Children's Health Issues Chapter 274 Child Abuse and Neglect Child abuse is the maltreatment, physical or mental injury, or sexual abuse of a child.
Child neglect is the failure to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, or love to a child.
More than a million children are abused or neglected every year in the United States. About 20 percent of those who are physically abused are permanently injured, and about 1,200 die each year. Most of these children are under 5 years old, and almost 50 percent are younger than 1 year. An estimated 200,000 children are sexually abused or molested every year. An adult who sexually abuses or molests a child often is related to the child, usually a close family member.