Child Abuse Statistics

At a recent congressional hearing in Washington in July 2011, experts testified that they believe as many as 10 children die each day in the U.S. from child abuse. These numbers are estimated according to the most available NCANDS report, but according to the Government Accountability Office, deaths are undercounted by 55 to 76 percent. The NCANDS data comes directly from each county and state’s Department of Children and Family Services who receives the call on child abuse and accepts to do a home visit.

• Child abuse costs American taxpayers $104 billion dollars each year.
• The majority of children suffer child abuse in silence.
• A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds.
• Approximately 80% of children that die from abuse are under the age of 4.
• It is estimated that between 50-60% of child fatalities due to maltreatment are not recorded as such on death certificates.
• More than 90% of juvenile sexual abuse victims know their perpetrator, who is a close trusted adult who has “groomed” them.
• Child abuse occurs at every socioeconomic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels of education.
• About 30% of abused and neglected children will later abuse their own children, continuing the cycle of abuse.
• About 80% of 21 year olds that were abused as children met criteria for at least one psychological disorder.
• Children who are abused are more likely to commit violent crimes both as juveniles and later as adults – 36.7% of all women in prison and 14.4% of all men in prison in the US reported that they were abused as children.
• Children who are abused are more likely to abuse alcohol and/or drugs – sexually abused children are 2.5 times more likely to abuse alcohol and 3.8 times more likely to be addicted to drugs, according to Childhelp.org.

Sources:
www.childhelp.org

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