The Sunshine House
Regional Children's Advocacy Center
Some Facts about Abuse
- Child abuse occurs at every socioeconomic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels of education
- More than 90% of juvenile sexual abuse victims know their perpetrator in some way
- About 30% of abused and neglected children will later abuse their own children.
- One-third to two-thirds of child maltreatment cases involve substance use to some degree.
- More than 4 children in the US die every day as a result of child abuse.
Helpful Links
Signs of Abuse
1. Unexplained injuries.
2. Changes in behavior.
3. Returning to earlier behavior such as thumb-sucking, bed-wetting, fear of the dark or strangers
4. Fear of going home
5. Changes in eating
6. Changes in sleeping
7. Changes in school performance and attendance.
8. Lack of personal care or hygiene
9. Risk-taking behaviors
10. Inappropriate sexual behaviors.
Reporting Abuse
If you know that a child is in immediate danger or has been severely injured, call 911 immediately.
If you have concerns of abuse, call the police or local child protective services.
A child rarely lies about sexual abuse, so if he or she confides in you believe, support, and report.
The Negative Impact of Abuse
-14% of all men in prison and 36% of women in prison in the USA were abused as children, about twice the frequency seen in the general population
-Children who experience child abuse & neglect are about 9 times more likely to become involved in criminal activity.
-Abused children are 25% more likely to experience teen pregnancy.
-More than a third of adolescents with a report of abuse or neglect will have a substance use disorder before their 18th birthday, three times as likely as those without a report of abuse or neglect.
-Abused teens are more likely to engage in sexual risk taking, putting them at greater risk for STDs.
-Nearly half of all U.S children, some 34 million, have experienced at least one type of childhood trauma, while 16 million have experienced two or more types of trauma.
-Abuse carries a heavy cost: The lifetime cost for each victim is $210,012.
-Each year, total lifetime costs of new cases of child abuse reach approximately $124 billion.
1 in 4 girls will be sexually abused by their 18th birthday
1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused by their 18th birthday
Only 1 in 10 children will tell
Healing the Hurt and Healing the Future
Child abuse and other forms of childhood trauma can have lifelong effects on children, families and communities. Many studies have shown the strong relationship between childhood trauma and serious outcomes such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, substance use, physical health problems and even poverty and early death.
But we can prevent these outcomes, especially when children receive services and support early on. Evidenced based mental health treatments, like those delivered at children's advocacy centers, can significantly reduce trauma symptoms and prevent the long-term effects of exposure to trauma.
Evidence based treatments can help reduce trauma symptoms and improve outcomes for children.
VENMO: @sunshinehousecac
