Study Finds Disparate Gender Differences in Victims of Child Sex Trafficking

Youth involved in sex trafficking have extensive victimization experiences during childhood, and these experiences vary by gender. In the nationally representative study, 75 percent were males and 25 percent were females. Almost two-thirds of the girls were molested as a child, half were raped, and three-fourths were emotionally abused as a child, compared to 36 percent of males who were molested, 31 percent who were raped, and 37 percent who were emotionally abused. Eighty percent of females reported three or more victimization types compared to males (49 percent), and 31 percent of females experienced all five types of prior victimization compared to 11 percent of males.

Lurie Children’s Hospital Launches App to Help Screen Bruises in Young Children for Potential Abuse

An innovative app from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago aims to increase earlier recognition of abuse in babies and children under 4 years of age who have bruises, with the hope of decreasing the incidence of severe injury and death from child abuse in this age group. The hospital launched the app in April, which coincides with National Child Abuse Prevention month.

Child Abuse Evaluations in Emergency Departments Drop During Pandemic, But Reason Unclear

Pediatric Emergency Department (ED) encounters related to physical abuse decreased by 19 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a multicenter study published in the journal Pediatrics. While encounter rates with lower clinical severity dropped during the pandemic, encounter rates with higher clinical severity remained unchanged. This pattern raises concern for unrecognized harm, as opposed to true reductions in child abuse.

Predictable Home Environment Protects Against Development of Heart Disease Risk Factors After Child Abuse

Studies have demonstrated that exposure to physical and psychological abuse in childhood is associated with cardiovascular risk factors in adulthood, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes. A new study shows for the first time that well-organized households protect children who have experienced abuse from developing some precursors to heart disease.

UNH Research Estimates 1.4 Million Children Have Yearly Violence-Related Medical Visits

A national report from the University of New Hampshire shows close to one and a half million children each year visit a doctor, emergency room or medical facility as a result of an assault, abuse, crime or other form of violence. This is four times higher than previous estimates based only on data from U.S. emergency rooms for violence-related treatment.

LifeBridge Health’s Center for Hope Launches Red Desk Project As Call-to-Action to Prevent Child Homicide

In a powerful call-to-action to prevent child homicides, LifeBridge Health’s Center for Hope created a moving public art display: 111 red school desks on the lawn of Sinai Hospital. Each desk represents a child killed in the City of Baltimore over the past six years. The Red Desk Project is designed to sound the alarm and raise public awareness about the dramatic increase in child homicide in Baltimore City year over year and the effects these homicides have on the entire community, including other children.

Studies highlight ‘unprecedented and unique dangers’ for children during COVID-19

Two new studies investigating child maltreatment during the COVID-19 pandemic reveal “concerning results” that confirm warning signs seen early in the pandemic, according to researchers at UAB and the University of Michigan.

LifeBridge Health Launches Innovative New Center for Hope, Comprehensive Violence Intervention and Prevention Services Integrated Together Under One Roof

LifeBridge Health launched the Center for Hope, the first comprehensive violence intervention and prevention center in the nation that is part of a large regional health system. The Center for Hope brings together LifeBridge Health services around child abuse, domestic abuse and elder abuse along with community violence prevention programs, including a new Safe Streets site. The building design, which will be revealed at groundbreaking event, was created to welcome children, youth and adults into a space that fosters hope, safety and wellness, including an outdoor area for therapeutic play. The purpose of the Center for Hope is to advance hope, healing and resilience for those impacted by trauma, abuse and violence through comprehensive response, treatment, education and prevention.

Child Abuse and COVID-19

Continued school closures and distance learning have drawn more than the ire of parents and teachers concerned about the impacts to education. Child advocates are worried about the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on youth stuck at home with their abusers. For months, researchers tracking data from across Nevada and the nation have been logging significant dips in child abuse reports — a phenomenon attributed to the lack of face time children are getting with teachers, who are trained to spot potential signs of maltreatment and required by law to report it to authorities.

WashU Expert: Decrease in abuse hotline calls not a good sign

Child abuse and neglect hotlines around the country are reporting declines in calls over the past few weeks. While normally this would be welcome news, it does not bode well during COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, says an expert on child abuse and neglect at Washington University in St. Louis.“Normally, a decrease in calls about alleged child abuse and neglect or maltreatment would be a welcome start to child abuse prevention month, but the context of current declines is worrisome,” said Melissa Jonson-Reid, the Ralph and Muriel Pumphrey Professor of Social Work Research at the Brown School.

A brighter future for victims of child abuse and neglect

Victims of child abuse suffer enormous immediate and long-term consequences, with impacts extending beyond individuals and across generations. Preventing child abuse and neglect is imperative, yet not enough is known about pathways into child maltreatment and how these can be disrupted.

Now, researchers at the University of South Australia are breaching this gap by investigating predictors of child maltreatment and the factors that contribute to better or worse outcomes for victims and their children.