Child Abuse Statistics

• In 1996, child protective service agencies investigated more than 1 million reports alleging child maltreatment of more than 3 million children.1 That means reports were filed on about 1 out of every 15 children in the U.S. [7]
• Of the 1 million reports made alleging child abuse, 1 million children were identified as substantiated victims of maltreatment. [1]
• The actual incident of child abuse and neglect is estimated to be 3 times greater than the number reported to the authorities. [1]
• Every 10 seconds a child is abused. [3]
• In 1996, reports of child abuse were received from:
  • 51% Professionals/Mandated Reporters
  • 18% Family member or the victim
  • 9% Friends and/or neighbors
  • 10% Other or anonymous [1]
• An estimated 1,077 child maltreatment fatalities (or 3 per day) occurred in the United States in 1996. Some experts believe a more realistic estimate is 1,000 - 5,000 children die from child abuse each year. [1]

• The percentage of child abuse victims suffered harm in 1996 from:
  • 51% Neglect
  • 14% Physical Abuse
  • 11% Sexual Abuse
  • 6% Emotional Abuse
  • 3% Medical Neglect [1]

• More than half of the victims were 7 years old or younger and one-quarter were younger than 4 years of age. [1]
• Between 1995 and 1997, 78% of child abuse and neglect fatalities were children under the age of 5, and 38% were under one year of age. [3]
• Victims by age:
  • 18% Age 0 - 3 
  • 18% Age 4 - 7
  • 11% Age 8 - 11
  • 13% Age 11 and over [1]
• Victims by gender:
  • 51% Female
  • 48% Male [1]
• Victims by race: 
  • 56% of all victims were white
  • 19% African American
  • 11% Hispanic
  • 1% American Indian/Alaska Native
  • 1% Asian/Pacific Islanders [1]
• Children in homes of substance abusing caretakers are almost 3 times likelier to be abused and more than 4 times likelier to be neglected than children of parents who are not substance abusers. [1]

• Maltreatment in childhood increases the likelihood of arrest as a juvenile by 53%, and as an adult by 38% and for females by 77%. [1]
• Being abused or neglect in childhood increases the likelihood of arrest for females by 77%. [1]
• Children who are sexually abused are 18 times more likely to be arrested for prostitution as an adult. [1]
• 85% of convicted felons were abused as children. [9]

• Children younger than age 4 accounted for 76% of the fatalities. [1]
• Between 1995 and 1997, 78% of child abuse and neglect fatalities were children under the age of 5, and 38% were under one year of age. [3]
• Fatal abuse usually occurs in one of two ways: repeated abuse and/or neglect over a period of time (battered child syndrome) or in a single, impulsive incident of assault (drowning, suffocating, or shaking the baby for example). [1]
• Child abuse kills more children in America than do accidental falls, drowning, choking on food, fires in the home or suffocation. [4]
• Children under age 3 account for approximately 75% of child deaths from child abuse. [1]
• Head trauma is the leading cause of child abuse deaths among babies. This includes shaken baby syndrome in which 15% of victims die and the majority of the survivors suffer brain damage. [4]

• Who is abusing the children:
  • 77% of the perpetrators were parents
  • 11% of the perpetrators were relatives of the victim
  • 10% were classified as non-caretakers or unknown
  • 1% were in other caretaking roles, such as childcare, foster care, etc. [1]
• Perpetrators by age:
  • 81% Under the age of 40.
  • 13% Age 40 - 49
  • 6% Age 50 and Older [1]
• Perpetrators by gender:
  • 60% Female
  • 40% Male [1]
• Females account for three-quarters of the neglect and medical neglect cases, and three-quarters of the sexual abuse cases were associated with male perpetrators. [1] 
• An estimated one-half of all homes with adult violence also involve child abuse or neglect. [4] 
• One-third of all child molesters incarcerated in state prisons nationwide had attacked their own children or stepchildren, the majority of whom were age 11 or younger. [4] 
• Children from families with annual incomes below $15,000 per year were more than 15 times more likely than children from families with an annual income above $30,000 to be harmed by child abuse or neglect. [1] 
• 50 to 80 percent of all child abuse cases substantiated by CPS involve some degree of substance abuse by the child's parents. [1] 
• Most of the perpetrators in child fatalities are the child's primary caregivers [1]
  

• More cases of child sexual abuse are never reported than are ever tried in court. [5]
• Girls are sexually abused 3 times more often than boys. [6]
• 1 out of every 4 girls, and 1 out of every 6 boys are sexually abused by the age of 18 years old. [8]
• Victims by gender:
  • 77% Female
  • 13% Male [1]
• Women sexually abused before age 18 have lower levels of interpersonal functions and social adjustments as adults and are less likely to form trusting relationships. [1]
• More than half of the child victims of rape or sexual assault are age 11 or younger. [4]
• For mothers who were age 15 at the time their child was born, 39% of the fathers were age 10 or older. [10]
• Some 74% of women who had intercourse before age 14, and 60% of those who had sex before age 15, report having had sex involuntarily. [10]

• It is estimated that 8 out of every 1000 children experience some form of physical neglect. [1]
• A greater proportion of the victims of neglect and medical neglect were under 8 years of age. [1]
• The percentage of victims of neglect decreases with child age. While over half of the victims of neglect were under the age of 4, only 13% of the neglect victims were age 11 or older. [1]
• The percentage of the victims of physical, sexual and emotional maltreatment increases with the child's age. While only 10% of all sexual abuse victims were under 4 years of age, 36% were age 11 or older. [1]
• Victims of emotional maltreatment are more likely to be females. Males are slightly more likely to be victims of other types of abuse.