Approximately 1 in 3 girls are sexually abused before age of 18, and 1 in 4 by age 14. Approximately 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused by the age of 16. Annually, more children under the age of four die from abuse and neglect than from falls, choking on food, motor vehicle accidents, drowning, or fire. Homicide is the only leading cause of childhood death that has increased in the past 30 years. It accounts for 5 percent of all deaths in children, but only 1 percent of deaths in adults.
Parents continue to be the main perpetrators of child maltreatment.
Girls and boys are equally vulnerable to being abused. It occurs in all income, racial, ethnic and religious groups. Child abuse can be stopped, though. But it can only be stopped with help from individuals and the community. Let's look again at the children that were introduced at the beginning and see how they were helped.