Violence against children in Australia is at a crisis point. We must start listening to kids before our most vulnerable slip through the cracks

Our systems are fragmented and siloed, while those who are ‘different’ struggle to be understood. We cannot wait for more children to die to decide their suffering matters 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