Chapter 5
Perpetrators
Child Maltreatment 2003
Most perpetrators of child maltreatment are caregivers who have been found to have abused or neglected a child. In most cases, the perpetrator is a parent who is responsible for the child's well-being. Nonparental caregivers include persons who are responsible for the supervision of a child, e.g., other relatives, foster parents, or residential facility staff.
Characteristics of Perpetrators
For 2003, 58.2 percent of the perpetrators were women and 41.8 percent were men.1 Female perpetrators were typically younger than male perpetrators. The median age of perpetrators was 31 years for women and 34 years for men. Of the women who were perpetrators, more than 40 percent (43.8%) were younger than 30 years of age, compared to one-third of the men (33.1) (figure 5-1).
The largest percentage of perpetrators (79.7%) were parents (figure 5-2). The category of parents includes birth parents, adoptive parents, and stepparents. Other relatives accounted for an additional 6.4 percent. Unmarried partners of parents accounted for 4.0 percent of perpetrators.2
More than one-half (57.0%) of all perpetrators were found to have neglected children.3 Slightly more than 10 percent (11.2%) of perpetrators physically abused children, and 7.2 percent sexually abused children.
There were variations in these overall patterns when the relationship of perpetrator to the child victim was considered. Less than 3 percent (2.7%) of parents committed sexual abuse; however, 29.9 percent of other relatives, 26.8 percent of other professionals, 23.0 percent of daycare providers, and 11.5 percent of residential facility staff committed sexual abuse (figure 5-3). More than three-quarters (75.9%) of perpetrators who were friends or neighbors committed sexual abuse.
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Tables
The following pages contain the data tables referenced in Chapter 5. Unless otherwise explained, a blank indicates that the State did not submit usable data. Specific information about State submissions can be found in Appendix D.
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Table Notes
Additional information regarding methodologies that were used to create the tables is provided below.
Table 5-1
- Percentages are based on 713,808 perpetrators for whom the perpetrator's age and sex were provided. A perpetrator was counted for each child victim for each report.
Table 5-2
- States that did not provide data on the relationship of perpetrators to victims were excluded from this analysis.
Table 5-3
- The category neglect includes medical neglect.
- The category multiple maltreatment types includes a combination of any two or more types of maltreatment.
Chapter Five: Figures and Tables
Notes
1 Supporting data are provided in table 5-1, which is located at the end of this chapter. back
2 See table 5-2. back
3 See table 5-3. back
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