| Child Abuse and Victimization
In 1999, there were 67,000 runaway or thrownaway episodes among
youth between the ages of 7 to 11 years old, many of whom were
in danger because of the risk of sexual exploitation; the criminal
activity taking place in the area where they had "run" to;
their extremely young age; and/or the risk of physical or sexual
abuse when they returned home. (National Incidence Studies of Missing
Runaway, and Thrownaway Children, October 2002. Runaway/Thrownaway
Children: National Estimates and Characteristics. Washington,
DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention.)
Of the approximately 879,000 children found to be victims of child
maltreatment in 2000, 63 percent were neglected including medically
neglected, 19 percent were physical abused, 10 percent were sexual
abused, and 8 percent were psychologically maltreated. (Children's
Bureau, Administration of Children, Youth, and Families. April
2002. National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System: Summary
of Key Findings From Calendar Year 2000. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Health and Human Resources. The Administration for
Children and Families.)
Approximately 1200 children died of abuse or neglect in 2000 at
a rate of 1.71 children per 100,000 children in the population.
Forty-four percent of the children who died from abuse were under
one year of age and 85 percent of the children were younger than
6 years of age. (Ibid.)
Victimization rates in 2000 decreased as the age of children increased:
there were 15.7 victims per 1000 children in the one to three age
group and 5.7 victims per 1000 in the 16 to 17 age group. (Ibid.)
Victimization rates for male and female children in 2000 were
similar in every category except for sexual abuse where the rate
for females was higher. There were 1.7 victims sexually abused
per 1000 female
children and 0.4 victims sexually abused per 1000 male children.
(Ibid.)
Parents were the perpetrators in 84 percent of the reported cases
of child abuse in 2000. Mothers acting alone neglected their children
in 47 percent of the cases and physically abused them in 32 percent
of the cases. Fathers acting alone were responsible for 22 percent
of the cases of sexual abuse. (Ibid.)
While the rate of child victims per 1000 children in the population
has been decreasing since 1993, from 15.3 victims per 1000 to 11.8
victims per 1000 in 1999, the victimization rate increased in 2000
to 12.2 victims per 1000 children. (Ibid.)
Between July 1998 and June 2001, the CyberTipline operated by
the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has received
a total of 44,303 reports of suspicious online predatory behavior
towards children. There have been 192 reports of cybercontact involving
child pornography; 4026 reports of instances of online enticement;
1,880 reports involving child sexual molestation; 779 reports involving
child prostitution; and 426 reports involving child sex tourism.
(Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention [OJJDP],
January 2002. Protecting Children in Cyberspace: The ICAC Task
Force Program. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.)
Research into non-family child abductions found that in 1999,
58,200 children were forced by a non-family perpetrator to go to
an isolated place without parental permission for a substantial
period of time. Forty percent of the children were threatened with
a weapon, 46 percent were sexually assaulted, 31 percent were physically
assaulted, 7 percent were robbed, and 4 percent were held for ransom.
(National Incidence Studies of Missing Runaway, and Thrownaway
Children October 2002. Non family Abducted Children: National
Estimates and Characteristics. Washington, DC: U.S. Department
of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.)
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| National Crime Victims' Rights
Week: Fulfill the Promise |
April 6–12, 2003 |
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