America the Land of the Free (Except for Children)

The mistreatment of children is no well kept secret--Over 3 million reports involving multiple children are made each year. The statistics are plain devastating, yet very few know them. 

It is time to get informed. No matter what the age of a person, they are still a human being and deserve to live a happy life free from fear.

Here are some quick statistics and reasons why change is absolutely crucial.

• A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds
• More than five children die every day as a result of child abuse.
• Approximately 80% of children that die from abuse are under the age of 4. 1
• It is estimated that between 50-60% of child fatalities due to maltreatment are not recorded as such on death certificates. 
• Child abuse occurs at every socioeconomic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels of education.

But what is being done? 

Absolutely nothing. 

More than 190 countries to have ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, a 1989 treaty that sets out protections for children. 

Every country except the U.S., Somalia, and South Sudan (which has just recently been established) agrees with a passage stating that countries must protect children from "all forms of physical or mental violence".

We still think that corporal punishment is not abuse. We are wrong. 

When you physically attack someone, the pain is not ageist.

Laws preventing abuse shouldn't be.