According to statistics for 2003 (reported in 2005) by the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, the rate of child victimization dropped from 13.4 children per 1,000 in 1990 to 12.4 children per 1,000 in 2003, a 7.5% decrease. (The reason for this decrease is unknown.)

Most child victims in 2003 were neglected(60.9%), followed by those who were physically abused (18.9%), sexually abused (9.9%), emotionally or psychologically maltreated (4.9%) or medically neglected (2.3%). Some children suffered from other or multiple forms of maltreatment as defined by state law.

Age of the Maltreated Child

Children of all ages, including adolescents, are abused; however, according to U.S. statistics on child maltreatment in 2003, infants comprised the largest single age group of all victims, and children younger than age one represented nearly 10% of all child victims. Infants and young children are also the most likely to die from abuse and/or neglectful treatment.

Gender of Abused Children

The incidence of abuse and neglect is about the same between boys (48.3%) and girls (51.7%), although girls are more likely to be sexually abused than boys.

Race of Abused Children

According to U.S. statistics in 2003, most child victims were white (53.6%), followed by African-American children (25.5%). Hispanic children represented 11.5% of victims. American Indian/Alaska Native children represented about 1.7% of all victims. Asian children and Asian/Pacific Islander children represented less than 1% each of all victimized children. In considering the types of disability, however, of all victimized children, they have the greatest risk for physical abuse.

In contrast, of neglected children who are Native American/Alaska Native, this group has the highest percentage of neglect.

Disability of the Child

Some states report on disabled children who are abused and/or neglected, and in 2003, 34 states reported on this information. Among these states, disabled children represented 6.5% of all victims. Experts believe this is most likely to be an undercount, since not every child receives a diagnostic assessment from child protective services.

Of the information that is available for states on child abuse, disabled children who were victimized included children with the following disabilities:

-           Mental retardation

-           Emotional disturbance

-           Visual impairment

-           Learning disability

-           Physical disability

-           Behavioral problems

-           Other medical problems

Perpetrators of Child Abuse

Most child abusers are parents, with the exception of perpetrators of sexual abuse, who are usually individuals outside the family; less than 3% of parental abusers are also sexual abusers. The most common form of child maltreatment among all categories of abuse is neglect despite who the perpetrator is, with the one exception of neighbors and friends who are abusive. In that case, the most common form of abuse is sexual abuse, which represents 75.9% of all forms of abuse perpetrated by friends and neighbors.

Often abusers are substance abusers of alcohol and/or illegal drugs, while others are mentally or emotionally ill or developmentally delayed (such as those who are intellectually below normal and proven to be incapable of caring for a child).

About two-thirds of all perpetrators are adults in their 20s and 30s, and a few are age 50 or older.

How Children Are Maltreated

Children are maltreated in many different ways, and the means that are used to abuse the child can vary greatly, from physical force using the hands (which can cause death or permanent injury in an infant or small child) to the use of clubs, belts, irons, paddles and many other items that are used as weapons.

Even a substance as innocuous as water can cause death; a June 1999 article in Pediatrics reported on the deaths of three children who were forced to drink more than six liters of water as punishment, causing the children to suffer from water intoxication and then death. Because the forced water intoxication was not revealed to emergency room staff, nurses or physicians, the children were not treated for the actual cause of their medical distress, and they subsequently died.

Politics of Child Abuse

Many experts say that political issues inevitably enter into what (if anything) is done about the problem of child abuse. Creating a program for abused children or reworking existing programs uses up money and assets that a country or a state may wish to use to resolve other problems.

In The Politics of Child Abuse, the authors wrote that child abuse laws are often vague and that child protective services workers are inexperienced because of a large turnover of personnel in this field. In addition, it may take weeks or months for a case to be heard by a judge.

They concluded, "Caught in this crossfire are the innocent victims of child abuse, who find themselves enmeshed in a complex web of money, power, politics and ideology that they neither understand nor care about. These children are the ones who never make it into show trials, television news shows, or tabloids--their deaths often rate only one column in the back page of a metropolitan newspaper."

References:

1)         Administration on Children, Youth and Families. Child Maltreatment 2003. Children's Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C., 2005.

2)         Besharov, Douglas J. Recognizing Child Abuse: A Guide for the Concerned. New York: Free Press, 1990.

3)         Costin, Lela B., et al. The Politics of Child Abuse in America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.

4)         Gilbert, Neil, ed. Combating Child Abuse: International Perspectives and Trends. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.

5)         Kempe, C. Henry, and Ray F. Heifer, eds. The Battered Child. 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980.

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