Child abuse in the home

This report sheds light on the probability of a child being abused by parents or step-parents during childhood. The report also covers the probability of a child ending up in a personal support programme, if it is suspected the child is being exposed to different forms of child abuse (physical abuse, psychological abuse, sexual abuse or neglect).
The survey is based on three sets of data. Firstly, the survey draws on register data from Statistics Denmark, which includes data on all children born between 1994 and 2006. These data can tell us something about the number of children who, during their childhood, are treated at hospital due to abuse. Secondly, we asked case officers to review a sample of 900 municipal child cases. On the basis of this review, we were able to estimate the number of children who end up on personal support programmes during their childhood. Thirdly, we performed a representative interview survey of 3,000 25-year-olds, who were interviewed about their childhood. These interviews provided us with an idea of the extent of child abuse.
Comparing the figures from the three data sets we could estimate the number of children who not detected by the municipality or the hospital although they have been subject to abuse.
MUCH CHILD ABUSE IS NOT REGISTERED
The survey shows that a significant amount of abuse against children and young people is apparently not detected; neither by the social system nor by the health services. The report shows that 5.6% of children born in a specific year report that they have been physically abused by their parents or step-parents. The abuse can be anything from kicks and blows with an object to choking and burning, and can be one-off incidents or systematic abuse over a long period of time. Less than one-fifth of the 5.6% who reported having been physically abused, or 1.07%, were detected by the municipality. Only 0.12% were detected in connection with treatment at hospital.
The report also looks at psychological abuse, which involves parents humiliating their children, telling them they are unwanted, unloved or worthless, and threatening to expel them from the home. As many as 22.7% of the children interviewed report having experienced this. However, only 3.2% of children born in a specific year end up with the municipality as children with recognised psychological abuse.
One-seventh, or 14.9%, of those interviewed have been exposed to neglect during their childhood. For example they have not had proper food, physical nursing and care, e.g. during sickness, or they have been given too large a responsibility, at too young an age, for taking care of their younger siblings. Only 3.4% of children from a specific year have been part of a child case in which the case officer registered them as being subject to neglect.
INSUFFICIENT COORDINATION IS THE PROBLEM
The results of the survey identify a number of problems related to insufficient coordination of efforts between the health sector and the social sector in the municipalities. The survey shows that for children whose case officer has registered them as having been physically abused, only in 6% of the cases did the case officer know that the child had been examined by a physician. The survey also shows that only around one-third of the children and young people who hospitals register with a child abuse diagnosis, subsequently receive personal support in accordance with the provisions of the Danish Social Services Act.
Furthermore, the survey shows that case work by the municipality is characterised by insufficient knowledge about whether the child’s situation has improved or whether the abuse continues. Only in about 42% of cases in which the case officer has registered physical abuse does the case review provide certainty that conditions in the home have improved.
This suggests that some municipalities would benefit from ensuring more clarity about the procedures for case officers and other professionals in cases where child abuse is suspected, as well as introducing systematic follow-up on the child’s situation in the time after the abuse.
CHILD ABUSE HAS FAR-REACHING CONSEQUENCES
The review of the municipal child cases reveals that, in cases where child abuse was suspected, a number of developmental disorders were observed in the children and young people which affected their cognitive, social and emotional development. Therefore, not surprisingly, the interviews with the 25-year-olds showed that many of those who had been subject to abuse during childhood, today suffer from post-traumatic stress reactions and suicidal tendencies. Those who have been subject to physical abuse have five times greater risk than others of their age of post-traumatic stress reactions as 25-year-olds, and six times greater risk of suicidal tendencies. A similar pattern is found for other types of child abuse.