self esteem.  His father sexually abused him and his mother physically abused him for the majority of his childhood.  He would go to school with bruises, and walk with difficulty, and when friends and family asked why, he would tell them the truth, but no-one believed him.  Not one single person.  As he grew older he developed violent behaviour.  He developed depression, and he developed the dangerous act of self harming.  The years past but the memories stayed by his side.  Too afraid to seek professional help he committed suicide at the age of 36.


Good morning Mr Cav and boys.

That is a true story, a sad story. Unfortunately its not the only one... 90% of sexual child abuse victims know the perpetrator in some way; 68% are abused by family members. 31% percent of women in the Australian prison were abused as children. Over 60% of people in drug rehabilitation centres report being abused or neglected as a child and a report of child abuse is made every ten seconds. Sadly some victims of child abuse become abusers in their later life. This vicious cycle HAS to stop.


I am talking to you about something that not everyone here will be aware of, or don't know much about. I am here to talk to you about our society underestimating the effects of child abuse. How many people here today know how many people die each year, from suffering child abuse? Well your answer, is too many. Too many people die each year from child abuse, more than one is even too many for me.

There are four different types of child abuse, which include; Physical, Sexual, Emotional and Neglect. All four types of abuse are just as bad as each other. Physical abuse, is aggression directed at a child by an adult through physical acts. Sexual abuse is when an adult or older adolescent abuses a child for sexual stimulation. Emotional abuse, is abuse which gets inside the child's brain, it mentally hurts and weakens the child. There are many forms of this which include name-calling, degradation, destruction of personal belongings, torture, excessive criticism, inappropriate or excessive demands, withholding communication, and routine labeling or humiliation. The last of these is Neglect. Neglect is when the parent does not provide the child with their needs such as food, water, shelter, clothing or hygiene.

Studies have shown that most victims of child abuse develop physical problems later in their life and  80% of victims suffer from a mental illness such as anxiety, depression, addiction and/or they act out. Children who are physically abused are likely to receive bone fractures, particularly rib fractures, and may have a higher risk of developing cancer. Children who experience child abuse & neglect are 59% more likely to be arrested as juveniles, 28% more likely to be arrested as adults, and 30% more likely to commit violent crime. 


Now, how many people here knew about any of that? How many people here knew that all of that was going on in the world? How many people here knew the effects of child abuse? My point exactly, I think that we can all come together and make people more aware of these effects, commercialize it, make this something known, anything we can to stop child abuse. 


Over 30 reports have been made about abuse child abuse during this speech.
Thank You.