The Scope of Child Abuse

 

-More than 740,000 children and youth are treated in hospital emergency departments as a result of violence each year—that’s more than 84 every hour.

-More than 3 million reports of child maltreatment are received by state and local agencies each year—that’s nearly 6 reports every minute.

Old Enough to Fight?

It is estimated that there are 300,000 child soldiers worldwide today.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-february-14-2007/ishmael-beah

War, What is it Good For?

Since WWII:

110 million people died in conflict-related deaths of which 60% of people are not engaged and 40 million died in conflict-related famines 

Since WWII, there have been 190 conflicts

Children Not Safe From Violence

Worldwide an estimated 250,000 homicides occur among youth 10–29 years of age each year. This is 41% of the total number of homicides globally each year.

 

How Young is Too Young?

Marriage is supposed to be a happy time for a woman in her life, but for some women around the world it is the equivalent of a death sentence. Worse is if this “death sentence” happens at the age many of us were still playing with Barbie’s. 

Child Marriage puts a woman/girl at risk for forced sexual encounters that they are not physically or emotionally ready for, abusive physical/mental actions by a husband who is usually much older, and an inability to continue their education which could help these women be independent in the future.

Some examples:
In parts of Nigeria girls marry at age 11.
In parts of Nepal girls marry before age 10. 
In parts of Ethiopia girls marry at 7 or 8.

FGM

Female genital mutilation or circumcision offers no benefits to women or girls but instead is an extremely harmful practice that could easily destroy a women’s life and can result in infertility. Despite these risks, 140 million women and girls (even girls as young as 10) undergo this inhumane procedure every year. This is a horrid form of sexual violence that continues because of tradition and beliefs that need to change to protect women and children.

 

Statistics Don’t Lie

32,000 babies are born in the U.S. every year as a result of rape

For sale?

Approximately 2.5 million are in forced labor as a result of human trafficking, or modern slavery. This is happening in at least 137 countries whether they are being trafficked from or trafficked into, meaning all types of people of all types of economies are being affected.  The estimated global profits are  $31.6 billion.

Want more numbers? Visit here http://www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/issues_doc/labour/Forced_labour/HUMAN_TRAFFICKING_-_THE_FACTS_-_final.pdf

Your Thoughts on Rape Case in Steubenville, Ohio?

The rape case in Steubenville, Ohio has been receiving a lot of attention and it shines a light on whether or not attitudes towards rape and violence towards women are appropriate. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2013/03/18/steubenville-the-media-and-rape-essentially/

Torture Survivors

Sleep deprivation, beatings, electric shocks, food manipulation, threats, and waterboarding and sensory deprivation. All are forms of torture that people experience for reasons including political affiliation, sexual orientation, and ethnicity. 

It is estimated that between 400,000-500,000 torture survivors are living in the United States. Torture is illegal by international law but around 150 countries practice torture.