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Definition

Child abuse is the blanket term for four types of child mistreatment: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect.

Description

Prevalence of abuse

Child abuse was once viewed as a minor social problem affecting only a handful of U.S. children. However, in the late 1990s and early 2000s it has received close attention from the media, law enforcement, and the helping professions, and with increased public and professional awareness has come a sharp rise in the number of reported cases. Because abuse is often hidden from view and its victims too young or fearful to speak out, however, experts suggest that its true prevalence is possibly much greater than the official data indicate. An estimated...