There were a total of 58,000 investigations of child abuse or maltreatment in Arkansas in 2007, according to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. A total of 9,847 of those cases were confirmed to be abuse, either sexual, physical or a combination of both.

In the United States, there were 794,517 confirmed cases of abuse among children. Approximately three quarters of them had no history of prior victimization. Fifty-nine percent of the children were classified as victims of neglect; 4 percent as victims of emotional abuse; 8 percent as victims of sexual abuse; and 11 percent as victims of physical abuse.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, female perpetrators of child abuse, mostly mothers, are typically younger than male perpetrators, who are mostly fathers. More women (56 percent) than men (42 percent) are perpetrators of all forms of child maltreatment.

In 2007, 1,760 children ages 0 to 17 in the U.S. died from abuse and neglect.

The physical consequences of child trauma can include impaired brain development and/or poor physical health while the psychological consequences of child abuse can include anxiety, depression, cognitive difficulties, and/or social problems.

The behavioral consequences of child abuse can include juvenile delinquency, adult criminality, substance abuse, and/or abusive behavior.