Child Abuse Statistics

A Canadian child abuse statistics survey done by Bibby in 2000 (2001¹)revealed that 56% of adolescents rated child abuse as their top societal concern.

It would be very easy to brush this statistic off by saying 'what do they know, they're just kids'.

But before you set this adolescent concern aside, consider that in a decade or two or three these same 'kids' will be our lawyers and judges and lawmakers. These same 'kids' are our future. We owe it to ourselves to take the statistic seriously.

DID YOU KNOW: Adolescents experience maltreatment at rates equal to or exceeding those of younger children (Council on Scientific Affairs, 1993, p. 1850²).

DID YOU KNOW: Identification of adolescent maltreatment victims is medically important because youth with a history of victimization are more likely to engage in a variety of health risk behaviours and are more likely to be future victims or perpetrators of domestic violence (Council on Scientific Affairs, 1993, p. 1850³).

  Canadian Child Abuse Statistics #1:

In a study of runaways presenting at an emergency ward who reported a history of maltreatment, 83% had disabilities as compared to 47% of the non-maltreatment runaways. Using information collected from schools, 34% of the maltreated had disabilities as opposed to 17% of the non-maltreated runaways (Sullivan, et al., 2000¹¹).

  Canadian Child Abuse Statistics #2:

A major reason that young people leave home is in order to escape from sexual and/or physical abuse in their family--the average age they leave is 15 (Beauvais et al., 2001¹²).

PERSONAL NOTE: I was 16 when I left home for good because of physical and emotional abuse, but not before running away many times. Check outmy story.

  Canadian Child Abuse Statistics #3:

The average age of entry into the sex trade in Canada is between 14 years of age in British Columbia and 17 in Ontario (Estes, 2001¹³).

  Canadian Child Abuse Statistics #4:

Close to one-third of teens between ages 14 and 19 who participated in a Canadian study had experienced some kind of childhood abuse or neglect (Wolfe, 2001¹⁴).

  Canadian Child Abuse Statistics #5:

In the same Canadian study mentioned in #4, girl victims reported emotional distress, post-traumatic-stress related symptoms and acts of both violent and non-violent delinquency. Boy victims of child maltreatment reported far less emotional distress and delinquent behaviours; however, they were far more likely to buttault their dating partners (Wolfe, 2001¹⁵).

  Canadian Child Abuse Statistics #6:

A telephone survey undertaken across Canada in 2002 found that 62% of Canadians felt that the problem of domestic violence in Canadian society has increased in the past 10 years. And of the 55 homicides of children and youth in 2000, family members killed 31 of the victims (Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, 2002¹⁶).

  Canadian Child Abuse Statistics #7:

Children and youth who received high levels of negative parenting practices (i.e. physical punishment, scolding and yelling) were more likely to be involved in aggressive behaviours (Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, 2002¹⁷).

  Canadian Child Abuse Statistics #8:

Sexually exploited youth (SEY) almost always have a history of abuse. Studies show that 90% of SEY females have been physically abused as opposed to 24% of females in school. 88% of SEY females report sexual abuse as opposed to 21% of females in school. Respondents reported that the abuse was perpetrated mostly by family and friends, followed by pimps or tricks (McCreary Centre Society, 1999¹⁸).

  Canadian Child Abuse Statistics #9:

A British Columbia-wide study showed that gay and lesbian youth are much more likely to have experienced abuse than heterosexual youth. 61% have been physically abused and 40% have been sexually abused as opposed to 20% and 12% respectively (McCreary Centre Society, 1999¹⁹).

  Canadian Child Abuse Statistics #10:

Among the population of Canada's children and youth:

     »  28.6% are vulnerable to physical and/or emotional injury
     »  12.8% have low cognitive skills
     »  19.1% have one or more behavioural problems
     »  3% have both cognitive and behavioural problems

Poor cognitive and behavioural outcomes can be considered the most significant risk factor (Willms, 2002, pp. 66-69²⁰).

NOTE: Child abuse statistics do not accurately reflect child abuse, because child abuse is so under-reported.

And in his little room, a red rose and a small Gideon Bible lay on his bed, left there by his heartbroken house mother. Photo: Timothy Bernard, The Star 

Parents 'struggle to find holiday childcare'

Many parents in Britain are struggling to find childcare for their children over the summer holidays, a survey by the Daycare Trust suggests.

The trust found 60 of the 150 Family Information Services (FIS) in England had parents reporting a lack of care.

In Wales, 10 of the 21 FIS said parents faced a shortage of holiday childcare.

The situation in Scotland was slightly better, with 6 of the 31 Childcare Information Services (CIS) saying parents were struggling to find cover.

Regions in England reporting particularly high levels of holiday childcare shortages included the South East, the West Midlands and the North East.

The Daycare Trust also found the average cost of a week's childcare for one child was £93.

But parents faced differing bills for holiday childcare, depending on where they lived.

In the West Midlands, the typical weekly cost was £79.02, whereas in the South East it was £105.74.

In Wales the average cost was £80.25 and in Scotland it was £100.38.

In response to its questionnaire to 202 information services, the Daycare Trust received responses from 96 FIS in England, 15 in Wales and 21 in Scotland.

High costs

Chief Executive of Daycare Trust Alison Garnham said there was a "gaping hole" in holiday childcare provision which would get worse with the impact of local authority spending cuts.

"Where provision is available, parents are being expected to shell out the equivalent cost of a family holiday abroad over the course of the summer - simply for the privilege of having their children looked after so that they can attend work.

"If the government are serious about getting parents into employment then they must take a comprehensive approach to investing in more holiday and wraparound childcare, whilst ensuring tax credits really do 'make work pay', so that affordable, accessible, quality childcare is available in every community, for every child.

"The recent changes to tax credits mean that many working parents will in future receive less help with childcare costs - this is a seriously bad move and means more help is needed to make childcare more affordable."

A cold March wind danced
around the dead of night in
Dallas as the doctor walked
into the small hospital room
of Diana Blessing. She was
still groggy from surgery.
Her husband, David, held her
hand as they braced
themselves for the latest news.

That afternoon of March 10,
1991, complications had
forced Diana, only 24-weeks
pregnant, to undergo an
emergency Cesarean to
deliver couple's new
daughter, Dana Lu Blessing.
At 12 inches long and
weighing only one pound
nine ounces, they already
knew she was perilously premature.

Still, the doctor's soft words dropped
like bombs.
"I don't think she's going to
make it," he said, as kindly as
he could.
"There's only a 10-percent
chance she will live through
the night, and even then, if by
some slim chance she does
make it, her future could be a
very cruel one"

Numb with disbelief, David
and Diana listened as the
doctor described the
devastating problems Dana
would likely face if she
survived.
She would never walk, she
would never talk, she would
probably be blind, and she
would certainly be prone to
other catastrophic conditions
from cerebral palsy to
complete mental retardation,
and on and on.

"No! No!" was all Diana could say.
She and David, with their 5-
year-old son Dustin, had long
dreamed of the day they
would have a daughter to
become a family of four.
Now, within a matter of
hours, that dream was
slipping away

But as those first days
passed, a new agony set in
for David and Diana.
Because Dana's
underdeveloped nervous
system was essentially 'raw',
the lightest kiss or caress
only intensified her
discomfort, so they couldn't
even cradle their tiny baby
girl against their chests to
offer the strength of their love.

All they could do, as Dana
struggled alone beneath the
ultraviolet light in the tangle of
tubes and wires, was to pray
that God would stay close to
their precious little girl.

There was never a moment
when Dana suddenly grew
stronger.
But as the weeks went by,
she did slowly gain an ounce
of weight here and an ounce
of strength there.

At last, when Dana turned
two months old. her parents
were able to hold her in their arms.

My Name Is Sasha

Child abuse falls into four categories: neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse. There are certain risk factors that predispose a child to being abused and an adult to abusing a child. Risk factors for children are age, children with learning disabilities, adopted and foster children, children with congenital abnormalities, and a past history of abuse. Parental risk factors include young or single parents, those who suffered abuse themselves, adults with substance-abuse problems or psychiatric disease, and those who didn't graduate from high school.

A guide for parents

Have you ever noticed how audiences these days laugh the most when the actors make cutting remarks and try to embarrass or hurt each other? That's supposed to be funny. Well, to me it's offensive! When I was young, audiences would be stunned and offended at that sort of thing. Now they just roar with laughter.

You can hardly find a movie or TV show about a family with children where the kids aren't fussing and fighting like mad. The parents do it too. Husbands and wives are constantly arguing and putting each other down in front of their children—and in front of your children. Because this has become the norm among families in the media, the children watching naturally buttume that it's normal and acceptable for families to behave that way.

Sad to say, it probably is typical of the average U.S. home, since that's where most of those shows originate and that's who the producers are appealing to. It's normal in that sense, but it certainly shouldn't be considered acceptable. It's unloving, hurtful, and wrong—and it's contagious! It's also rapidly becoming a picture of home life almost anywhere, largely due to the influence those shows have as they spread around the world. Isn't that horrible?

Just because a movie or TV show is rated for children doesn't necessarily mean that it's good for your children.

Children imitate what they see and hear, and they seem to have a penchant for copying the negative. Young children, especially, can't always tell the difference between good or bad, and it's even harder when those guilty of some of the worst behavior are made to look so enviable, so "good," in other ways—good looking, affluent, popular, smarter than the adults, and free to do as they please.

Children are in the process of forming the values that they will carry with them through life, and it's their parents' responsibility to guide that process. Parents are failing at that job if they let their children watch what they want without any parental guidance or explanation as to what is acceptable civil behavior and what isn't. And that goes for shows that are supposedly geared to children, even the ones that are meant to be educational.

Just because a movie or TV show is rated for children doesn't necessarily mean that it's good for your children. Parents need to take personal responsibility for that decision. They also have a responsibility to steer their children away from the negative, either by not exposing their children to it in the first place, or by explaining why it's bad and not to be imitated.

What a mess the entertainment world is in! It could be such a good tool for teaching about life, as it once was, but instead it's getting worse by the year!

Today's mainstream media rarely mentions God except in profanity, the occult is intriguing and "cool," and religious people are usually portrayed as kooks.When I was growing up, many movies had positive, reverent references to God and prayer, and often even the most wayward characters would wind up learning their lesson and reforming. Movies back then usually had happy endings, with morals and lessons being taught.

Not now! Sometimes you can hardly tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys. What I really hate are those stories where the evil wins out in the end.

In Greek drama, European opera, and Shakespearean plays there were lots of tragedies, but there was always a lesson to be learned. The Greeks believed that the emotions tragedy released, sadness and grief, were good because they had a purgative, purifying effect. Shakespeare's tragedies were insightful and meaningful. Every Aesop's Fable had a moral at the end.

But most of today's music, movies, television, videos, and other entertainment have nothing sensible to teach, no lesson to be learned. They leave you with a feeling of hopelessness. "Everything's a mess! The world's a terrible place! God must be a monster to have created such a thing!" They blame it all on God. Even if they don't mention God, that's what they mean. "Why me? This is unfair! Why does this have to happen to me?"

Cartoons have always had their share of violence—cartoon characters hitting each other and blowing each other up and that sort of thing—but some of the latest cartoons are even worse because they introduce children to the occult and other evil supernatural stuff. I love the supernatural—the good side—but many of today's cartoons portray and promote the other side, a full array of Satan's goods! It's like stepping back into the Dark Ages. It's terrible!

It's the same with much of today's music and music videos. You can hardly ever understand the lyrics—at least most adults can't without really making an effort. But if you make that effort, or if you read the lyrics [most can be found online], in many cases you'll be shocked and appalled at the perversions and warped values that songwriters and bands are preaching to young people through their music.

If you're a parent, you need to take a long, hard look at what's out there and decide if that's how you want your children to turn out, because what they watch and listen to and imitate today, they will become tomorrow.

* * *

Proactive parenting
How to get the most from TV

• Don't let your children watch unmonitored TV.
• Preview or read reviews on a movie or TV show before showing it to your children. Be selective.
• Strive to make watching TV shows, documentaries, or movies both fun and a learning experience by watching and discussing them together. It will help your children develop the right perspectives.
• Talk with your children about what they do with their friends for entertainment, not in a way that suggests you don't trust them, but to help them build and be true to their values.
• Balance TV with fun activities other than TV viewing, such as playing games together, sports, outings, etc.
•  

My little shadow my little shadow my little shadow and me
My little shadow was always one step behind you see
My little shadow with her long blonde flowing hair
No matter how many times I looked my little shadow was there

She would roam outside to play but not for long
Little shadows moms quite time was gone
My little shadow would creep into my bed at night
My little shadow would kiss and hold me so tight

I turned around one day to find my little shadow was gone
But I still have the memories of my little shadow to hold on
Mom enjoy your little shadows before they to are gone
It is truly sad when there’s no more little shadow to tag along

My little shadow as I have watched you grow
My dear little shadow where did you go
My precious little shadow you are now grown
My little shadow now has two shadows of her own