How many children are seriously injured or die because of abuse and neglect?
A. Every day, nearly four children die because of abuse and neglect; 1,400 such deaths occurred in 2002. Children younger than one year accounted for 41.2% of these fatalities, and 76.1% of the children who died were younger than 4. Many experts believe the number of abuse- and neglect-related deaths may be much higher than the official figures. Ambiguous family and medical circumstances or incomplete child death investigations can mean that some child abuse and neglect deaths are misclassified as deaths by natural causes.
