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CHILD ABUSE

CHILD MALTREATMENTtypes of maltreatment such as "abaCHILD MALTREATMENT

·  Child protective services across the country found an estimated 896,000 children to be victims of maltreatment (neglect or abuse).

·  Sixty-one percent of child maltreatment victims suffered neglect; 19 percent were physically abused; 10 percent were sexually abused; and 7 percent were emotionally or psychologically maltreated.  In addition, 18.9 percent of victims experienced  "other" types of maltreatment such as "abandonment," "threats of harm to the child," and "congenital drug addiction."

·  Fifty-two percent of child maltreatment victims were girls and 48 percent were boys.

·  More than one-half of all child victims were white (54 percent); one-quarter (26 percent) were African-American; and one-tenth (11 percent) were Hispanic. American Indians or Alaska Natives accounted for 2 percent of victims, and Asian-Pacific Islanders accounted for 1 percent of victims.

·  Approximately 40 percent of child victims were maltreated solely by their mothers; another 19 percent were maltreated solely by their fathers; 18 percent were abused by both parents. Child victims abused by a non-parental perpetrator accounted for 13 percent of the total.

·  The youngest children (from birth through age 3) were the most likely to experience recurring maltreatment.

·  Children abused by someone other than a parent were 16 percent less likely to experience recurrence than children who were abused by their mother.

·  Victimization rates are inversely proportional to the age of the child--the older the child, the less likely he or she is to be maltreated.

·  In 2002, an estimated 1,400 children died due to child abuse or neglect.16

·  Five percent of child molesters released from prison commit a new sex offense within three years of their release.

·  Twenty-nine children were murdered by their babysitters in 2003.

·  Victims of child abuse comprised 21 percent of the recipients of crime victim compensation in 2003.

·  The most significant predictor of whether a battered woman will physically abuse her child is having been physically abused by her own mother-not being battered by her partner.