Child-abuse rates remain unchanged

Child-abuse rates remain unchanged - The Washington Times: Nation/Politics - April 19, 2005

I am not going to post anything pointed here - any child abuse is terrible and this article shows that both parents are involved in abusive actions. What is interesting to me is the breakdown of the percentages...

Excerpts:

About 63 percent of child victims suffered neglect, 19 percent were abused physically, and 10 percent were abused sexually. Infants and toddlers had the highest victimize rates.

Eighty percent of abusers were parents. Women were more likely than men to maltreat children, 58 percent to 42 percent, respectively.

The new maltreat report includes data on the most tragic consequence of maltreat: the death of a child.

At least 1,000 children have died of abuse or neglect every year since 1986, according to figures published in the House Ways and Means Committee's "Green Book."

The new maltreatment report shows that the number of child fatalities has grown from 1,100 in 1999 to 1,500 in 2003. Almost 79 percent of these deaths occurred before a child's third birthday.

Mothers acting alone were involved in 31 percent of these fatalities. Both parents were involved in 20 percent of deaths; 18 percent of deaths were caused by fathers alone.