Child Abuse & Incest

What Is Child Abuse?

Child abuse, or child maltreatment, is an act by a parent or caretaker that results in or allows the child to be subjected to death, physical injury, sexual assault, or emotional harm. Emotional abuse, neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse are all different forms of child abuse.

What Are Child Sexual Abuse And Incest?

Child sexual abuse is any sexual act performed with a child by an adult or older child, with or without force or the threat of force. Child sexual abuse is most commonly committed by someone known to the child, including family members. In this case, the act may be considered incest.

Incest is overt and/or covert sexual contact or acts between people who are related genetically, by marriage, by living arrangements, or in whom a child perceives a trusting relationship, for example parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, step-parents, foster parents.

Incest is one of the most common forms of child sexual abuse. It may start as seemingly innocent touching and progress to more serious acts. It can continue for years. Other individuals who may commit child sexual abuse include neighbors, family friends, baby sitters, religious leaders, youth group leaders, or others with a power advantage of any kind over the child. Child sexual abuse may also be committed by a stranger. The acts can include: touching or non-touching, verbal seduction or abuse, anal or vaginal intercourse, oral sex, sodomy, manual stimulation, direct threats, implied threats, or other forms of abuse.

To find out how to get help, go to our Get Help for Child Abuse page.

Child Abuse and Incest:  Facts

• Four children in the United States die each day as a result of child abuse and neglect.
• Nearly 80% of children who die because of abuse are younger than five years old.

Administration for Children and Families, United States Department of Health and Human Services

Child Advocacy Centers

Safe Horizon operates Child Advocacy Centers in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island that provide assistance to physically and sexually abused children and their families in more than 4,000 cases each year. Child protective caseworkers, police detectives, pediatricians, prosecutors, victim advocates, and mental health professionals all work together in our child friendly center to collect evidence, minimize the number of times the child is interviewed, and ensure that the child receives appropriate medical examinations and therapeutic support.

To contact Safe Horizon's Child Advocacy Centers, go to Child Advocacy Center Locations.

Take a tour of a Child Advocacy Center.

New York State Child Advocacy Resource and Consultation Center (CARCC)

CARCC promotes the multidisciplinary response to child abuse throughout the State by working with law enforcement and child protective professionals to assess and enhance their response to child abuse cases. They offer technical assistance, training, information on funding resources, child fatality review teams, staff development, child abuse statistics and more. CARCC has its own Web site at www.nyscarcc.org.

For further information or if you need help, please see our Get Help for Child Abuse page.