Did Child Abuse Rates Increase During the Pandemic?

Child abuse has been an unseen, but continuous problem in society for a long time, but the COVID-19 pandemic intensified the problem. 

With schools being closed, mandated child abuse reporters becoming unavailable, and families isolated, cases of abuse became more prevalent and significantly harder to detect.

While COVID had an effect on nearly every aspect of life including public health, the economy, mental health, education, social relations, and more, one important but often left unspoken is child welfare. There is growing evidence from multiple sources that child abuse and neglect worsened during the pandemic.

Due to the mass lockdowns that took place, families lost the ability to access social support systems, like mandated reporters, increasing depression, anxiety, and stress. Mandated reporters for children usually consist of teachers, tutors, physicians, and coaches. The reports of child abuse during COVID were low because children were not speaking to mandated reporters. However, many experts and researchers strongly believe abuse actually skyrocketed behind closed doors. The pandemic created an isolated and stressful environment for most families which made children more vulnerable to abuse and parents more prone to anger. 

For parents, the pandemic led to high rates of unemployment, financial pressures as well as increased loneliness due to social isolation and lack of daily activities. The economic strain caused by job loss and financial insecurity stressed parents, which then transferred to their children. As a result of many financially unstable homes, substance abuse rose as well, which is a common risk factor for child abuse. Because parents experienced this increase in social isolation, physical punishment and verbal aggression towards children also became more common. Instances of any form of abuse were difficult to trace because social outlets were unavailable. For example, the pandemic made people more unwilling to visit the hospital for regular checkups, which meant that healthcare providers were not present to spot signs of abuse. 

In 2020, physical abuse, sexual abuse by adults, and sexual abuse by peers increased for girls. Respectively, these percent increases were 0.3%, 2.7%, and 2.4%. The perpetrators of abuse tended to have a history of substance abuse, crime, and of low income backgrounds. 

The Short and Long Term Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on Child Maltreatment

Before COVID, the reports of physical abuse was 5.5% and the reports of emotional abuse were 13.9%. During the first year of the pandemic, sources found that more than 11% of minors were facing a form of physical abuse while over 55% of minors were experiencing emotional abuse. This showed that the emotional impact of lockdowns more than doubled abuse rates and the importance of mandated reporters present in children’s lives. 

Prior to the pandemic, over a million children globally were victims of neglect and child maltreatment including physical, sexual, mental, and psychological abuse. This had significant short and long-term impacts on children's physical and mental well-being. Such impacts include developmental issues, such as lower IQs, stunted growth, psychological issues, and issues with neural development. Furthermore, these children are more likely to fall into addiction or crime. 

Moving forward, preventative measures must be taken in order to ensure that children do not feel entrapped by abusive situations. Mandated reporters and social services must be easily accessible, regardless of the state of the world. Issues such as financial struggle, neglect, parental unemployment, and more create an unstable environment which tend to lead to risky environments for children.