In 2004, 872,000 children were victims of child abuse or neglect. 1,490 died and more than 4/5 (81%) of children who were killed were younger than 4 years of age.
52% of child abuse or neglect victims were girls and 48% were boys.
1/2 (53.8%) of all victims were white, one quarter (25.2%) were African American, and 17% were Hispanic. African American children, Pacific Islander children and American Indian or Alaska Native children had the highest rates of victimization.
Mothers were the sole abuser in 39% of substantiated cases, fathers in 18%. Both parents were perpetrators of child maltreatment in 18% of the cases. Child victims maltreated by one parent and a non-parental perpetrator accounted for 10% of the total.
26 children were killed by their babysitter in 2005.
5% of child molesters released from prison commit a new sex offense within three years of their release.
The most significant predictor of whether a battered woman will physically abuse her child is having been physically abused by her own mother, not being battered by her partner.