NCJ Number
224976
Journal
Child Abuse Review Volume: 17 Issue: 5 Dated: September-October 2008 Pages: 297-312
Date Published
September 2008
Length
16 pages
Annotation
In order to determine whether or not child protection is improving in England and Wales, this study used data from the World Health Organization in comparing children’s “violent” deaths in England and Wales with those in other major developed countries for the years 1974 and 2000-02.
Abstract
The comparative data show major reductions in violence-related deaths of children in England and Wales over the two periods examined, which can give child-protection-services front-line staff some sense of achievement and ensure the public that progress is being made in the face of media reports that the protection of children has never been worse. In the period 1974-76 infant homicide rates in England and Wales were 57 per million of population. This figure fell to 17 per million annually in the years 2000-02, a 74-percent decrease. In the 1970s, combined “violent” deaths of all children (0-14 years old)--i.e., homicides, other external causes of death (OECD), and fatal accidents and adverse events (AAE)--in England and Wales were 203 per million; in 2000-02 they were 61 per million, a 70-percent decline. Only Italy had lower rates. The worst rates were in the United States, which had the highest combined “violent” death rate for children. The examined data for the two periods show that infant AAE deaths fell in every country examined, with England and Wales declining from 341 per million to 71 per million, a 76-percent reduction. Both the infant homicide-rate declines and the AAE declines in England and Wales were significantly better than those of eight other major developed countries; however, infant OECD data were high compared with other major developed countries at 26 per million. 4 tables and 39 references