FAQ: What are the facts about child abuse?

• Children in the United States are more likely to be victimized violently in their own homes than on the streets. (Current Trends in Child Abuse Prevention, Reporting, and Fatalities: The 1997 Fifty State Survey. Chicago, IL: Prevent Child Abuse America, 1999)
• In 1997, 47 out of 1,000 children were reported abused or neglected and 15 children out of 1,000 were confirmed as abused or neglected. (Current Trends in Child Abuse Prevention, Reporting, and Fatalities: The 1997 Fifty State Survey. Chicago, IL: Prevent Child Abuse America, 1999)
• A survey of adolescent boys' health revealed that one in eight high school boys had been physically and/or sexually abused. Sixty-six percent of boys who reported physical abuse said it occurred at home. Of sexually abused boys, 35 percent said the abuse happened at home. Forty-eight percent of physically or sexually abused boys said they had not talked to anyone about their abuse, and only 7 percent had discussed their abuse with a doctor. (The Health of Adolescent Boys: Commonwealth Fund Survey Findings. New York, NY: The Commonwealth Fund, 1998)
• One in five high school girls surveyed reported that she had been physically or sexually abused. Fifty-three percent of the abuse occurred at home, and 65 percent of the girls said it happened more than once. Twenty-nine percent of girls who had been physically or sexually abused had not told anyone about the abuse. Forty-six percent of abused girls had symptoms of depression, which is more than twice the rate of girls who said they had not been abused (18 percent). Abused girls are also at double the risk for signs of eating disorders. (The Commonwealth Fund Survey of the Health of Adolescent Girls. New York, NY: The Commonwealth Fund, 1997)

<< First | < Previous | Contents | Next > | Last >>
Single-Page Format