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In 1996, 969,018 cases of child abuse and neglect were reported nationwide from a total of 47 states. Nearly 80 percent of these cases involved abuse and neglect by parents. An additional 11 percent involved other relatives. (National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1998). Child Maltreatment 1996: Reports From the States for the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.)
Among children who died due to abuse or neglect, very young children were most likely to be killed, with children aged 3 and under accounting for three-quarters of all deaths. (Ibid.)
Fifty-two percent of maltreated children suffered neglect, 24 percent physical abuse, 12 percent sexual abuse, 6 percent emotional abuse, 3 percent medical neglect and 16 percent other forms of maltreatment. Some children suffered more than one type of maltreatment. (Ibid.)
More than half of the children were under 8 years old, while 28 percent were younger than 4 years old. Younger children were more likely than older children to be neglected, while older children were more likely than younger children to be physically, sexually or emotionally abused. (Ibid.)
Fifty-two percent of child abuse and neglect victims were girls and 48 percent boys. (Ibid.)
Fifty-three percent of all victims were white, 27 percent African-American, 11 percent Hispanic, 4 percent Asian/Pacific Islander
and 2 percent Native American. African American and Native American children were abused and neglected at a rate almost twice their proportions in the national child population. (Ibid.)
A report which synthesized the findings of 166 national and more localized studies of male sexual abuse indicates that as many as one in six boys nationally have been sexually abused. (The Sacramento Bee, December 2, 1998.)
Forty-five states reported that a total of 996 children were known by the CPS agency to have died as a result of abuse or neglect. The majority of these deaths were children 3 years of age or younger. (National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1997). Child Maltreatment 1995: Reports From the States for the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.)
In 1995, child protective service agencies investigated nearly 2 million reports alleging maltreatment of an estimated 3 million children. The national rate of children who were reported was 43 per 1,000 children. (Ibid.)
Nationwide, about 36 percent of investigations for maltreatment resulted in a disposition of either substantiated or indicated maltreatment, and more than half (58 percent) resulted in a finding that child maltreatment was not substantiated. (Ibid.)
Violence against children is one of the least
well-documented areas of personal crime.
For example, with regard to the cost of
crime, preliminary estimates suggest that
violence against children accounts for more
than 20 percent of all out-of-pocket crime
victim costs, and more than 35 percent of all
out-of-pocket crime costs when pain,
suffering and lost quality of life is added.
(Miller, T., Cohen, M., & Wiersema, B. (1996, February).
Victim Costs and Consequences: A New Look. Washington,
DC: National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of
Justice.)
The cost of mental health care for the
"typical" child sexual abuse victim is
estimated to be $5,800. (Ibid.)
Based upon new research released in April of
1997, researchers Kilpatrick and Saunders
found: more female than male adolescents
had been sexually assaulted -- 13 percent of
females versus 3.4 percent of males. Sexual
assault was defined as "unwanted but actual
sexual contact." The researchers noted that
this did not include unsuccessful attempts at
contact or non-contact victimization, such as
exhibition. (Kilpatrick, D. & Saunders, B. (1997,
April). "Prevalence and Consequences of Child
Victimization." Research Preview. Washington, DC:
National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice.)
Kilpatrick and Saunders' research measured
the lifetime experience of seeing someone
shot with a gun, knifed, sexually assaulted,
mugged, robbed or threatened with a
weapon. The researchers did not include
witnessing violence portrayed in the media --
on television, in the movies or in print
media. In measuring the lifetime experience
of witnessing violence, as described above,
they found: Forty-three percent of male
adolescents and 35 percent of female
adolescents had witnessed some form of
violence firsthand. (Ibid.)
Significantly, according to BJS, the study
excluded approximately 30 percent of
adolescents who had directly observed
someone being beaten up or badly hurt. Had
these adolescents been included in the overall
calculations, the prevalence of witnessing
violence would have risen to 72 percent for
the entire sample of respondents. (Ibid.)
In 1994, children under the age of 18
accounted for 11 percent of all murder
victims in the United States. (Greenfeld, L.
(1996, March). Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and
Their Victims: Executive Summary. Washington, DC:
Bureau of Justice Statistics & Office for Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice.)
Two-thirds of all prisoners convicted of rape
or sexual assault committed the crime against
a child. (Ibid.)
According to a study reported by the
National Resource Center on Child Sexual
Abuse, almost 50 percent of children who
die from maltreatment in the United States
are already known to child protection
agencies. (National Resource Center on Child Sexual
Abuse. (1996, March/April). NRCCSA News. Huntsville,
AL: National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect.)
Note: OVC makes no representation concerning
the accuracy of data from non-Department of
Justice sources.
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