Majority of US children exposed to abuse and neglect

by The Department Of Justice

Since the launch of the Defending Childhood Initiative in 2010 the Justice Department has been working with leading researchers to take an in-depth look at the problem of children exposed to violence. What we have learned has been a wake-up call, and warning bell, for all of us. We found that the majority of our kids – more than 60 percent – have been exposed to crime, abuse, and violence — many in their own homes. Ten percent of children in the United States have suffered some form of abuse or neglect; one in sixteen has been victimized sexually. And both direct and indirect exposure to violence is having a profound negative impact on the mental and emotional development of young people across the country.
The task force has now completed its fact-finding phase and is compiling a report to be issued late this fall, 2012.

I really believe we have a crisis. It's not just the poor or a certain population - it's mental illness in parents who abuse, neglect, beat or kill their children or adopted children. The adoption industry must pay better attention to who is adopting or who needs protection .... One in 16 has been sexually molested - I am one of those statistics... Trace