• In 1996, an estimated 3,126,000 children were reported to Child Protective Services (CPS) agencies as alleged victims of child maltreatment. Child abuse reports have maintained a steady growth for the past ten years, with the total number of reports nationwide increasing 45% since 1987 (Nation Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse (NCPCA) 1996 Annual Fifty State Survey).



• Since 1985, the rate of child abuse fatalities has increased by 39%. Based on these numbers, more than three children die each day as a result of child abuse or neglect (NCPCA's 1996 Annual Fifty State Survey).



• The estimated number of children seriously injured by all forms of maltreatment quadrupled between 1986 and 1993, was from 141,700 to 565,000 (a 299% increase). The Third National Incidence Study, Fall of 1996



• Found no race differences in maltreatment incidence.



• It is estimated that there are 60 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse in America today (Forward, 1993).



• Approximately 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused before they are 16yrs old.



• Girls are sexually abused three times more often than boys.



• It is estimated that children with disabilities are 4 to 10 times more vulnerable to sexual abuse than their non-disabled peers (National Resource Center on Child Sexual Abuse, 1992).



• Convicted rape and sexual assault offenders serving time in State prisons report that two-thirds of their victims were under the age of 18, and 58% of those--or nearly 4 in 10 imprisoned violent sex offenders--said their victims were aged 12 or younger.



• In 90% of the rapes of children less than 12 years old, the child knew the offender, according to police-recorded incident data.



• The U.S. Advisory Board reported that near fatal abuse and neglect each year leave "18,000 permanently disabled children, tens of thousands of victims overwhelmed by lifelong psychological trauma, thousands of traumatized siblings and family members, and thousands of near-death survivors who, as adults, continue to bear the physical and psychological scars. Some may turn to crime or domestic violence or become abusers themselves (U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect, 1995 report, A National's Shame.)"



• Poverty is significantly related to incidence rates in nearly every category of maltreatment. Compared to children whose families earned $30,000 or more, children in families with annual incomes below $15,000 were:

- More than 22 times more likely to experience maltreatment under the Harm Standard
- More than 25 times more likely under the Endangerment Standard.
- More than 44 times more likely to be neglected, by either definitional standard.
- Over 22 times more likely to be seriously injured using either definitional standard.
- 60 times more likely to die from maltreatment under the Harm Standard.

Child abuse is any form of physical harm, emotional deprivation, sexual mistreatment, or neglect, which can result in injury or psychological damage to a child.  It can be active (such as hitting) or passive (such as withdrawal of affection or failure to provide reasonable protection from physical abuse. In other words, when children are made to suffer pain, either emotionally or physically, they are being abused.

The term child is someone who has not reached the age of 18; or (except in the case of sexual abuse) the age specified by the child protection law of the State in which the child resides.

Sexual Abuse:
The inappropriate sexual behavior with a child. It includes fondling a child's genitals, making the child fondle the adult's genitals, intercourse, incest, rape, sodomy, exhibitionism and sexual exploitation. To be considered child abuse these acts have to be committed by a person responsible for the care of a child (for example a baby-sitter, a parent, or a daycare provider) or related to the child. If a stranger commits these acts, it would be considered sexual assault and handled solely be the police and criminal courts.

Child Neglect:
The failure to provide for the child's basic needs. Neglect can be physical, educational, or emotional. Physical neglect can include not providing adequate food or clothing, appropriate medical care, supervision, or proper weather protection (heat or coats). It may include abandonment. Educational neglect includes failure to provide appropriate schooling or special educational needs, allowing excessive truancies. Psychological neglect includes the lack of any emotional support and love, never attending to the child, spousal abuse, drug and alcohol abuse including allowing the child to participate in drug and alcohol use.

Emotional Abuse:
(Also known as: verbal abuse, mental abuse, and psychological maltreatment) Includes acts or the failures to act by parents or caretakers that have caused or could cause, serious behavioral, cognitive, emotional, or mental disorders. This can include parents/caretakers using extreme and/or bizarre forms of punishment, such as confinement in a closet or dark room or being tied to a chair for long periods of time or threatening or terrorizing a child. Less severe acts, but no less damaging are belittling or rejecting treatment, using derogatory terms to describe the child, habitual scapegoating or blaming.

• National Child Abuse Organization - toll free (800) 422-4453 or (800) 4-A-CHILD
• Child Abuse Prevention Network
• National Directory of Hotlines and Crisis Intervention Centers
• Children ARE Worth Saving
• Child Abuse: Statistics, Research, & Resources
• Prevent Child Abuse
• Father Flanagan's Boys Home (Boys Town)
• Joshua's Law - Online Petition
• Pandora's Box: Secrecy of Child Sexual Abuse
• International Child Abuse Network
• List of Child Abusers
• Registered Child Abusers
• Children, who are in domestic violence homes/another form of child abuse

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