Child Abuse Statistics
A Canadian child abuse statistics survey done by Bibby in 2000 (2001 1 )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. 1850 2 ).
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. 1850 3 ).
Some Worldwide Child Abuse Statistics
 Worldwide, approximately 40 million children are subjected to child abuse each year (WHO, 2001 4 ).
Suicide is the third leading cause of death in adolescents around the world (WHO, 2002 5 ).
One study revealed that about 30% of all severely disabled children relegated to special homes in the Ukraine died before they reached 18 years of age (Human Rights Watch, 2001 6 ).
UNICEF estimates that two million children died as a result of armed conflict during a recent 10-year period, and that another six million were injured or disabled (Human Right Watch, 2001 7 ).
In Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, over 6.5 million children annually are exposed to unwanted sexual materials over the Internet; over 1.7 million of these report distress over exposure to these materials (Estes & Weiner, 2001 8 ).
Each year, approximately one million more children around the world are introduced into commercial sexual exploitation (Casa Alianza, 2001 9 ).
Sexual abuse statistics vary between countries and reports, but are consistently alarming: One country's research indicates that up to 36% of girls and 29% of boys have suffered child sexual abuse; another study reveals up to 46% of girls and 20% of boys have experienced sexual coercion (The 57th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights 10 ).
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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., 2000 11 ).
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., 2001 12 ).
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 out my 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, 2001 13 ).
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, 2001 14 ).
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, 2001 15 ).
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, 2002 16 ).
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, 2002 17 ).
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, 1999 18 ).
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, 1999 19 ).
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. 66-69 20 ).
NOTE: Child abuse statistics do not accurately reflect child abuse, because child abuse is so under-reported.
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