NATIONAL CHILD ABUSE STATISTICS
- 4.1 million child maltreatment referral reports received.1
- Child abuse reports involved 7.5 million children.1
- 3.2 million children received prevention & post-response services.1
- 142,301 children received foster care services.1
- 74.9% of victims are neglected.1
- 18.3% of victims are physically abused.1
- 8.6% of victims are sexually abused.1
- 7.1% of victims are psychologically maltreated.1
- Highest rate of child abuse in children under age one (25.3% per 1,000).1
- Annual estimate: 1,720 children died from abuse and neglect in 2017.1,
- Almost five children die every day from child abuse.1,2
- Seventy-two (71.8%) percent of all child fatalities were younger than 3 years old.1
- 80.1% of child fatalities involve at least one parent.1
- Of the children who died, 75.4% suffered neglect.1
- Of the children who died, 41.6% suffered physical abuse either exclusively or in combination with another maltreatment type.1
- 49.6% of children who die from child abuse are under one year.1
- Boys had a higher child fatality rate than girls (2.68 boys & 2.02 girls per 100,000)1
- Almost 65,000 children are sexually abused.1
- More than 90% of juvenile sexual abuse victims know their perpetrator.6
- Estimated that between 50-60% of maltreatment fatalities are not recorded on death certificates.5
- Child abuse crosses all socioeconomic and educational levels, religions, ethnic and cultural groups.1
Who abused and neglected children?
- 83.4% (More than four-fifths) of perpetrators were between the ages of 18 and 44 years.1
- 54.1% (More than one-half) of perpetrators were women, 45.0 % of perpetrators were men, and .09 % were of unknown sex.1
CONSEQUENCES & RISK FACTORS
- Abused children are 25% more likely to experience teen pregnancy.6
- Abused teens are more likely to engage in sexual risk taking behaviors, putting them at greater risk for STDs.6
- About 30% of abused and neglected children will later abuse their own children, continuing the horrible cycle of abuse.7
- In at least one study, about 80% of 21 year olds that were abused as children met criteria for at least one psychological disorder.13
- The financial cost of child abuse and neglect in the United States is estimated at $585 billion.8
- Adverse Childhood Experiences
CHILD ABUSE & CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR
- 14% of all men in prison and 36% of women in prison in the USA were abused as children, about twice the frequency seen in the general population. 8
- Children who experience child abuse & neglect are approximately 9 times more likely to become involved in criminal activity. 6
NEGLECT IS THE NUMBER ONE FORM OF CHILD ABUSE!
More children die from neglect than any other form of child abuse. #ITSTIME FOR CHANGE!
Children living through abuse and violence unnecessarily suffer the ill effects of this trauma for the rest of their lives.
Children who are nurtured and supported throughout childhood are more likely to thrive and develop into happy, healthy, and productive adults.
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV)
National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC)
- Women between the ages of 18-24 are most commonly abused by an intimate partner.
- More than one-quarter of male victims of completed rape (27.8%) experienced their first rape when they were 10 years of age or younger.
- 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men in the United States has been raped in their lifetime.
- Almost half of female (46.7%) and male (44.9%) victims of rape in the United States were raped by an acquaintance. Of these, 45.4% of female rape victims and 29% of male rape victims were raped by an intimate partner.
- On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men.1
- 72% of all murder-suicides involve an intimate partner; 94% of the victims of these murder suicides are female.
- Studies suggest that there is a relationship between intimate partner violence and depression and suicidal behavior.
- Physical, mental, and sexual and reproductive health effects have been linked with intimate partner violence including adolescent pregnancy, unintended pregnancy in general, miscarriage, stillbirth, intrauterine hemorrhage, nutritional deficiency, abdominal pain and other gastrointestinal problems, neurological disorders, chronic pain, disability, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as noncommunicable diseases such as hypertension, cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Victims of domestic violence are also at higher risk for developing addictions to alcohol, tobacco, or drugs.7
