and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth & Families; Child Maltreatment 2003)
- There were 47,130 children reports of abuse and/or neglect in reports computed by Virginia's city & county
departments of social services during SFY '06. (According to the VA Department of Social Services)
Myth: Abused and neglected children almost always come from poor, minority, and/or inner-city families.
Fact: There is no evidence that links socioeconomic status, race, or educational level to abuse and neglect.
Child abuse occurs within every neighborhood and school community across the country.
Myth: Sexual assault only happens to girls.
Fact: We may not yet know the full extent of sexual assault against boys because of their tendency to not
report. Current research, however, estimates that 1 out of 3-4 girls and 1 out of 4-6 boys will be sexually
assaulted before their eighteenth birthday.
Myth: Most children are sexually assaulted by a stranger.
Fact: It is estimated that 80-85% of all child sexual assaults are perpetrated by an adult known and trusted
by the child. Only a small percentage of perpetrators fit the stereotype of the stranger.
Myth: Child abusers are easy to identify.
Fact: Child abusers cannot be easily distinguished from others. They usually are not adults with mental
illness or mental retardation. In fact, many offenders are up standing community citizens.
Myth: Most children who are abused do something to cause the abuse to occur.
Fact: The child is always the victim. The responsibility for the abuse lies solely with the adult. In the case of
child sexual abuse, many offenders try to shift the blame for their actions by accusing the child of being
seductive or promiscuous.
