A Closer Look At Child Victimization

According to a new national survey, authorities like police and school officials find out about almost half of the juveniles who experience crime and abuse. It’s an improvement on the reporting rate from two decades ago, but shows that child abuse remains a “hidden problem” in the U.S.

“The big thing that I don’t think people realize is that children are the most criminally victimized segment of the population,” says the study’s lead researcher David Finkelhor. I called Dr. Finkelhor, who directs the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, to learn more about his study and to ask him how society might get rid of child abuse.