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What is Child Abuse?

Child abuse is defined as “any act toward a young person under eighteen years of age that impairs physical or mental health immediately, or over time.”

Abuse may be physical, emotional, or sexual. Closely related to abuse is the idea of neglect, which refers to adults failing to provide for the basic needs, health, and safety of a youth.

According to the U.S. Department of Human Services, reports of child maltreatment resulted in a finding of 879,000 children and youth thought to be victims of some form of abuse or neglect in the year 2000 alone. (See the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information for this and other data on abuse.)

It is notoriously difficult to estimate the actual prevelance of abuse and neglect, since it often goes unreported. One thing is sure: it is far too common, and no part of our society is unaffected.

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