Hope Shining
Hope Shining Los Angeles Bystanders and Child Abuse Survey
Research initiated and supported by New York based Safe Horizon, the nation's leading victim assistance organization, Capital One, Hope Shining National Sponsor, and The Joyful Heart Foundation
Key Findings
A new unprecedented survey on bystanders and child abuse reveals that child abuse is rampant in Los Angeles, and many Los Angeles residents simply lack the knowledge to stop it.
Nearly one out of every seven Los Angeles residents say they have been a victim of child abuse (15%), and 48% say that they know someone who has personally been affected by child abuse. Although nearly all residents (95%) say they are concerned about child abuse, people do not get involved.
The survey reveals that an astoundingly high lack of knowledge about the signs of abuse, fear of consequences and uncertainty about reporting are reasons why significant numbers of people do not report suspected child abuse or get involved.
Child abuse is a very personal issue for Los Angeles residents, who express grave concern about the problem.
- 48% personally know someone who has been a child abuse victim.
- 15% admit that they were abused as a child.
- 25% have a friend who has been a child abuse victim.
- 95% say they are concerned about child abuse, and 95% believe that everyone has a responsibility to protect children and prevent child abuse.
Despite their personal experiences, the majority of Los Angeles residents simply do not get involved or contact authorities.
- When actually confronted with suspected child abuse, only 2% of Los Angeles residents said they contacted authorities, 11% contacted the police, and 10% contacted child protection services.
- One-third (32%) say people are reluctant to report suspected cases because they do not want to get involved or it's not their business.
Many Los Angeles residents cannot identify the warning signs of child abuse.
- 67% say it is difficult to identify child abuse.
- 32% say they suspected child abuse has occurred but just weren't sure.
- Fewer than 12% can identify the following important signs of child abuse:
- deteriorating school performance
- child looks dirty/unkempt or has bad hygiene
- child has fear of going home or being alone with certain adults
- return to earlier behaviors (e.g. thumb sucking, bed-wetting; fear of dark)
- changes in eating and weight gain or loss
- Los Angeles residents narrowly define child abuse as either physical abuse (71%) or mental/emotional abuse (56%). Less than 20% site sexual abuse (19%), neglect (17%), harming/mistreating a child (8%) or withholding food (6%).
- More than half of Los Angeles residents (55%) incorrectly believed that physical evidence of abuse can be found in the majority of child abuse cases or were not sure.
Fear of consequences is a key reason why Los Angeles residents say people do not get involved.
- 39% of Los Angeles residents cite fear as a reason why people might be reluctant to report suspected cases of child abuse: fear of reprisals/or being sued (17%); fear they could be wrong and/or labeled as an abuser (14%); and a simple general fear of what would happen if they did get involved (8%).
Uncertainty about reporting stops people from getting involved.
- 61% incorrectly believe that children reported to the state child protection authorities are automatically taken away from their family.
- 44% do not know that people can report suspected child abuse anonymously.
- Nearly one in four Los Angeles residents (23%) say they have been in situations where they suspected a child has been a victim of child abuse but didn't know what to do.
Methodology
This document provides all questions and answers to a representative and Census balanced (by borough) telephone poll completed in May 2008 among 501 adults 18 years of age or older who live in the county of Los Angeles, California. The study was commissioned by Safe Horizon and was conducted by Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates. The margin of error for the study is +/- 4.3%.
< back to main Hope Shining page
|
|
|
