Child domestic abuse victims 'not heard'

The public are still not aware of the scale of abuse affecting children in Australia, a new campaign spearheaded by Rosie Batty and the Australian Medical Association (AMA) has warned.

The AMA on Friday launched a new awareness campaign highlighting the significant number of children admitted to hospital after being injured by a parent.

Around 25 children a year are believed to be the victims of domestic homicide by a parent or step-parent, the president of the AMA said.

In the past 12 months 569 children admitted to just one Sydney hospital, the Children's Hospital at Westmead, were suspected victims of domestic abuse.

Ms Batty, the 2015 Australian of the Year, became a tireless anti-domestic violence campaigner after her 11-year-old son Luke was murdered by his mentally ill father at a Victorian cricket oval in February last year.

"Children's voices are so not being heard," she said at the campaign launch in Sydney.

"We are so not listening to the plight of children who are caught up in family violence.

"I think there is a lot more we need to say and a lot more we need to advocate for on the rights of these children."

Child abuse by a parent or step-parent was the third leading cause of death among children after road trauma and drowning, the AMA said.

The new initiative is urging women suffering domestic violence to contact their GP for support after the AMA worked with doctors to help them refer victims and their children to specialist services.

"Children are all too commonly victims of domestic violence and represent a significant number of admissions to Australia's children's hospitals," AMA president professor Brian Owler said.

A video urging women to "share their story" with a doctor has been released as part of the campaign.

* National domestic violence helpline: 1800 737 732 or 1800RESPECT. In an emergency call triple-zero.