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A new federal study documents a dramatic decrease inserious child abuse, especially sexual abuse, reports
the Associated Press. Experts credit law enforcement
crackdowns and public awareness campaigns.
The findings are in the National Incidence Study of
Child Abuse and Neglect, a Congressionally mandated
study conducted periodically by the Department of
Health and Human Services.
A lot of questions are raised by the study, but the headlines
of the article about the study bother me the most. The study
ended in 2006 well before the downward spiral of
economic troubles that started with the housing market and
foreclosures and continued into unemployment and people
losing money in stocks and assorted investments.
Four years is a very large time lag. Have cases of sexual abuse,
mental abuse, psychological abuse, and physical abuse of
children truly declined? If there is a reported decline, can we
believe that children are no longer subject to abuse or that
cases are no longer being reported. Or are the signposts
of the possibility being overlooked in larger classrooms and
more impersonal neighborhoods?
In the past, it was the norm for senior citizens to remain in
their own homes, except for major disabilities, and know
everyone in the neighborhood and the generalized schedules
of each. Today many active seniors are moving into senior
citizen complexes; more and more households have working
women; fewer people really know and visit with their neighbors.
All of this creates barriers to spotting signs of abuse in both
children and adults.
Add to the above a culture where people do not want to be
involved and are fearful that reporting a potential problem
will put the reporter in the middle of a police investigation and
possible reprisal actions.
Let's hope that the headline continues to be true to this day, but
keep a vigilant eye out for a child who needs intervention.
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