Editing Violence (section)

===== Maltreatment =====
{{Main|Child abuse}}
<blockquote>Maltreatment (including violent punishment) involves physical, sexual and psychological/emotional violence; and neglect of infants, children and adolescents by parents, caregivers and other authority figures, most often in the home but also in settings such as schools and orphanages.</blockquote> It includes all types of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, [[child sexual abuse|sexual abuse]], [[neglect]], [[Child neglect|negligence]] and commercial or other [[child exploitation]], which results in actual or potential harm to the child's health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust, or power. Exposure to intimate partner violence is also sometimes included as a form of child maltreatment.<ref>World Health Organization (2006). [https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/publications/violence/child_maltreatment/en/index.html "Preventing child maltreatment: a guide to taking action and generating evidence"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120719072520/http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/publications/violence/child_maltreatment/en/index.html |date=2012-07-19 }} Geneva: WHO and International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.</ref>

Child maltreatment is a global problem with serious lifelong consequences.<ref name=Shechter2009>Schechter DS, Willheim E (2009). The Effects of Violent Experience and Maltreatment on Infants and Young Children. In CH Zeanah (Ed.). ''Handbook of Infant Mental Health'', 3rd Edition. New York: Guilford Press, Inc. pp. 197–214.</ref>{{Pages needed|date=November 2024}} It is complex and difficult to study.<ref name=Shechter2009/>{{Pages needed|date=November 2024}}

There are no reliable global estimates for the prevalence of child maltreatment. Data for many countries, especially low- and middle-income countries, are lacking. Current estimates vary widely depending on the country and the method of research used. Approximately 20% of women and 5–10% of men report being sexually abused as children, while 25–50% of all children report being physically abused.<ref name=WHO2002/><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Stoltenborgh M. |author2=Van IJzendoorn M.H. |author3=Euser E.M. |author4=Bakermans-Kranenburg M.J. | year = 2011 | title = A global perspective on child abuse: Meta-analysis of prevalence around the world | journal = Child Maltreatment | volume = 26 | issue = 2| pages = 79–101 | doi = 10.1177/1077559511403920 |pmid=21511741 |citeseerx=10.1.1.1029.9752 |s2cid=30813632 }}</ref>

Consequences of child maltreatment include impaired lifelong physical and mental health, and social and occupational functioning (e.g. school, job, and relationship difficulties). These can ultimately slow a country's economic and social development.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Gilbert R. |author2=Spatz Widom C. |author3=Browne K. |author4=Fergusson D. |author5=Webb E. |author6=Janson J. | year = 2009 | title = Burden and consequences of child maltreatment in high-income countries | journal = The Lancet | volume = 373 | issue = 9657| pages = 68–81 | doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(08)61706-7 | pmid=19056114|s2cid=1464691 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/ace/index.html|title=Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)|date=21 May 2021}}</ref> Preventing child maltreatment before it starts is possible and requires a multisectoral approach. Effective prevention programmes support parents and teach positive parenting skills. Ongoing care of children and families can reduce the risk of maltreatment reoccurring and can minimize its consequences.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=MacMillan HL, Wathen CN, Barlow J, Fergusson DM, Leventhal JM, Taussig HN | year = 2009 | title = Interventions to prevent child maltreatment and associated impairment | journal = Lancet | volume = 373 | issue = 9659| pages = 250–66 | doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(08)61708-0| pmid = 19056113 | s2cid = 23012537 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Mikton Christopher |author2=Butchart Alexander | year = 2009 | title = Child maltreatment prevention: a systematic review of reviews | journal = Bulletin of the World Health Organization | volume = 87 | issue = 5| pages = 353–61 | doi=10.2471/blt.08.057075|pmid=19551253 | pmc = 2678770 }}</ref>