http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15288865
+
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15193530

First link has a few mini video clips explaining the extent of the problem.

Some of the text from the 1st link:

Quote :

"Every five hours a child dies from abuse or neglect in the US. The latest government figures show an estimated 1,770 children were killed as a result of maltreatment in 2009. A recent congressional report concludes the real number could be nearer 2,500. In fact, America has the worst child abuse record in the industrialised world. Why? The BBC's Natalia Antelava investigates. "

Quote :

"Sixty-six children under the age of 15 die from physical abuse or neglect every week in the industrialised world. Twenty-seven of those die in the US - the highest number of any other country. Even when populations are taken into account, Unicef research from 2001 places the US equal bottom with Mexico on child deaths from maltreatment. "

Quote :

"In Washington, politicians are beginning to recognise what some now describe as a "national crisis". A congressional hearing in July heard from experts in the field about what can be done to prevent deaths from child abuse. A national commission is being set up to coordinate a country-wide response. Many believe home visits to new parents by qualified health professionals, preparing them for the difficulties of family life, are key to that strategy."

Quote :

"Abused children are 74 times more likely to commit crimes against others and six times more likely to maltreat their own children, according to the Texas Association for the Protection of Children. For this reason, experts believe it is in the US government's as well as society's interest to ensure children are protected from abuse. Each and every citizen, they say, has a responsibility to help break this cycle of violence."

From the 2nd link:

Quote :

"Over the past 10 years, more than 20,000 American children are believed to have been killed in their own homes by family members. That is nearly four times the number of US soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The child maltreatment death rate in the US is triple Canada's and 11 times that of Italy. Millions of children are reported as abused and neglected every year. Why is that? Downward spiral Part of the answer is that teen pregnancy, high-school dropout, violent crime, imprisonment, and poverty - factors associated with abuse and neglect - are generally much higher in the US. Further, other rich nations have social policies that provide child care, universal health insurance, pre-school, parental leave and visiting nurses to virtually all in need. In the US, when children are born into young families not prepared to receive them, local social safety nets may be frayed, or non-existent. As a result, they are unable to compensate for the household stress the child must endure."

Geography matters

Quote :

"Geography matters a lot in determining child well-being. Take the examples of Texas and Vermont. Texas prides itself in being a low tax, low service state. Its per capita income places it in the middle of the states, while its total tax burden - its willingness to tax itself - is near the bottom. Vermont, in contrast, is at the other extreme. It is a high-tax, high-service state. In looking at key indicators of well-being, children from Texas are twice as likely to drop out of high school as children from Vermont. They are four times more likely to be uninsured, four times more likely to be incarcerated, and nearly twice as likely to die from abuse and neglect. In Texas, a combination of elements add to the mix of risks that a child faces. These include a higher poverty rate in Texas, higher proportions of minority children, lower levels of educational attainment, and a political culture which holds a narrower view of the role of government in addressing social issues. Texas, like many other traditionally conservative states, is likely to have a weaker response to families that need help in the first place, and be less efficient in protecting children after abuse occurs. The sharp differences between the states raises the question of an expanded federal role. Are children of Texas children first? Or are they first American children with equal opportunity and protection?"

MORE CHILDREN WILL DIE

Quote :

"A national strategy, led by our national government, needs to be developed and implemented. For a start, the Congress should adopt legislation that would create a National Commission to End Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities. And no children's programmes should be on the chopping block, federal or state. Children did not crash the US economy. It is both shortsighted economic policy and morally wrong to make them pay the price for fixing it. But instead as the US economy lags, child poverty soars, and states cut billions in children's services, we are further straining America's already weak safety net. Inevitably, it means more children will die."

Why isn't this issue dominating political and social discussions in the US? Why has it never dominated discussions? Is it a taboo in the US?

The higher rate compared to other white people countries is expected, for several reasons. But that doesn't mean nothing should be done about it. But it is still shocking that the rate is equal to the rate in Mexico, rock bottom among industrialized nations.

Also, seems like this should be a ripe conservative vs liberal issue (see quote above comparing Texas with Vermont), but again, I haven't heard any discussion on it.

11/2/2011 11:00:44 PM

There is another difference between Texas and Vermont: Immigrants. Immigrants are more likely to abuse their children, more likely to drop out of school, and more likely to live in poverty. How about they compare Texas to a high tax state that also has immigrants, such as California.

11/2/2011 11:15:36 PM

^ Or they could compare Vermont and New Hampshire. Almost mirror images in terms of demographics (also they are literally almost mirror images) but New Hampshire has no income tax or sales tax.

[Edited on November 3, 2011 at 12:21 AM. Reason : ]

11/3/2011 12:20:15 AM

we only care about kids before they are born in this country.

11/3/2011 12:40:08 AM

^^^
california has the exact same percentage hispanic population, and less than half the fatality rate

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm09/cm09.pdf - pg. 59

11/3/2011 12:41:51 AM

To add to ^,

(deaths per 100,000)
California: 1.96
Arizona: 1.73
New Mexico: 1.96
South Carolina: 2.59
Puerto Rico: 0.52
Tennessee: 3.08
DC: 4.38
Florida: 3.84
Louisiana: 3.56
Kentucky: 3.35
Alabama: 1.24
Indiana: 3.15

44.0% of the victims were white
22.3% were African-American
20.7% were Hispanic

11/3/2011 12:58:23 AM

Quote :

"America has the worst child abuse record in the industrialised world"

I wonder what metric they are using, how they acquired their data and how they define "industrialized world". If that statement is statistically accurate, its a big shock to me. Child abuse seems like one of those mega-taboos that's so universally bad its become a Hollywood cliche for establishing the "bad guy".

11/3/2011 2:05:37 AM

Please. How many parents in the South still beat their kids? I'd wager a majority of them. "Spare the rod" and all, amirite?

11/3/2011 8:47:11 AM

^ None I know of. Of course, I don't live in Texas. They are always removing children from religious cults down there.

11/3/2011 9:02:41 AM

Honestly? Outside of the city, here in NC, like every family I know of still beats their kids. Hell even in the city a good amount still do. I get some flak at work from other dads sometimes when I mention the effectiveness of time out.

11/3/2011 9:16:58 AM

Sounds like less mouths on the welfare to me.

11/3/2011 11:59:45 AM

^ Yes because a dollar of your tax money is worth more than a child's life

11/3/2011 12:17:49 PM

Maybe HUR is from Texas?

11/3/2011 12:57:19 PM

I think there are regular discussions on child mortality and social services in the United States, but it's a bit complex. Social services and domestic violence are a state and even local (county/municipal) issue here in the United States. Therefore, news coverage of the issue tends to be seen in the state and local sections of the community newspapers, not the headlines of the national newspapers.

When it comes to addressing the issue, because this issue falls under state and local jurisdictions, there is a massive patchwork of inconsistent policies and funding levels across the nation. This means that the reasons for the failures vary widely state-by-state and therefore require different solutions in each jurisdiction (urban states have specific issues, border states with large numbers of immigrants another, etc.). There's little the Federal government can do to make sweeping changes both because of the localized nature and constitutional restrictions, and therefore, it's a campaign that has to be fought locally.

11/3/2011 4:00:06 PM

I hate to sound callous, but is 1 extra death in 100,000 children really that much of a crisis?

I strongly suspect it has something to do with this:

Quote :

"Teen birth and abortion rates, 1996 per 1000 women 15–19[84][85][86] Country / Birth Rate / Abortion Rate / Combined Rate / % Aborted Netherlands 7.7 3.9 11.6 33.6 Spain 7.5 4.9 12.4 39.5 Italy 6.6 6.7 13.3 50.4 Greece 12.2 1.3 13.5 9.6 Belgium 9.9 5.2 15.1 34.4 Germany 13.0 5.3 18.3 28.9 Finland 9.8 9.6 19.4 49.5 France 9.4 13.2 22.6 58.4 Denmark 8.2 15.4 23.6 65.3 Sweden 7.7 17.7 25.4 69.7 Norway 13.6 18.3 31.9 57.4 Czech Republic 20.1 12.4 32.5 38.2 Iceland 21.5 20.6 42.1 48.9 Slovakia 30.5 13.1 43.6 30 Australia 20.1 23.9 44 54.3 Canada 22.3 22.1 44.4 49.8 Israel 32.0 14.3 46.3 30.9 United Kingdom 29.6 21.3 50.9 41.8 New Zealand 33.4 22.5 55.9 40.3 Hungary 29.9 30.2 60.1 50.2 United States 55.6 30.2 85.8 35.2"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teenage_pregnancy

Does it really come as a surprise that the country with drastically higher numbers of teens giving birth has a higher number of abuse and neglect cases? That's just a guess, but I suspect it has a lot to do with the problem.

[Edited on November 3, 2011 at 4:07 PM. Reason : s]

11/3/2011 4:05:41 PM

Why is aaronburro not in this thread?

11/3/2011 4:11:26 PM

^^Yes, I would definitely agree!

But teen pregnancy alone isn't that awful. It's also that we tend to punish teen parents by giving them all the responsibility and expecting them to step up to the job...as if the same kids who can't use condoms properly will magically become capable of the most difficult job in the world.

"You grown now. Good luck."

11/3/2011 5:28:36 PM

Keep the government out of it. Let the free market decide.

11/3/2011 5:52:08 PM

Damn, Sweden and Denmark killing babies like it's going out of style

11/4/2011 12:12:05 AM