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FACTS ABOUT VIOLENCE & ABUSE IN THE LIVES OF CHILDREN
Sources of statistics provided by the Third National Study of the Incidence of Child Abuse and Neglect 1995, National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect, Family Life Development Center, Cornell University, New York, Physicians for Social Responsibility.
Incidence vs. Prevalence
A major problem with incidence studies is that they are based on reported studies. Many researchers believe that such studies do not accurately reflect the extent of the problem. Incidence rates are usually based on the number of reported cases, but there is continuing evidence that much abuse goes unreported. This is particularly characteristic of incest because of the taboo against discussing it. One study showed that only 6% of the extra familial sexual abuse and 2% of the interfamilial abuse experienced by the respondents had been reported. A study of convicted child molesters indicates that the number of molestations they had actually committed was five times greater than the number of incidents for which they had been apprehended. A study conducted by the National Center for Child Abuse and Neglect estimates that in 1981 only 33% of the known cases of child maltreatment in the United States have actually been reported.*
*The Social Importance of Self-Esteem, edited by Andrew Mecca, Neil Smelser and John Vasconcellos, University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1989.
Child Abuse Statistics for Los Angeles & Orange Counties:
In 1998 there were 100,534 cases of child abuse and neglect that we know of in Los Angeles and Orange counties.
Child abuse ranks as the second leading cause of death for children between the ages of one and five. It is number one cause of infants newborn to one year of age.
3,000 children will die each year at the hand of their parents; 90% will be under the age of four. 15,000 children are abandoned between birth and ten years of age.
One out of every 10 children will be seriously abused before they grow up.One out of every 10 children will be seriously abused before they grow up.
84,000 cases of child abuse and neglect are under supervision each day by the County Department of Children and Family Services in Los Angeles and Orange counties.
More than 4,000 reports of child abuse are received every week in Los Angeles and Orange counties alone.
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