Child Abuse is Everyone’s Concern

Facts About Child Abuse and Neglect in St. Louis 

• 5,465 children were reported abused or neglected in the City of St. Louis in 2007, according to the Missouri Children’s Division. 6,367 children were reported abused or neglected in St. Louis County. Statewide in Missouri, 77,481 children were reported abused in 2007.
• Of these children reported abused in St. Louis and St. Louis County, 8% were substantiated, 54% received family assessments and preventive services, and 27% were unsubstantiated. 
• In 2008, seven children in the City of St. Louis died from substantiated abuse and neglect. Across Missouri, 46 children died from substantiated abuse in 2007. 
• Statewide from 2003 to 2006, the number of children reported abused declined steadily from 85,948 in 2003 to 75,474 in 2006. However, the number rose 2.7% in 2007.
• Younger children are more likely to be abused. In Missouri, 46% of abused children are age 6 and under (substantiated cases, 2007)
• In St. Louis city and county, the most common form of maltreatment is neglect (40% of substantiated cases), followed by physical abuse (30%) and sexual maltreatment (20%).

The Impact of Child Abuse and Neglect 

• Nationally, one third of abused children grow up to abuse their own children. In addition, they are more likely to end up in the criminal justice system; 36.7% of all women and 14.4% of all men in prison in the United States were abused as children. (www.childhelp.org)
• 80% of young adults who had been abused met the diagnostic criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder at the age of 21 (including depression, anxiety, eating disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder). Nearly two-thirds of the people in treatment for drug abuse report being abused as children. (www.childhelp.org) 
• Child abuse occurs at every socio-economic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels of education.