About Child Abuse

The Exchange Club Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse is located in North Charleston, South Carolina.

What is child abuse?
Child abuse is any mistreatment or neglect of a child that results in non-accidental harm or injury and which cannot be reasonably explained . Child abuse can include: physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and neglect.

How many children are abused each year?
According to the 1997 Fifty State Survey on trends in reporting child abuse and fatalities, researched and developed by the Prevent Child Abuse America (formerly NCPCA), an estimated 3,195,000 children were reported to Child Protective Service (CPS) agencies as alleged victims of child abuse and neglect. Of this number, approximately 1,054,000 children were confirmed as victims of actual abusive situations -- a 5% increase from the previous year. In other cases, there was not enough information to substantiate the report. These statistics represent that 15 out of every 1,000 children were confirmed as being abused or neglected.

Percentage of numbers of substantiated cases of abuse:
Physical Abuse - 22%
Sexual Abuse - 8%
Neglect - 54%
Emotional Abuse - 4%
Other - 12%*

*includes cases such as abandonment, congential drug addiction, educational neglect and other situations endangering a child. Children may be the victims of more than one type of maltreatment.

Overall, child abuse reporting levels have increased 41% since 1988. Experts attribute much of the recent increase in reporting to greater public awareness and willingness to report child abuse and neglect.

How many children die each year from child abuse?
In 1997, an estimated 1,185 child abuse and related fatalities were confirmed by CPS agencies. Based on these numbers, five to six children die each day as a result of child abuse and neglect.

What makes people abuse children?
It is difficult to imagine that any person would intentionally inflict harm on his or her own child. Many times, physical abuse is a result of excessive discipline or physical punishment that is inappropriate for the child's age. The parent may simply be unaware of the magnitude of force with which he or she strikes a child. Most parents want to be good parents but sometimes lose control and are unable to cope.

Factors which contribute to child abuse include the immaturity of parents, lack of parenting skills, unrealistic expectations about children's behavior and capabilities, a parent's own negative childhood experience, social isolation, frequent family crises and drug or alcohol problems. Child abuse is a symptom that parents are having difficulty coping with their situation.