In many, many ways, America is a wonderful place to live. Home to the world’s greatest melting pot of cultural and ethnic diversity, some of the best trauma care available on the planet, and a phenomenal inventive and creative sector.  We have a lot to be proud of.  But for all of that, a terrifying number of our children suffer abuse every day, and many families are torn apart because of false allegations of abuse.

But what makes this potentially so much worse is the fact that the U.S., for all of our advancement in so many other areas, appears to fall behind the rest of the world when it comes to the issue of child abuse. According to a UNICEF study, almost 3,500 children, aged 14 and under, die as a result of physical abuse and neglect every year in the industrialized world. Of those children’s deaths, two happen weekly in Germany and the UK, three every week in France and four in Japan. But in the U.S., the number is a staggering 27.

The same report shows that while child abuse related deaths appear to be on the decline in most developed nations, in the U.S. our numbers aren’t getting better. An article in the International Business Times compared the five worst countries for child sexual abuse and while two African nations and India shared three of the top spots, the UK and the USA were right up there in the top five. But why?

According to UNICEF’s Innocenti Research Center, violence in society plays a definite role. The nations with the lowest rate of child abuse related deaths also have the lowest rate of adult deaths resulting from assault. Conversely, the nations with the highest number of child abuse death – of which the United States, Mexico, and Portugal are the top three – also have incredibly high rates of adult death from assault.

Other factors that play a role, according to UNICEF’s study, are poverty and stress, along with drug and alcohol abuse. What is interesting, and perhaps also disheartening, about those facts is the reality about world poverty. Many of the nations with high instances of child abuse do not have stable economies or great wealth. However, although the U.S. is one of the wealthiest nations in the world, we still appear to have one of the highest rates of child abuse.

As if the U.S. as a whole doesn’t get a bad enough rap with regard to child abuse, Michigan is, unfortunately, in the state grouping with the worst statistics. Along with Alaska, Arkansas and Iowa, Michigan is listed as being one of the worst states for child abuse. So what can be done about our growing problem with child abuse here in the U.S., and in particular, in our beautiful mitten state?

Perhaps before we address the question of what can be done, we will need to ascertain whether or not the issue is as bad as statistics say it is. Do the child abuse statistics for Michigan accurately reflect the reality here in our state, or is that based on a single-sided perspective? Examples of this can be seen in some of the free range parenting case we have covered in the past, where one parent’s idea of proper parenting is viewed as abusive by the state.

Unfortunately, there is no one, clear-cut answer in this case. The problem, if indeed it is as bad as it seems, is the result of many factors that play off and influence one-another. As a result, the solution will likely be a complex and multifaceted answer. Like all journeys, however, it starts with a single step.

So what does that step look like? That depends on who you ask. Enormous changes to our child welfare programs would be a great first step, but that is only a fragment of what needs to happen here. Perhaps better support systems in place for new and single parents. Maybe less government interference in how we parent, and more government assistance for those who need it. There are so many possible options. What do you think the solution would look like here?