A Peek at the First Draft of Chapter 3 for -The Global Covenant to Protect The Sacred Lives of Children

Chapter Three

Children have the right to say no in the face of danger that will cause them mental, emotional, physical abuse or endangerment and to be supported and defended by their parents and the law.

I don’t really like to have to approach this topic, but I have no choice but to share the statistics on this issue for you to understand the depth of this problem in our American society.

According to the statistical information provided by sources such as the National Children’s Alliance, World Health Organization, and the Children’s Advocacy Center, our children are in “crisis” in the United States of America.  We certainly should be doing better than what we are doing as a so called “highly evolved and civilized-what ever that means- global leader in the world.  As the riches country in the world, we have the highest rates of child abuse and total child mortality in the Western world. We have the highest income inequality in the West, which aligns with the statistical link between child mortality and poverty. We all as citizen have a responsibility to advocate for the welfare of our children and youth.  How can we as a country justify the conditions that plague our children when we have not only the resources but the intellect to address these issues and rectify the poverty, abuse, neglect and endangerment our children face on a daily bases.  When we have one in six children living in poverty to a tune of nearly 12,000,00 children and 73 percent are children of color, we have serious unethical values and mores to confront in terms of the moral fabric of our country.  No child deserves to be a last priority of their country. Our Federal investment in our children in this country is at the lowest level it has been in decades. We are failing our children in terms of poverty, housing, gun violence, hunger, health and welfare and mis-education.  It really depressed me to read the statistical information in this chapter.  I knew that we had a serious problem, but when you look at what we have accomplished in terms of science and technology, I struggle to understand why we are still not realizing that we have the power to change the quality of life our children are being subjected to.

Currently, we are faced with children at our borders pleading for help.  Fleeing their violent poverty stricken countries in an attempt for their parents to save their lives.  We are in the position to respond to this crisis as well.  It is not an either or decision for us.  It is a global epidemic that we can take the lead on.  Children are children! They are not to be criminalized and victimized! I can’t imagine the pain that consumes these parents that feel compelled to send their children across a border away from them into the hands of strangers. From beginning to end they have no idea who will interface with their child.  They have no idea whether or not they make it to what they hope is safety.  They have no idea what the circumstances will be if they make it across the border and if they do make it, what will transpire after that. I can’t imagine the desperation a parent must have to do this.  It must be so terrifying. We have the capacity to develop a more humane and safe protocol for this crisis these children are faced with. It is so painful to see comments in social media that callously and inhumanely say cruel and vile remarks about our immigrant children at the border.  I have a dear friend, Rev. Dan Romero, M.Div., J.D., who established the Dan Romero Center For Border Ministries and Strategies, in San Diego right on the border, and has been on the front line working tirelessly, to support a ministry that would be an outreach and a voice for the immigrants that have no representation and support.  The pandemic has made his work even more frustrating and painful as they lost so many of their volunteers to Covid-19.  The children in these camps and detention facilities are at the mercy of the people that are running these places and without the proper training of how to care for children and the resources to provide a healthy environment and an emotionally safe and loving experience, to buffer in some degree the trauma they are living with.  I can’t imagine who these children will be as adults.  They have been stripped of their childhood.  They have confined in cage styled living arrangements. I know that this is a massive crisis that the government dose not have a handle on, but prayerfully, Biden and his administration will turn things around so that history will see that America is fulfilling it’s foundational pledge to be a beacon light of hope and a refuge for those that reach out to us for survival.

National Statistics on Child Abuse

Child abuse is a horrific experience with potentially lasting effects. It’s also, unfortunately, a common experience in America. Here’s a look at the scope of the problem.

The scope of the problem

Nearly 700,000 children are abused in the U.S each year. An estimated 678,000 children (unique incidents) were victims of abuse and neglect in 2018¹, the most recent year for which there is national data. That’s about 1% of kids in a given year. However, this data may be incomplete, and the actual number of children abused is likely underreported.

Child welfare authorities ensure the safety of more than 3.5 million kids. More than 3.5 million children received an investigation or alternative response from child protective services agencies.¹ An estimated 1.9 million children received prevention services.

How child abuse impacts kids

The youngest children were most vulnerable. Children in the first year of their life had the highest rate of victimization of 2.7% of all children that age.¹

Child abuse is deadly. In 2018, an estimated 1,770 children died from abuse and neglect in the United States.¹

Nationally, neglect is the most common form of abuse. Three-out-of-five (nearly 61%) of victims were neglected only, more than 10% were physically abused only, and 7% were sexually abused only. Yet the statistics indicate a more complex problem where children experience multiple forms of abuse. In 2018, more than 15% of kids were polyvictimized (suffered two or more forms of abuse).

Yet CACs serve far more sexual abuse cases, indicating a deeper problem. CACs investigated 243,039 cases involving sexual abuse allegations in 2019, fully 65% of all cases our members carried through.¹ While not all these cases resulted in a disclosure, charges, or a conviction, it’s an indication that the problem of sexual abuse may be much larger than federal statistics show.

Total number of children served at CACs: 371,060 Gender of children: Male 132,799 Female 236,335 Undisclosed 1,926 113,575 145,587 111,614

Age of children at first contact with center: 0-6 years 7-12 years 13-18 years Total number of alleged offenders: 289,156

Relationship of alleged offender to child: Parent 95,428

Stepparent 16,228

Other Relative 56,725

Parent’s boyfriend/girlfriend 19,235

Other known person 69,313

Unknown 33,640

Age of alleged offenders: Under 13 18,286 Age 13 to 17 32,191 Age 18+ 186,670 Alleged Offender Age Undisclosed 51,634

Types of abuse reported: Sexual Abuse 243,039

Physical Abuse 76,734

Neglect 28,084

Witness to Violence 26,458

 Drug Endangerment 9,816 Other 25,110 N

References^2,3. Totals more than 100% due to rounding.

How CACs help kids

CACs serve more than 370,000 kids each year, helping them to recover.  In 2019, Children’s Advocacy Centers around the country served some 371,060² child victims of abuse, providing victim advocacy and support to these children and their families.

CACs heal more than 200,000 kids each year. Our members offer 210,113 kids science-backed counseling and therapy services to help them recover from trauma and avoid the lifelong impacts of trauma.

Kids with problem sexual behaviors get help at CACs. Treatments offered for children and youth with problematic sexual behaviors are successful; after treatment, 98% never go on to hurt another child.

CACs educate more than 2 million people each year, helping prevent abuse. We provided 2,294,935 people with abuse prevention education in 2019, up 288% in the past decade.

2019 Children’s Advocacy Center Raw Statistics

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¹ National annual child abuse statistics cited from U.S. Administration for Children & Families, Child Maltreatment 2018. This data, released annually, is the most current federal data available. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/research-data-technology/statistics-research/child-maltreatment

² National Children’s Alliance 2019 national statistics collected from Children’s Advocacy Center members and available on the NCA website: https://www.nationalchildrensalliance.org/cac-statistics

³ Carpentier, M, Silovsky, J, & Chaffin, M. (2006). Randomized trial of treatment for children with sexual behavior problems: Ten year follow-up. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74, 482-488.
Caldwell, M. F. (2016). Quantifying the Decline in Juvenile Sexual Recidivism Rates. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/law0000094

Global Statistics

Key facts

• Violence against children includes all forms of violence against people under 18 years old, whether perpetrated by parents or other caregivers, peers, romantic partners, or strangers.
• Globally, it is estimated that up to 1 billion children aged 2–17 years, have experienced physical, sexual, or emotional violence or neglect in the past year (1).
• Experiencing violence in childhood impacts lifelong health and well-being.
• Target 16.2 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is to “end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against, and torture of, children”.
• Evidence from around the world shows that violence against children can be prevented.

Types of violence against children

Most violence against children involves at least one of six main types of interpersonal violence that tend to occur at different stages in a child’s development.

• Maltreatment (including violent punishment) involves physical, sexual and psychological/emotional violence; and neglect of infants, children and adolescents by parents, caregivers and other authority figures, most often in the home but also in settings such as schools and orphanages.
• Bullying (including cyber-bullying) is unwanted aggressive behavior by another child or group of children who are neither siblings, nor in a romantic relationship with the victim. It involves repeated physical, psychological or social harm, and often takes place in schools and other settings where children gather, and online.
• Youth violence is concentrated among children and young adults aged 10–29 years, occurs most often in community settings between acquaintances and strangers, includes bullying and physical assault with or without weapons (such as guns and knives), and may involve gang violence.
• Intimate partner violence (or domestic violence) involves physical, sexual and emotional violence by an intimate partner or ex-partner. Although males can also be victims, intimate partner violence disproportionately affects females. It commonly occurs against girls within child marriages and early/forced marriages. Among romantically involved but unmarried adolescents it is sometimes called “dating violence”.
• Sexual violence includes non-consensual completed or attempted sexual contact and acts of a sexual nature not involving contact (such as voyeurism or sexual harassment); acts of sexual trafficking committed against someone who is unable to consent or refuse; and online exploitation.
• Emotional or psychological violence includes restricting a child’s movements, denigration, ridicule, threats and intimidation, discrimination, rejection and other non-physical forms of hostile treatment.

When directed against girls or boys because of their biological sex or gender identity, any of these types of violence can also constitute gender-based violence.

Impact of violence

Violence against children has lifelong impacts on health and well-being of children, families, communities, and nations. Violence against children can:

• Result in death. Homicide, which often involves weapons such as knives and firearms, is among the top four causes of death in adolescents, with boys comprising over 80% of victims and perpetrators.
• Lead to severe injuries. For every homicide, there are hundreds of predominantly male victims of youth violence who sustain injuries because of physical fighting and assault.
• Impair brain and nervous system development. Exposure to violence at an early age can impair brain development and damage other parts of the nervous system, as well as the endocrine, circulatory, musculoskeletal, reproductive, respiratory and immune systems, with lifelong consequences. As such, violence against children can negatively affect cognitive development and results in educational and vocational under-achievement.
• Result in negative coping and health risk behaviours. Children exposed to violence and other adversities are substantially more likely to smoke, misuse alcohol and drugs, and engage in high-risk sexual behaviour. They also have higher rates of anxiety, depression, other mental health problems and suicide.
• Lead to unintended pregnancies, induced abortions, gynaecological problems, and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
• Contribute to a wide range of non-communicable diseases as children grow older. The increased risk for cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and other health conditions is largely due to the negative coping and health risk behaviours associated with violence.
• Impact opportunities and future generations. Children exposed to violence and other adversities are more likely to drop out of school, have difficulty finding and keeping a job, and are at heightened risk for later victimization and/or perpetration of interpersonal and self-directed violence, by which violence against children can affect the next generation.

Risk factors

Violence against children is a multifaceted problem with causes at the individual, close relationship, community and societal levels. Important risk factors are:

Individual level:

• biological and personal aspects such as sex and age
• lower levels of education
• low income
• having a disability or mental health problems
• identifying as or being identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender
• harmful use of alcohol and drugs
• a history of exposure to violence.

Close-relationship level:

• lack of emotional bonding between children and parents or caregivers
• poor parenting practices
• family dysfunction and separation
• being associated with delinquent peers
• witnessing violence between parents or caregivers
• early or forced marriage.

Community level:

• poverty
• high population density
• low social cohesion and transient populations
• easy access to alcohol and firearms
• high concentrations of gangs and illicit drug dealing.

 

Society level:

• social and gender norms that create a climate in which violence is normalized
• health, economic, educational and social policies that maintain economic, gender and social inequalities
• absent or inadequate social protection
• post-conflict situations or natural disaster
• settings with weak governance and poor law enforcement.

Prevention and response

Violence against children can be prevented. Preventing and responding to violence against children requires that efforts systematically address risk and protective factors at all four interrelated levels of risk (individual, relationship, community, society).

Under the leadership of WHO, a group of 10 international agencies have developed and endorsed an evidence-based technical package called INSPIRE: Seven strategies for ending violence against children. The package aims to help countries and communities achieve SDG Target 16.2 on ending violence against children. Each letter of the word INSPIRE stands for one of the strategies, and most have been shown to have preventive effects across several different types of violence, as well as benefits in areas such as mental health, education and crime reduction.

• INSPIRE: Seven strategies for ending violence against children

The seven strategies are:

• Implementation and enforcement of laws (for example, banning violent discipline and restricting access to alcohol and firearms);
• Norms and values change (for example, altering norms that condone the sexual abuse of girls or aggressive behaviour among boys);
• Safe environments (such as identifying neighbourhood “hot spots” for violence and then addressing the local causes through problem-oriented policing and other interventions);
• Parental and caregiver support (for example, providing parent training to young, first time parents);
• Income and economic strengthening (such as microfinance and gender equity training);
• Response services provision (for example, ensuring that children who are exposed to violence can access effective emergency care and receive appropriate psychosocial support); and
• Education and life skills (such as ensuring that children attend school, and providing life and social skills training).

 

WHO response

A May 2016 World Health Assembly resolution endorsed the first ever WHO Global plan of action on strengthening the role of the health system within a national multi-sectoral response to address interpersonal violence, in particular against women and girls, and against children.

According to this plan, WHO in collaboration with Member States and other partners, is committed to:

• Monitoring the global magnitude and characteristics of violence against children and supporting country efforts to document and measure such violence.
• Maintaining an electronic information system that summarizes the scientific data on the burden, risk factors and consequences of violence against children, and the evidence for its preventability.
• Developing and disseminating evidence-based technical guidance documents, norms and standards for preventing and responding to violence against children.
• Regularly publishing global status reports on country efforts to address violence against children through national policies and action plans, laws, prevention programmes and response services.
• Supporting countries and partners in implementing evidence-based prevention and response strategies, such as those included in INSPIRE: Seven strategies for ending violence against children.
• Collaborating with international agencies and organizations to reduce and eliminate violence against children globally, through initiatives such as the Global Partnership to End Violence against Children, Together for Girls and the Violence Prevention Alliance.

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References

(1) Global prevalence of past-year violence against children: a systematic review and minimum estimates. Hillis S, Mercy J, Amobi A, Kress H. Pediatrics 2016; 137(3): e20154079.

Related

• WHO’s work on preventing violence against children
• INSPIRE: Seven strategies for Ending Violence Against Children
• Preventing child maltreatment: a guide to taking action and generating evidence
• Preventing youth violence: an overview of the evidence
• Violence Info
• Global plan of action to prevent interpersonal violence
•  
• the USA
• The richest country in the world, the USA, has the highest rates of child abuse and total child mortality in the Western world. 2020
• There is so much work to be done and it has become more critical and urgent as we see children suffering around the globe! We can not turn a blind eye or a deaf hear to their cries for help! Shame on us as global citizens if we do not –
• Step up! Stand Up! Show Up! And Speak Up!!