More children die each year from child abuse and neglect than from falls, choking on food, suffocation, drowning, house fires, or auto accidents. There are countless victims of loss. Brothers and sisters, cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and many professionals who tried to save these children's lives. Although D.V. is clearly a factor in serious and fatal child abuse and neglect, the systems designed to respond to child abuse and D.V. are separate. Most physical abuse fatalities are committed by overly stressed or enraged male caretakers, yet the vast majority of parenting and child abuse prevention programs are designed for women.
Studies reveal that the most common cause of child deaths from abuse is head trauma.
Data show an overrepresentation of African Americans as both victims and perpetrators of child abuse fatalities. Yet there is little available research to explain this phenomenon. There is a gross misidentification of child abuse fatalities. Only 400 pediatricians in the nation have membership in the American Academy of pediatrics section on child abuse and neglect, less than 10 per state. Mr. Harshberger acknowledged the extraordinary gathering of impassioned child advocates, who are motivated to work within communities to protect children.