Do You Know Who Pays For Child Abuse?

For years I stood before large audiences and saw looks of disgust and repulsion as I tried to "sell" the idea that we could best help the children by helping the parents! Teach them how to parent constructively. Not only did it save my state millions in foster care -- children didn't have to go into the system, thereby saving the taxpayers a bundle -- but it started a new generation of people who had healthy coping mechanisms to pay on to their children.

Official government statistics usually lag behind about two years. I can tell you from my own experience as Executive Director of C.O.P.E, Inc., the official government statistics do NOT accurately reflect what's really going on behind closed doors. And from my own experience as an abused child, I know why so much abuse is NOT reported. Having listed my caveats, here are the statistics from 2005:

According to Child Maltreatment 2005, the most recent report of data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), approximately 899,000 children were found to be victims of child abuse or neglect in calendar year 2005.

Of this number:

* 62.8 percent suffered neglect
* 16.6 percent were physically abused
* 9.3 percent were sexually abused
* 7.1 percent were emotionally or psychologically maltreated
* 2 percent were medically neglected.

In addition, 14.3 percent of victims experienced "other" types of maltreatment such as "abandonment," "threats of harm to the child," and "congenital drug addiction."

The full text of Child Maltreatment 2005 is available on the Children’s Bureau Website

The point of quoting stats is to demonstrate what a violent society we're rapidly becoming. But why all the violence? Is it TV, internet, or violent music? Is it unwanted pregnancies? Misbehaving children? Partially. But there's a deeper, more fundamental reason why parents lash out at their children. YOU CAN'T GIVE WHAT YOU NEVER HAD.

The vast majority of physically abusive parents never set out to be abusive! In fact, most of them were abused as children, and they swore THEY would NEVER harm their own children! But without healthy models as parents, they never learned how to have other outlets for frustration. Once a child starts defying this type of parent, the inevitable happens.

Here it is more than 30 years after I founded C.O.P.E., Inc., and still it seems I'm speaking to either the deaf or the self-righteous. When will people understand we must start as close to the root of the tree as possible if we ever hope to save the children?

Why Should You Care?

Well, if you don't care about defenseless children, maybe you should think about your tax bill every April 15th! Child abuse costs taxpayers billions of dollars! Stop complaining about how much you have to pay, and do something constructive! Find out what resources are in your neighborhood, and donate, volunteer, get involved!

(c) 2009 April Lorier