Facts You Should Know
Violence Fact Sheet
National Statistics
The National Child Abuse and
Neglect Data System (NCANDS) reported an estimated 1,400 child
fatalities in 2002. This translates to a rate of 1.98 children per
1000,000 children in the general population.12
Research indicates very young children (ages 3 and younger) are the most frequent victims of child fatalities in 2002.12
Intentional injury to young children (0-4) is most likely to occur as a result of child abuse (and neglect).3
In 1996, child protective services received reports of more than 3 million maltreated children nationally. In 80% of these cases, the alleged perpetrator was the child’s parent. More than 1,000 children died as a result of maltreatment. 3 in 4 of these victims were under age 4.10
Every year at least 3.3 million children are at risk for observing parental domestic violence within their homes.5
Estimates show that 3-5 children in every classroom have witnessed a woman being abused.9
3 million children are diagnosed as having Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).11
Violent Crimes Index
In Illinois, there were 986 murders in 2001; 666 of these occurred in Chicago.4
There were 3,938 forcible rapes in Illinois in 2001.4
There were 49,713 aggravated assaults in Illinois in 2001; 25,553 of these occurred in Chicago.4
In 2001, there were 24,867 robberies in Illinois; 18,433 of these were in Chicago.4
Child Abuse and Neglect
In Illinois, the Department of Child and Family Services currently investigates over 100,000 reports of child abuse annually.6
100,451 child abuse/neglect reports were received in FY 01.6
The number of alleged and indicated victims has been steadily declining since FY 95, when DCFS investigated 139,720 cases.6
In FY 02, 802 substance-exposed infants were recorded by Illinois hospitals.6
Domestic Violence
In Illinois there is currently no established mechanism for tracking incidents of Domestic Violence, however, the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) collects information from the 52 domestic violence service programs that it currently funds.7
In 2001, state funding supported 67 domestic violence programs, serving 113,400 clients—including 25,700 children.7
IDHS tracked the primary type of family/domestic abuse reported in FY 01 and concluded that 68% of victims reported physical abuse, 30% reported emotional abuse, and 2% reported sexual abuse as being the primary type of violence.7
Youth Violence
In 1999, 45,448 juveniles were arrested in Illinois. Of these arrests, 3,409 were for a violent crime and 2,383 were for possession of a weapon.2
Homicide is the leading cause of death for Illinois youths age 10-24 years.2
In 2001, 21% of Chicago students grades 9 through 12 and 11% of other Illinois students reported that they had carried a weapon (gun, knife, or club) during the past month.2
Nearly 41% of Chicago students grades 9 through 12 (40.8%) and 27% of other Illinois students reported in 2001 that they were in a physical fight during the past year.2
Nearly 12% of Chicago students grades 9 through 12 (11.8%) and 7% of other Illinois students reported in 2001 that they had attempted suicide during the past year.2
Gun Violence
In 1999, there were 1,209 gun-related deaths in the State of Illinois, out of a total of 28,874 gun-related deaths in the United States.1
Among gun-related deaths of Illinois youths, 182 were homicides, 37 were suicides, 7 were unintentional and 2 deaths were of undetermined intent.1
Youth are disproportionately affected by gun violence in Illinois. Youths (0-19 years) comprised nearly one out of every five gun-related deaths in Illinois (230 of 1,309 deaths or 19%). By comparison, in the United States only 11.7% of all gun-related deaths were among youths under the age of 19.1
Community Violence
In 1997, in Chicago, studies showed that among 500 elementary school students one in four had witnessed a shooting and one-third had seen a stabbing. 3 in 5 of those children who witnessed a shooting or stabbing, indicated the incident resulted in death. More than 25% of these children had been victims of severe violence themselves—that is, they had been shot at, suffered a knife attack, or had been beaten or mugged.9
Sources:
1. Campaign County Health Care Consumers Gun Regulation Project. Community Report. August 30, 2001
2. Centers for Disease Control. 2001 Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
3. Child Welfare League of America. State Fact Sheets 2001.
4. FBI, Uniform Crime Reports
5.Groves, Zuckerman, & Marans, “Silent Victims: Children who
Witness Domestic Violence,” Journal of the American Medical
Association, 1993.
6. Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Child Abuse and Neglect Statistics Annual Report FY 2001.
7. Illinois Department of Human Services. Bureau of Domestic Violence Prevention and Intervention
8. Illinois Violence Prevention Authority. Fact Sheet on Violence in Illinois. www.ivpa.org/factsheets/illinoisviolence.html
9. Jenkins, E.J., and Bell, C.C. (1997). “Exposure and Response to Community Violence among Children and Adolescents”
10. National Report Series: Children as Victims, U.S. Department of Justice, May 2000.
11. NYU Child Study Center, New York, NY
12. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau
(2004). Child Maltreatment 2002. Washington DC: U.S. Government
Printing Office. www.nccanch.acf.hhs.gov/
