Welcome to the Children's Cove Media Page...
Children's Cove is a Barnstable County agency dedicated to helping the Cape & Islands communities respond to allegations of child abuse in ways that are effective and efficient and put the needs of child victims of abuse first.
As 1 of 11 Child Advocacy Centers in Massachusetts, Children's Cove is an accredited agency through the National Children's Alliance that provides coordinated and comprehensive services to child victims and their family members.
National Statistics on Child Abuse
In 2009, Children’s Advocacy Centers around the country served over 254,000 child victims of abuse, providing victim advocacy and support to these children and their families.
National Abuse Statistics:
- 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused before the age of 18. 2
- The median age for reported abuse is 9 years old. 3
- Nearly 70% of all reported sexual assaults are on children ages 17 and under. 4
- 80% of child abuse victims have been maltreated by one or both parents. 2
- There are 40 million survivors of child sexual abuse in America today. 3
Children’s Advocacy Center Statistics:5
- Among the over 254,000 children served by Child Advocacy Centers around the country throughout 2009, some startling statistics include:
- 96,861 children were ages 0 to 6 years
- 91,128 children were ages 7 to 12 years
- 65,840 children were ages 13 to 18 years
- 182,770 children reported sexual abuse
- 41,067children reported physical abuse
- 164,088 children participated in forensic interviewing at a Children’s Advocacy Center
- Among the over 208,000 alleged offenders investigated for instances of child abuse in 2009, some startling statistics include:
- 138,849 were 18+ years old
- 23,846 were ages 13 to 17 years
- 4,624 were under age 13 years
- 65,101 were the parent of the victim
- 43,612 were related to the child victim in another way
- 52,971 were an unrelated person the victim knew
The knowledgeable and experienced staff of Children's Cove can be a valuable resource for stories covering child abuse intervention, prevention and advocacy. For questions related to these important issues or to request an interview with one of our valued staff or a member of our professional network, please contact Ben Caswell (Wendell Marketing) at 508.744.7641
1 Every Child Matters Education Fund (2009). We Can Do Better: Child Abuse and Neglect Deaths in the U.S.. http://www.everychildmatters.org/National/Campaigns/We-Can-Do-Better.html
2 ACE Study – Prevalence – Adverse Childhood Experiences – http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/ace/prevalence.htm
3 Putnam, F. (2003). Ten-year research update review: Child sexual abuse. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 42 , 269-278.
4 U.S. Department of Justice (2001). Internet crimes against children. OVC Bulletin. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime.
5 National Children’s Alliance January through June 2009 national statistics collected from Children’s Advocacy Center members – www.nationalchildrensalliance.org
