Child Abuse: Myths and Facts

Myth: People who abuse children usually are mentally ill.
Fact: People who abuse children are relatively normal people who may be under intolerable stress and react to it by taking it out on their children.

Myth: When one child is abused, the siblings also are abused.
Fact: When a child is abused, siblings usually are not abused.

Myth: Individuals other than their parents most commonly abuse Children.
Fact: Most abusers (physical & sexual) are biological parents.

Myth: Child abuse occurs only in low-income families.
Fact: Child abuse occurs in families throughout the whole social and economic spectrum.

Myth: Teenagers and pre-teens who rebel against parental authority are the most likely victims of child abuse.
Fact: Pre-schoolers are the largest “at risk” population.

Myth: It is very hard to prove that injuries are accidental and not physical abuse.
Fact: Forensic pathology can distinguish between intentional verses accidental injuries to a high degree of certainty.

Myth: Many child abusers cannot be helped.
Fact: If parents want to change, they can be helped to establish a normal parent-child relationship with professional guidance.

Myth: Sexual abuse victims usually are female adolescents who provoke assault by their behavior or dress.
Fact: Boys as well as girls can be at risk for sexual exploitations. Victims can be of any age. A child’s dress or behavior is not the reason abuse occurs.

Child Abuse is everyone’s problem. If you know of a child that is being abused, please believe them and help them to receive professional help and safety right away. Please do not wait to see if it will happen again and write it off as a one-time incident. Please report child abuse. During regular business hours, 8 – 4:30 Monday – Friday, call the Door County Department of Social Services at 920.746.2300. For after hours or weekends, call the Sturgeon Bay Police Department or the Door County Sheriff’s Department. For referrals to other agencies that can help, call the 24-hour crisis line at 920.743.8818 or 1.800.91.HELP.1.