Current statistics indicate that there are approximately a half million child abuse victims in the United States each year, with nearly 2,000 kids per year dying from their abuse. Child abuse can take many forms, including physical assault, sexual abuse, and neglect.
Recent studies indicate that as many as 25% of children under age 17 in America today experience some type of neglect.
While details of abuse vary from case to case, the reality is that any type of abuse or neglect leaves emotional scars: survivors of childhood abuse are more likely to develop depression, anxiety, PTSD, and borderline or dissociative identity challenges later in life, while physically speaking, child abuse survivors are more prone to diabetes, heart disease, obesity and cancer. And these emotional scars also come with a monetary cost: an almost decade old study estimated that non-fatal child maltreatment yielded costs of approximately $830,928 per abused child – with costs for children whose lives ended in fatalities pegged at $16.6 million (per child). Simply put: child abuse is not an inexpensive problem spiritually or monetarily for the children or adults involved – or for the local, state and federal government agencies who attempt to intervene in such cases.
And while statistics vary on the number of children affected by sexual abuse, many experts agree that it is affecting at least 1 in 9 girls, and 1 in approximately 50 boys. Moreover, with the advent of the internet, sex trafficking involving children has also exploded: the UN Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that 1 in 3 victims of human trafficking worldwide are under the age of 18, although in certain regions, the percentage of child victims is well in excess of 50%. Furthermore, the prevalence of internet use by children has also upped the number of children exposed to pornography: one recent study showed 70% of kids between the ages of 8 and 18 had accidentally encountered porn while conducting innocent internet searches.
The combination of the above factors is both sad and a testament that better answers are urgently needed. One such answer lies in education – and education of not just ourselves, but our kids. The reality is that we cannot be with our children to protect them 24/7. But what we can do – and what we must do – is educate them on these topics. By making children aware of signs and symptoms of potential abuse and would-be abusers in an age-appropriate way, children can then become empowered to steer clear of becoming victims themselves – and report to parents or other trusted adults when something is about to happen (or has happened) to themselves or their friends. People who know more do better – and that is doubly true for our children.
To host a seminar with your school, church or parent friends – or to learn more, in general, about such topics including child abuse, sex trafficking and prevention of pornography – contact Leigh Dundas at Leigh.esq@gmail.com.
