|
Male
Perpetrators of Abuse: A New National Study
Someone once said
that if a man had one leg in boiling water and one leg in ice,
statistically he would be comfortable. In any case, the man would
have two serious problems to deal with. The definition of statistics
is, according to one source, “The mathematics of the collection,
organization, and interpretation of numerical data, especially the
analysis of population characteristics by inference from
sampling.” Although not an exact science, statistics can point
us to problems and lead us in the direction of possible solutions.
New studies in the area of child abuse can help us learn more about
who commits these crimes and who is at risk.
In January 2005,
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation released a
comprehensive study of the men who commit child abuse. The study
examined data from 18 states involving 192,392 perpetrators of all
kinds of abuse and neglect—male and female.
Demographic
information regarding the population in the study is fairly
consistent with national data. Although not necessarily
representative of all states, the demographic characteristics are
comparable. The differences between the demographic indicators of the
sample and the general population are not significant. For example,
49 percent of the general population is male and 49 percent of the
perpetrator database is male. Some differences with regard to race
are evident in the study sample. However, they are not substantial.
One illustration is that the national population figures show that 69
percent of the population is white but 73 percent of the perpetrators
in the sample were white.
The study is a
rare assessment of male perpetrators of all types of child abuse
because most services provided by state social service agencies are
delivered to female perpetrators—most often to mothers. More
than half of all perpetrators of child abuse are women. However,
women and men have distinctly different patterns of abuse.
For example,
slightly more than one-third of the male perpetrators (36 percent)
were accused of neglect while two-thirds of the female perpetrators
(66 percent) were associated with neglect. However, 26 percent of the
males were linked to child sexual abuse but only 2 percent of the
female perpetrators were associated with sexual abuse allegations.
The incidents of physical abuse were comparable among men and women.
Within the 26
percent associated with sexual abuse, children were most at risk from
stepfathers (30 percent), adoptive fathers (24 percent) and the
mother’s boyfriend (20 percent). Biological fathers accounted
for 7 percent of the sexual abuse incidents and
“combination” fathers—men who were biologically
related to one victim and the stepfather of another—were
responsible for another 7 percent. However, non-parents—people
the VIRTUS programs identify as those who are known and trusted by
the children and the parents—committed 68 percent of the
incidents of sexual abuse by male perpetrators.
The study confirms
that the greatest risk to our children still comes from the combined
threat of those to whom we entrust our children—their teachers,
coaches, neighbors, clergy, daycare providers, youth ministers, etc.
The sheer size of
this study makes it significant. Child sexual abuse accounted for 26
percent of a total of 89,028 assaults on children for a total of
23,034 incidences of sexual abuse. When viewed in its entirety, one
thing stands out—children are most at risk from those we trust
most to spend time with them. Incest is clearly a problem for
children; but, the greatest risk is from the people in their lives
who appear to have their best interests at heart.
The findings in
this study once again remind us that identifying the behavioral
warning signs of the third parties that regularly interact with our
children and intervening when the behavior gives rise to concerns is
our best chance to protect children from sexual abuse. Learning to
recognize the warning signs of someone who is a risk to harm children
is the key to keeping our children safe from abuse.
The American
Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition,
© 2000 Houghton Mifflin Company.
MALE
PERPETRATORS OF CHILD MALTREATMENT: FINDING FROM NCANDS,
U.S.Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistance
Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, January 2005. |
