New York – A new report was released Tuesday on the extent of child abuse in New York state.
Join our WhatsApp groupSubscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
According to the report from the organization Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 77,000 children in New York were confirmed victims of abuse and neglect in 2010. 114 of them died.
“That’s the last year for which we have data,” Meredith Wiley, the organization’s state director, told reporters. “If you want to call it an epidemic, it is an epidemic in spades.”
She also said it’s a crime that is largely under-reported.
“So, 230,000 children in New York state every year are probably abused and neglected,” she said.
When you stick your neck out and stand up for a child, that child will always remember that you deemed them worthy of being defended. That they were worth standing up for. This changes the child’s perception of himself/herself. It tells the child, “You deserve to be treated better than this.” It literally changes the child’s life. Do you have the courage to confront those who disrespect/abuse/neglect children? Can you find the courage within yourself to do so?
In the 1950’s When family therapist would make the parents responsible for their child symptoms we ran away and got the psychiatrist to say that all children who exhibit psychological dysfunction are biologically predispositioned. Now we are finding abuse is skyrocketing… This is a result of rejecting family therapy…
Remember, this is what is reported. What is NOT reported??
that number is only for those who were reported to the police. there are still so many that are just alone in family court & not in criminal court & those perps go unpunished
I suspect the trend of comments will reflect the voices of doom from fanatics. This deserves to be challenged on basis of facts.
The subject of child abuse, as was reported in the media article, covers the wide range of abuse and neglect for the entire state of New York. If anyone wants to read this as referring to yeshivos in NYC, the dishonesty is clear and damning. The greatest majority are abuse inthe numbers reported are of parents or caregivers who punish in ways that are either horrific or beyond the boundaries of tolerable discipline. Many are cases of neglect, parents who do not supply their children with food, schooling, or medical care. If you check through the numbers, the place of sexual abuse is not that large. Each case is a great tragedy. Let’s avoid the fanatical approach to this, and address it without decalring it as an epidemic.
(Reply to # 2): Yes, you hit the nail on the head. This was done to absolve parents of any responsibility that they may have in contributing to their child’s dysfunction. “He’s always been out of control,” or “Nebech, she’s a bad seed. A rebel.” Thus are the parents no longer accountable for the destructive nature of their abuse in the child’s life, nor for their child’s tortured state of mind. “It’s genetic, or biological,” is their easy way to dismiss the pain they may have caused. In the “nature vs. nurture” argument, society has increasingly chosen “nature,” even though top researchers in the field of family psychology point to “nurture” as having a huge impact on what ultimately defines the child. And this is all because it hurts to admit that you may have, even inadvertently, harmed your child.
(Reply to #6 ): While there are horrific stories of child abuse and neglect in the general NYC population, do not for a minute dismiss the physical and emotional abuse perpetrated on our kinderlach in the very yeshivos we support. I suspect you have never worked in a chassidishe yeshiva. I HAVE. And I have witnessed severe methods of dealing with children. Abusive behavior. By adults. By principals. By rebbies. Don’t you dare minimize it. It IS an epidemic, and needs to be taken very, very seriously.
(Reply to #2 ): My comments are based on the research of the famed Swiss psychologist Alice Miller, a leading and respected expert in her field. She has written extensively and profoundly about child abuse and neglect. Her brilliant and original insights have guided me in my career of assisting/protecting children. It is worthwhile reading what this incredible authority has written on the subject. Yes, you are right, Avreich1. It does take compassion. But what I have discovered, more importantly, is that it takes courage. It takes the ability to tolerate disapproval, anger, and even ostracization from your community. It takes the realization that protecting and honoring children is ultimately more important than the respect of small minds, be they family, friends, or even an entire community. This business of defending children is not for wimps. Not for the spineless. I would still choose this enormous mitzvah of protecting vulnerable children (over the approval of “others”) any day. But I have made enemies, Avreich1. Many enemies. So that is why I asked in my previous comment, “Do you have the courage to report child abuse? To stand up for a child? To put yourself on the line?” Thank you for your kind remarks, Avreich1.
To #9 I agree with you 110%. You hit the nail on the head!! It is a shame that our elected officials do not listen to you. Our children must be protected. Sometimes from their own parents. If we are “moser” on an adult who will protect a young child? What are we to do? We are sometimes in a “Catch 22” situation when you need to take action immediately!! If you interfere with somebody else’s child they tell you to “mind your own business”!! Are you supposed to wait untila child is nebach hurt badly?? If I dial 311 or 911, some of you will scream moser, and if I do not some of you would say, why didn’t you? You cannot keep everybody happy anymore!!
(Reply to #9 ): I respectfully disagree. The “fabric” you speak of, the one you deny exists to the extent it does, is the molestation of our children AND THE INEVITABLE COVER-UP. The cover-up is one of the worst aspects of the abuse. Both boys and girls, in our homes and schools and yeshivos, have endured and continue to endure sexual exploitation. They are being told to NOT talk about it, to NOT press charges, to virtually keep silent about the horrors. So how could you possibly know how widespread the problem is, #9 , if the cullture engages in massive cover-up?!? This IS a reality in our community, whether you admit it or not. And you ARE minimizing it, every time you attempt to downplay it, or sweep it under the rug. I have personally confronted and thrown child molesters out of schools. Not once or twice. Many times. And I am only one person. I’ve gone to the police, too. So I am aware of how much of a problem is festering in our midst, as rabbis and leaders look away. It IS epidemic, #9 . Saying it isn’t does not change the reality of our corrupt, sick mindset and our gutless approach to this problem.
(Reply to #14 ): Nobody except the molesters and their enablers are being slandered or libeled, #14 . For someone who scolds others when perceiving exaggeration in their comments, you are certainly over-dramatizing my remarks, and being quite defensive, to boot. Why? No one is asking you to shed your cloak of anonymity. We can meet on VIN and compare notes. What I would like you to please answer is simply this: Why is it so important for you to deny the enormous proportions of the problem? What makes you so confident it’s not as huge an issue as my colleagues and I know it to be? And what, in your opinion, constitutes an epidemic? Five kids? Ten kids? Twenty suicides? What exactly is your threshold? What are your standards, and what is your measuring stick? Is it a matter of linguistics, #14 ? Maybe you really DON’T view the widespread sexual abuse of our children as “epidemic.” But I do. And so do countless professionals and experts familiar with the frum community and with how it operates. None of us know the exact numbers. But I can certainly extrapolate based on thirty-plus years in the business. And so can others with whom I’ve worked, because we’ve all been involved with multiple yeshivos, chassidish and yeshivish, in various capacities, and we’ve seen the victims. We’ve dealt with the families. For every victim you hear about, DOZENS go unreported. You say you hope the ousted predators of our children never procure a similar position again. Are you aware that most are simply passed along to different schools and yeshivos and NEVER PROSECUTED? (It’s called “passing the garbage”). Rabbis I know (and used to respect) have actually condoned this practice. They protect the criminals!! So the molesters are free to abuse again! But wait! It’s worse than that. These criminals are actually EMPOWERED to hurt more children! Because if the rabbis and yeshivos don’t criminally charge and prosecute these predators, why should they ever stop?!? But don’t believe me, #14 . Read about the rate at which molesters reoffend in the general population. Then imagine the relief a sick molester feels at being allowed to simply leave one yeshiva for another. I’ve given years of my life to expose this problem, and therefore, #14 , I live with a clear conscience. I hope you do, too. So please, please don’t delete the word “epidemic” from your lexicon when discussing this problem. Maybe one day it’ll get better, but right now it’s as bad as it gets.