Child Maltreatment
About Child Maltreatment
Types of child maltreatment
How common is it?
What causes it?
How long does it last?
What treatments are effective?
A review of the evidence

How common is it?

In Canada in the year 2003, child welfare agencies investigated 235,315 reports of child maltreatment.  In 49% of the reported incidents, case workers found strong evidence to support claims of maltreatment of a child. 

Many other cases would be classified as “suspected” cases because there was not enough evidence of harm to proceed with intervention.  However, it does not mean that maltreatment had not occurred.

Some other cases would be classified as “unsubstantiated” because, on balance, there was evidence that maltreatment had not occurred. 

It is likely that the number of cases investigated is “only the tip of the iceberg” and that many, many more children are maltreated than are identified.  In an Ontario, Canada study, 33% of males and 27% of females surveyed reported that they had experienced physical and/or sexual abuse during childhood. [1]

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