NEWS
UK REPORT CHALLENGES CONVENTIONAL WISDOM ABOUT CHILD ABUSE
21 November 2000
Copyright © 2000 Reuters Ltd
WESTPORT, CT - According to widely held beliefs, sexual abuse is the most common form of abuse suffered by children at home. But according to a new report from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) in the UK, children are seven times more likely to be badly beaten by their parents than they are to be sexually abused by them.

In a survey of 2869 young adults, 18 to 24 years old, the NSPCC found that one in 14 respondents had suffered serious physical abuse as a child at the hands of parents or other caregivers, compared with 1% whose parents had sexually abused them.

"This report challenges us to re-examine preconceived ideas about child cruelty," NSPCC director Mary Marsh said in a statement. She noted that "modern myths about child cruelty have emerged from the public attention given to horrific and frightening cases of child abuse by strangers," as well as from "a historical wellspring of children's stories about wicked adult bogey figures."

More physical abuse is meted out by mothers than fathers, according to the survey. Almost half of the young adults reported violent childhood abuse by their mothers, compared with 40% who reported abuse by their fathers.

Another myth is that the majority of childhood sexual abuse within the home occurs between fathers and their daughters. However, "this type of incestuous relationship is rare, occurring in less than 4 in 1000 children," the report indicates. The NSPCC found that the majority of incest perpetrators are brothers and stepbrothers. .

© Speak Out Terms of use