Kids' Agony 'trivialised'

Sun Herald

Sunday August 3, 2008

By KATE DENNEHY

YOUNG people who go missing are often trivialised despite potentially serious repercussions, a Queensland expert says.

On the eve of National Missing Person's Week, Griffith University social work lecturer Julie Clark said missing children were often treated as "just kids running away as if it were a right of passage". But it should be seen as a sign that something was seriously wrong.

"This trivialisation discounts the reality that these children are very vulnerable and at high risk of offending, from predatory people and engaging in opportunistic sex," she said. "While it is normal for children to rail against parental authority and seek independence, 'going missing' is definitely not part of normal development and should be a red flag warning."

The week focuses on the 20,000 Australians aged under 18 who go missing each year. Dr Clark said police had a role but social workers could play a bigger part in helping family and friends cope.

Few social workers had the knowledge to respond effectively to "the considerable impact when someone goes missing", she said.

The Australian Institute of Criminology said about 35,000 people of all ages were reported missing in 2005-06 but unreported incidents mean the actual incidence could be much higher. Reasons included family conflict, domestic violence, child abuse, mental health issues, drug and alcohol problems and school bullying.

Men and women were reported missing in about equal numbers and females aged between 13 and 17 were most at risk, the institute said.

Profiles of missing Queenslanders are on the Australian Federal Police website, www.afp.gov.au.

To give information about a missing person, phone the national hotline, 1800 000 634.

© 2008 Sun Herald

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