Child abuse statistics

Submitted by Julie Eager

Child abuse includes physical, sexual and emotional abuse, as well as neglect.

There are many myths about child abuse.  Check out these facts reported by the Bureau of Justice:

1. More than 4 children die every day due to child abuse in the United States.  About 80% of those that die are under the age of 4.

National data is likely to underestimate the number of children who die from child abuse.

This is the worst record in industrialized nations.

1. 3,000,000 reports of child abuse are made involving 6,000,000 children each year in the United States.
2. About 1/3 of children who are abused grow up to abuse children.  Abused children have higher rates of mental illness, substance abuse and of criminal activities which land them in prison.  They have a higher rate of early pregnancies.
3. Child abuse occurs equally in all socio-economic classes of people.  This is not a crime of poverty or of lack of education or ability.
4. Child molesters typically molest 117 children in their lifetime, most of whom do not report the offence.  Molesters are sometimes violent and threatening to children but often they “groom” children and take advantage of their lack of knowledge and trust for adults.
5.   Girls are three times more often sexually abused than boys.  Half of females who are raped are under the age of 18.
6. Most perpetrators are known by their victims.  Only 5% of perpetrators are strangers to the children.
7. It is estimated that there are 60 million survivors of child sexual assault today.
8. 97 % of sexual offenders who were convicted and imprisoned for their crime were male.  70% were white.

It is very important to remember that nobody deserves abuse.  Do not blame the victim for what abusers do.  Abusers are threatening and dangerous.  Do not attempt to intervene on your own.   Call the Health and Human Services or the law enforcement agency in the area in which the abuse occurred.