Myths And Realities

Many false beliefs about child abuse continue to be held by people in our community. Before we can start to prevent child abuse from happening we need to understand more about the problem.

How much do you know about the problem of child abuse? Why not take a few minutes to take this quick questionnaire? Email it to a friend. Help others to learn more about the child abuse and the need to protect children.

Simply choose whether you think the following statements are True or False.

  1. 1. Children are more likely to be abused by people they know than by strangers.
  2. 2. The number of children being abused and neglected is increasing.
  3. 3. If children don't witness domestic violence (or violence between adults in the home) they are not affected by it.
  4. 4. Child abuse can lead to depression, drug abuse and homelessness in later life.
  5. 5. Boys are rarely victims of sexual abuse.
  6. 6. Disabled children are more likely to become victims of abuse than non-disabled children.
  7. 7. Children are sometimes to blame for their abuse.
  8. 8. The most common form of abuse is emotional abuse.
  9. 9. Children make up stories about abuse.
  10. 10. Children who disclose about their abuse and later retract their story were lying about the abuse.
  11. 11. Reporting to the state child protection authorities can cause more harm than the abuse itself.
  12. 12. If a child is reported to the state child protection authorities they will always be taken away from their family.
  13. 13. It is not always obvious that a child is being abused.
  14. 14. If abuse happened once it is likely to happen again
  15. 15. Child abuse doesn't happen in well educated families.