Additional Statistics That You Should Know
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The U.S. Department of Justice reports that 797,500 children (younger than age 18) were reported missing in a one year period of time.
This results in an average of 2,185 children being reported missing each day.
203,900 children were the victims of family abductions.
58,200 were the victims of non-family abductions.
115 children were the victims of "stereotypical" kidnapping. (These crimes involve someone the child does not know or someone of slight acquaintance, who holds the child overnight, transports the child 50 miles or more, kills the child, demands ransom, or intends to keep the child permanently.)
Andrea J. Sedlak, David Finkelhor, Heather Hammer, and Dana J. Schultz, U.S. Department of Justice. "National Estimates of Missing Children: An Overview" in National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children. Washington, D.C.: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, October, 2002, page 5.
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In 80% of abductions by strangers, the first contact occurs within a quarter mile of the child’s home. In many cases, the abduction does too.
Most strangers grab their victims on the street or try to lure them to their vehicles.
About 74% of the victims of non-family abductions are girls.
1990 - U.S. Department of Justice report.
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And just how many children are victims of online sexual exploitation?
Approximately one in seven youth online (10 - 17 years old) received a sexual solicitation or approach over the internet.
Four percent (4%) received an aggressive sexual solicitation - a solicitor who asked to meet them somewhere; called them on the telephone; or sent them offline mail, money, or gifts.
Thirty-four percent (34%) had an unwanted exposure to sexual material - pictures of naked people or people having sex.
Twenty-seven percent (27%) of the youth who encountered unwanted sexual material told a parent or guardian. If the encounter was defined as distressing - episodes that made them feel very or extremely upset or afraid - forty-two percent (42%) told a parent or guardian.
David Finkelhor, Kimberly J. Mitchell, and Janis Wolak. Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later. Alexandria, Virginia: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, 2006, pages 7-8, 33.
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Research indicates that 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 10 boys will be sexually victimized before adulthood.
D. Finkelhor. "Current Information on the Scope and Nature of Child Sexual Abuse." The Future of Children: Sexual Abuse of Children, 1994, volume 4, page 37.
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Every 2 minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted.
Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) calculation based on 2000 National Crime Victimization Survey. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice
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In 2000, nearly 88,000 children in the U.S. experienced sexual abuse.
ACF 2002
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