Regardless of the type of abuse, every abused child is a human tragedy and the numbers are staggering.
General
- Nationwide, nearly 900,000 children are found to have been abused or neglected each year - that's more than 100 children every hour of every day.
- On Long Island alone, more than 5,000 children are found to have been abused or neglected each year - more than 10 children a day.
- Nationwide, one in four girls and one in seven boys will be victims of sexual abuse by the age of 18.
- On Long Island alone, more than 800 incidents of child sexual abuse are reported each year.
- Nationwide, more than 1,400 children die each year due to child abuse and neglect - roughly one child every six-and-one-half hours.
Bullying
- Nationwide, one in 10 students in grades six through 10 report being bullied "sometimes" or "weekly."
- In the average classroom of 20 students or more, two to three students spend every day in fear of being bullied, harassed or worse.
- On Long Island, CAPS keeps track of the prevalence of bullying behavior with its annual survey of middle school-age students.
Internet Safety
- A national study suggests half of all children with Internet access either have been or know someone who has been the victim of cyber-bullying - or have been cyber-bullies themselves.
- One in five children already has received an online sexual solicitation.
- Cases of child sexual exploitation via the Internet have increased more than 2,000 percent since 1996.
While the human costs of such abuse can never truly be measured, the economic costs are staggering: a national study estimates dealing with the devastation of child abuse and neglect places a burden of more than $1,400 on every American family—and that figure doesn't take into account the impact of bullying or the impact of Internet-related abuse.
