Until recently, I had no idea we had a month devoted to the prevention of child abuse. We do. The first child protection legislation was passed in 1974 with the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. In 1983, April was declared National Child Abuse Prevention Month by congress to raise awareness and provide resources for and about child abuse on a national scale.
"In 1989, the Blue Ribbon Campaign to Prevent Child Abuse had its early beginnings as a Virginia grandmother's tribute to her grandson who died as a result of abuse. She tied a blue ribbon to the antenna of her car as a way to remember him and to alert her community to the tragedy of child abuse. The Blue Ribbon Campaign has since expanded across the country, and many wear blue ribbons each April in memory of those who have died as a result of child abuse (nationalchildrensalliance.org)"
Upon doing research for statistics on child abuse in the US, I found these very alarming statistics here at child help-USA.com.
General Statistics
- A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds
- More than four children die every day as a result of child abuse.
- It is estimated that between 50-60% of child fatalities due to maltreatment are not recorded as such on death certificates.
- Approximately 70% of children that die from abuse are under the age of 4.
- More than 90% of juvenile sexual abuse victims know their perpetrator in some way.
- Child abuse occurs at every socioeconomic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels of education.
- About 30% of abused and neglected children will later abuse their own children, continuing the horrible cycle of abuse.
- In at least one study, about 80% of 21 year olds that were abused as children met criteria for at least one psychological disorder.
- The estimated annual cost of child abuse and neglect in the United States for 2008 is $124 billion.
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