• An estimated 984,000 children were victims of maltreatment nationwide in 1998. Of these, 53.5 percent suffered neglect; 2.4 percent were medically neglected; 22.7 percent were physically abused; and 6 percent were emotionally maltreated (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau, 2000).
  
  
• The rate of child maltreatment in 1998 was 12.9 per thousand children in the population (Ibid).
  
  
• In 1998, approximately 103,845 children were sexually abused; sexual abuse of children occurred at the rate of 1.49 children per thousand (Ibid).
  
  
• Five to fifteen percent of all males, and fifteen to thirty percent of all females report some type of exposure to child sexual abuse (Brown, 2000).
  
  
• Based on reports to law enforcement, children under 12 constituted roughly 50 percent of all victims of forcible sodomy, sexual assault with object, and forcible fondling (Snyder, 2000).
  
  
• The results of the 1999 annual survey by Prevent Child Abuse show that 41 percent of the parents reported having spanked or hit their child during the past 12 months, 38 percent said they had sworn at or insulted the child, and 51 percent indicated that they had failed to meet the child's emotional needs. Two percent of the respondents reported kicking, biting, or punching their child, while six percent said they had hit their child with an object (Daro, 1999).
  
  
• Children (ages 17 and younger) are more likely to be kidnaped by acquaintances who are not family members than by complete strangers. In 49 percent of the juvenile abductions, family members were responsible. About 27 percent involve non-family acquaintances, and 24 percent were attributed to strangers (Finkelhor, Kidnaping, 2000).
  
  
• A longitudinal comparative study of 1,575 people, 908 of which were abused or neglected in childhood, and the remainder of which were the control group, shows that the abuse/neglected group scored significantly lower on an IQ scale, held significantly more menial and semiskilled jobs, had 1.6 times higher odds of committing crimes as adults, and were significantly more likely to have attempted a suicide and developed antisocial personality disorders (Widom, 2000).
  
  

For additional information, please contact:

National Center for Victims of Crime, 2111 Wilson Blvd., Suite 300 Arlington, VA 22201 (703)276-2880 (703)276-2889 (fax) E-mail: ncvc@ncvc.org Web site: www.ncvc.org

U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reports Clarksburg, WV 26306-0154 (304)625-4995

National Criminal Justice Reference Service U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Justice, Box 6000, Rockville, MD 20849-6000 (800)851-3420 (301)519-5500 km.Web site: www.ncjrs.org

KLAAS Kids Foundation
www.klaaskids.org

Reprinted, not in its entirety, from Crime and Victimization in America, Statistical Overview, National Center for Victims of Crime, 2000 edition


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