Child Abuse Facts

Each year, tens of thousands of children are traumatized by physical, sexual, and emotional abusers or by caregivers who neglect them, making child abuse as common as it is shocking.

The scars can be deep and longlasting, affecting not just abused children but society. You can learn the signs and symptoms of child abuse and find out where to get help for the children and their caregivers.

Most of us can't imagine what would make an adult use violence against a child, and the worse the behavior is, the more unimaginable it seems. But the incidence of parents and other caregivers consciously, even willfully, committing acts that harm the very children they're supposed to be nurturing is a sad fact of human society that cuts across all lines of ethnicity and class.

Whether the abuse is rooted in the perpetrator's mental illness, substance abuse, or inability to cope, the psychological result for each abused child is often the same, deep emotional scars and a feeling of worthlessness.

The first step in helping abused or neglected children is learning to recognize the signs of child abuse and neglect. The presence of a single sign does not prove child abuse is occurring in a family, however, when these signs appear repeatedly or in combination you should take a closer look at the situation and consider the possibility of child abuse.

In the United States, the federal legislation that sets minimum standards for how states handle child abuse defines child abuse and neglect as 'any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker, which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or exploitation, or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.'

In 2005, the most recent year for which the U.S. government has figures, 12.1 of every 1,000 American children, almost 900,000 in all, suffered abuse by adults, with parents of victims accounting for almost 80 percent of the abusers. Every day, about four children die in the U.S. because of abuse or neglect, most of them babies or toddlers. And those are just the cases authorities know about, for every incidence of child abuse or neglect that gets reported, it's estimated that two others go unreported.

What Are the Major Types of Child Abuse and Neglect?

	Physical abuse is physical injury (ranging from minor bruises to severe fractures or death) as a result of punching, beating, kicking, biting, shaking, throwing, stabbing, choking, hitting (with a hand, stick, strap, or other object), burning, or otherwise harming a child. Such injury is considered abuse regardless of whether the caretaker intended to hurt the child.
	Sexual abuse includes activities by a parent or caretaker such as fondling a child's genitals, penetration, incest, rape, sodomy, indecent exposure, and exploitation through prostitution or the production of pornographic materials. Sexual abuse is defined by CAPTA as 'the employment, use, persuasion, inducement, enticement, or coercion of any child to engage in, or assist any other person to engage in, any sexually explicit conduct or simulation of such conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct, or the rape, and in cases of caretaker or inter familial relationships, statutory rape, molestation, prostitution, or other form of sexual exploitation of children, or incest with children.'
	Emotional abuse is a pattern of behavior that impairs a child's emotional development or sense of self worth. This may include constant criticism, threats, or rejection, as well as withholding love, support, or guidance. Emotional abuse is often difficult to prove and, therefore, CPS may not be able to intervene without evidence of harm to the child. Emotional abuse is almost always present when other forms are identified.
	Neglect is failure to provide for a child's basic needs. Neglect may be: * Physical, failure to provide necessary food or shelter, or lack of appropriate supervision. * Medical, failure to provide necessary medical or mental health treatment. * Educational, failure to educate a child or attend to special education needs. * Emotional, inattention to a child's emotional needs, failure to provide psychological care, or permitting the child to use alcohol or other drugs. These situations do not always mean a child is neglected. Sometimes cultural values, the standards of care in the community, and poverty may be contributing factors, indicating the family is in need of information or assistance. When a family fails to use information and resources, and the child's health or safety is at risk, then child welfare intervention may be required.

While the first two categories get the most attention, perhaps because they involve physical violence, neglect is far and away the most common form of child abuse, accounting for more than 60 percent of all cases of child maltreatment.

If you do suspect a child is being harmed, reporting your suspicions may protect the child and get help for the family. Contact your local child protective services agency or police department.