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[/profileleft]Our first instinct when we learn child abuse has occurred should be to contact law enforcement. That is the proper response to a horrifying situation. Child abuse is a scourge on society. It is much more prevalent than many people would guess. Many people would be surprised if not shocked to see the statistics regarding the number of child abuse cases that are reported in the United States every year. Many would also be surprised to see an estimate of how many child abuse cases are likely never reported. Unfortunately, for various evidentiary reasons, there are occasions when police cannot move forward with certain child abuse cases that are reported. It’s common for people who find themselves or their children in this position to lose hope when told by law enforcement that the criminal case cannot proceed. However, the children abuse lawyers at Gomez Trial Attorneys are here to tell you that you should not give up hope. You still have ways to protect the rights of that child and obtain justice from the abuser.
Child Abuse Cases – Statistics on Reporting
We bring this to the public’s attention because we want to do as much as we can to raise awareness regarding child abuse. This awareness may help in certain cases to bring those who commit these despicable acts to justice. Ark of Hope for Children is a group that works tirelessly to help deal with the problem that is child abuse in the United States. They publish statistics regarding how common this problem is across the country. Below are a few of those statistics:
- More than 3 million child abuse reports were filed in 2010 alone.
- A child is abused or raped every 10 seconds somewhere in the United States.
- 85 percent of runaways in the United States left home because of some form of abuse.
- Only 10 percent of children who are abused do not know their abuser.
- Only one out of three cases of child abuse are reported, according to estimates.
- That means that it’s possible that nearly 10 million children per year are abused in the United States.
These are clearly troubling statistics, but they become even more troubling when one views the statistics relating to what tends to happen to abused children when these situations are not reported. These unfortunate children are:
- 38 percent more likely to be arrested for violent crimes
- 59 percent more likely to be arrested as a juvenile
- 28 percent more likely to be arrested as an adult
In addition:
- 84 percent of all prison inmates had been abused as children.
- More than 65 percent of all people in drug abuse treatment had been abused children.
- 80 percent of adults who were abused children meet at least one criterion for a psychological disorder.
It should be clear to anyone that child abuse is not only something that inflicts immediate physical, emotional and psychological harm on the victims, but the wounds from this trauma can affect a person for the rest of his or her life. A full breakdown of these statistics from the Ark of Hope for Children is available here.
Child Abuse and Your Alternatives
If you suspect that a child you know is being abused and you’re unsure of how to handle it, you have options. One such option, after contacting law enforcement immediately, is to seek the advice of children’s rights lawyers who can stand up and fight for the rights of a child that has been mistreated. If you find yourself in this difficult situation, contact Gomez Trial Attorneys today to schedule a free initial consultation.
