Childhood at risk: An Exploration of Perceptions and Attitudes Regarding Child Abuse

You are in a grocery store behind a mother and her young son who appears to be about three years old. The child innocently takes a candy bar from a shelf, opens the packaging and begins to eat it. His mother, noticing what he’s done, grabs him violently by the arm, rips the candy bar out of his mouth and strikes him on the head. The extremely angry mother then drags the now-crying child behind her as the two quickly exit the store.

Was what you just witnessed discipline or abuse? More importantly, would you know how to react, and if necessary, report?

As recently as 2012, about 10 of every 1,000 children in Pennsylvania were reported as being victims of suspected physical, mental or sexual abuse. Of the reported cases, 14% were substantiated; 67% of substantiated victims were girls, 33% were boys. That same year, 33 children died at the hands of their abusers.

Physical injuries accounted for 25% of the total number of injuries, ranging from bruises, cuts and abrasions, to broken bones, skull fractures and scaldings. More than 70% of injuries were sexual in nature, ranging from sexual assault to rape and incest. Child maltreatment not only affects the lives of those abused, but has a broad financial impact on society as well. Within in the state of Pennsylvania, direct and indirect costs of child maltreatment are $3.5 billion, and on the national level, a staggering $104 billion.