Up to 1,442 children were the subject of a substantiation of abuse in care in 2020-21, according to a new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) released on Friday. The report, called Safety of children in care 2020-21, revealed a harrowing snapshot of child abuse in Australia’s out-of-home care system for the first time. It was conducted in response to Recommendation 12.2 set out by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which was established in 2012 by the then Prime Minister, Julia Gillard.  Four years on from the inquiry’s final report, the AIHW has published enhanced statistics on different types of abuse when children are living away from their parents or guardian in services such as foster care, relative/kin care, or residential care. ‘Although the Royal Commission had a specific focus on sexual abuse, the national data collection also includes physical abuse, emotional abuse and neglect. Work …