New Data: Child Abuse Down Slightly, Fatalities Up

The Cheese

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New statistic related to filicide

The number of U.S. children victimized by abuse and neglect has dropped for the sixth straight year, but child fatalities linked to maltreatment increased by nearly 4 percent, according to the latest federal data.

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But the report found that fatalities attributable to child abuse and neglect increased from 1,580 in 2011 to 1,640 in 2012.

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About 70 percent of the 2012 fatalities involved children younger than 3, and parents were the perpetrators in 80 percent of the cases.

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Overall, white children accounted for about 44 percent of the victims of maltreatment, black children about 21 percent and Hispanic children about 22 percent; 78.3 percent of the victims suffered neglect, 18.3 percent were physically abused and 9.3 percent were sexually abused. The report tallied 62,936 children who were sexually abused in 2012 — up slightly from 2011 but down considerably from the peak of about 150,000 in 1992.

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Sociologist David Finkelhor, director of the University of New Hampshire's Crimes Against Children Research Center, said the changes from 2011 to 2012 appeared to be minor, which he took as a positive sign.

"The key thing everyone has been on the lookout for is whether several years of economic stress and high unemployment have been taking their toll on family life and increasing the inclination to take it out kids, while state budget cuts make protection less available," Finkelhor wrote in an email.

Given the pessimistic expectations, Finkelhor wrote, the minimal change depicted in the report "is good news."


http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/data-child-abuse-slightly-fatalities-21249894


Here's the full study:

Child Maltreatment 2012

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/resource/child-maltreatment-2012


Breaking down the numbers above:

Children in the US in 2012 fatalities from abuse and neglect combined: 1,640

Parent perpetrators in 70% (of 1,640 fatalities) = 1,148 parent perpetrators

younger than 3 (70% of 1,640 fatalities): 1,148
older than 3 (30% of 1,640 fatalities): 492
 
From the document linked above:

  • Four-fifths (80.0%) of child fatalities involved parents acting alone, together, or with other individuals.
  • A child’s mother acting alone perpetrated 27.1 percent,
  • both parents were responsible for one-fifth (21.2%), and
  • a father acting alone perpetrated 17.1 percent of child fatalities.
  • Perpetrators without a parental relationship to the child accounted for 14.3 percent of fatalities.
  • Child fatalities with unknown perpetrator relationship data accounted for 5.6 percent.
 
From document above:

picture.php
 
The table above in text because the screen shot's not very clear:

Table 4–4 Child Fatalities by Perpetrator Relationship, 2012

Perpetrator Number Percent

PARENT

Father - 200 - 17.1%
Father and Other - 25 - 2.1%
Mother - 318 - 27.1%
Mother and Other - 147 - 12.5%
Mother and Father - 248 - 21.2%

Total Parents - 938 - 80.0%

NONPARENT

Child Daycare Provider - 14 - 1.2%
Foster Parent (Female Relative)
Foster Parent (Male Relative) - 1 - 0.1%
Foster Parent (Nonrelative) - 2 - 0.2%
Foster Parent (Unknown Relationship)
Friend or Neighbor - 2 - 0.2%
Group Home and Residential Facility Staff - 1 - 0.1%
Legal Guardian (Female) - 1 - 0.1%
Legal Guardian (Male)
More than One Nonparental Perpetrator - 27 - 2.3%
Other - 33 - 2.8%
Other Professional
Partner of Parent (Female) - 1 - 0.1%
Partner of Parent (Male) - 30 - 2.6%
Relative (Female) - 33 - 2.8%
Relative (Male) - 23 - 2.0%

Total Nonparents - 168 - 14.3

UNKNOWN

Unknown - 66 - 5.6%

Total Unknown - 66 - 5.6%

Total 1,172
 

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