AUBURN UNIVERSITY, Ala. — Five children die from abuse every day.

During April, individuals and organizations bring awareness to this issue as a part of National Child Abuse Prevention Month. As a part of this awareness, people often display pinwheels to represent the fun and whimsical nature of children. Leigh Akins, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System family and child development agent, said it is always encouraging to see pinwheels across Alabama raising awareness for this issue.

“There is definitely a buzz and energy around the topic,” Akins said. “In all honesty, conversations about effective child maltreatment prevention strategies need to continue year-round to build strong foundations within the communities across our state. These foundations are needed to build bright futures for the children of Alabama.”

Signs and Risk Factors

A large part of prevention is knowing the signs and risk factors of child abuse. Understanding signs and risk factors can help individuals, families and communities protect children from all forms of abuse and neglect.

Child abuse is defined as a situation where a parent, caregiver or other adult physically or emotionally harms, injures or kills a child. This could be through the adult’s actions as well as their failure to act. Abuse can take many forms, including sexual, physical and emotional abuse, as well as exploitation.

“Signs of abuse are not always clear, but there are several indicators that may suggest a child is being abused,” Akins said. “These can include a significant change in the child’s behavior; withdrawal from normal activities, friends and family; or displaying signs of aggression, fear, anxiety, depression or oversexualization.”

Other signs may include delays in the child’s physical, emotional or intellectual development, significant weight loss or gain and avoidance of physical touch. Children may also wear clothing that is out of place, such as a sweater in summer, to hide injuries or refuse to change clothes around others. Those experiencing abuse may also miss school often and be constantly worried they are doing something wrong.

A more preventative action is to look for risk factors of abuse, which may allow for intervention in some situations before the abuse starts. These risk factors are the characteristics in a child’s life that have the potential to lead to abuse. For example, caregivers that struggle with drugs or alcohol and families where violent relationships are present are both risk factors for abuse. The presence of these and other factors does not automatically mean abuse is happening. However, they increase the possibility. To learn more about these risk factors, see the Extension publication, “Risk Factors for Child Abuse.”

Reporting Child Abuse

If someone believes that a child is in immediate danger, they should call 9-1-1. People can also report suspected child abuse to the ChildHelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 and the local child protective services office.

More Information

More information on awareness is available in the Extension publication, “Child Abuse Awareness,” available at aces.edu.

Prevent Child Abuse America is the oldest and largest organization in the U.S. committed to preventing child abuse and neglect. They have many resources and ways for people to be involved in prevention year-round. Visit preventchildabuse.org for more information.