Child abuse

OECD stats 

NZ second highest for theft, third highest for assaults, 6th highest sexual assault rates.

Child abuse includes

psychological abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse and negelect. In New zealand although smacking children is illegal, it does not get classified as abuse.

OECD stats 

NZ second highest for theft, third highest for assaults, 6th highest sexual assault rates.

Child abuse includes

psychological abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse and negelect. In New zealand although smacking children is illegal, it does not get classified as abuse.

Sexual Abuse (Kelly et al. 1991)

 A study of american college students. Sexual abuse was defined as either “Cases involving some form of penetration or forced masturbation where the abuser was at least 5 years older” or “any event/interaction unwanted or abusive with a younger person before they are 18”.

Neglect

 hygiene, clothing, sanitation, physical and temporal environment and psychological attention.

Child abuse death rate

NZ has the third highest in the OECD. This is referring to deaths of children up to 14 years old. NZ is classified by unicef as one of 5 countries with exceptionally high child poverty and maori children are twice as likely to be abused or neglected. 

1971-75 0.9/100,000 deaths. 

2003 1.2/100,000 deaths.

From 2001-2004 there was a 90% increase in notifications of child abuse.

Is incidence increasing, or is tolerance decreasing and awareness rising. 

Low income

leads to more abuse

Child abuse in the catholic church in northern ireland

100s if not 1000s of abusers, many weren’t prosecuted. Abusers were just moved between churches around the country. Sexual and physical abuse of children and the church didn’t want to own up.

USA abuse stats

⅓ sexual adults by adults were on children under 12 yo. 20% of violent crime inmates abused children. 2/3rds of sexual assault prisoners attacked children.

11% of US children live with a parent who abuses a substance.

Children of Substance abusers

are more likely to be abused and neglected. This however is a cycle of abuse tied to substance abuse because 2/3ds of substance abusers were abused as children. 37% of women who were abused as children abuse their own children and 54% of men who were abused as children abuse their children. (Kaplan 1996)

Trends in US abuse stats

Between 1980-1993 maltreatment, physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse and emotional abuse rates all increased. Victims of sexual abuse tend to be older than victims of physical abuse and neglect. 

¼ of abuse cases are under 1 yo.

80% of those who die are under 3 yo and half of those are under 1 yo.

Parents

 80% of child abusers are the parents, usually parents aged 20-39 yo.

Abuse is linked to poverty and recession

Parents are left with children who have never been the primary caregiver. This leads to a huge increase in child abuse cases. This led to crisis nurseries with waiting lists. Gets worse because governments cut spending on social programs. 

Income inequality has been increasing and so has child abuse. The higher the percentage of people in poverty the more child abuse.

Income inequality in NZ

1985-2008 income inequality in nz grew a lot (OECD)

Outcomes of abuse

In adolescence-

Higher rates of delinquency, violence, pregnancy, drug use, lower GPA, mental health issues.

Suicide Attempts

increase for young people who have been physically, emotionally or sexually abused 

Silverman et al 1996

Interviewed 21 year olds and asked if they’d ever been physically or sexually abused.

Males who were physically abused had higher risk of depression, PTSD, antisocial behaviour and drug abuse.

Females who were physically abused had higher risk of depression, ptsd, antisocial behaviour, suicide attempts 

Females who were sexually abused had higher risk of depression, ptsd, antisocial behaviour, alcohol abuse, suicide ideation and suicide attempts.

Abused children in foster care

can go to kin, nonkin or group homes. 27% have health problems, ¾ are high risk for neurological development, ¼-½ have behavioural problems. 40% have low social skills and ⅔ are in a clinically abnormal range for one of these measures.

Children fostered by kin

less at risk for abuse

Shaken Baby syndrome

 shaken babies have injured brains, babies have weak neck muscles and the bones on the front of the skull are jagged. It leads to bruising, swelling and tissue damage to the brain and then often death. The children are extremely irritable, lethargic, poor at feeding, breathing, convulsions, vomiting, pale/blue skin.

Usually less than 2 yo and sometimes up to 5yo.

Maeve sheppard

Killed in march 2005 by shaking by a child minder. Children crying often elicits shaking.

Prognosis for shaken babies

 worse than accidental brain damage, blindness, mental retardation. 

American data of shaken babies from 2001 -

 33-44% had been previously abused (had an older brain injury)

15-38% mortality

⅓ permanently disabled

½ of child abuse deaths were shaken babies.

Direct costs of child abuse

hospitals and medical costs, chronic health problems, mental health care, child protection, foster care, adoption, judicial system.

Indirect costs of child abuse

special education, juvinile delinquency, adult criminality, alcohol and substance abuse and public assistance.

Total cost of child abuse

estimated to be $2424 million in new york yet they only spend 104 million.