Statistics

Here are some statistics from the on child abuse. For further reading, click here.

Severe maltreatment

• One in four young adults (25.3%) had been severely maltreated during childhood.
• Around one in five (18.6%) children aged 11-17 have been severely maltreated.
• One in seven young adults (14.5%) had been severely maltreated by a parent or guardian during childhood.
• More than one in eight children aged 11-17 (13.4%) have experienced severe maltreatment by a parent or guardian.

Sexual abuse

• Nearly a quarter of young adults (24.1%) experienced sexual abuse (including contact and non-contact) by an adult or by a peer during childhood.
• One in six children aged 11-17 (16.5%) have experienced sexual abuse.
• Almost one in 10 children aged 11-17 (9.4%) have experienced sexual abuse in the past year. Teenage girls aged between 15 and 17 years reported the highest past year rates of sexual abuse.

See the nspcc’s sexual abuse statistics pages for more information.

Physical violence

• One in nine young adults (11.5%) had experienced severe physical violence during childhood at the hands of an adult.
• One in 14 children aged 11-17 (6.9%) have experienced severe physical violence at the hands of an adult.

See the nspcc’s physical abuse statistics pages for more information.

Neglect

• Neglect was the most prevalent type of maltreatment in the family for all age groups.
• One in six young adults (16%) had been neglected at some point in their childhoods and nearly one in ten (9%) had experienced severe neglect.
• One in seven children aged 11-17 (13.3%) have been neglected. Almost one in ten (9.8%) have experienced severe neglect.

See the nspcc’s neglect statistics pages for more information.

Emotional abuse

• One in 14 young adults (6.9%) experienced emotional abuse during childhood.
• One in 14 children aged 11-17 (6.8%) have experienced emotional abuse.

Experiencing domestic abuse

• Nearly one in four young adults (23.7%) were exposed to domestic violence between adults in their homes during childhood.
• Just under one in five children aged 11-17 (17.5%) have experienced domestic violence between adults in their homes.

See the nspcc’s domestic abuse statistics pages for more information.

Disclosure

• More than one in five children aged 11-17 (22.9%) who were physically hurt by a parent or guardian did not tell anyone else about it.
• More than one in three children aged 11-17 (34%) who experienced contact sexual abuse by an adult did not tell anyone else about it.
• Four out of five children aged 11-17 (82.7%) who experienced contact sexual abuse from a peer did not tell anyone else about it.