The nature of child abuse
Child abuse can consist of physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and/or neglect. Each of these forms of abuse are explained on this page, and an estimate of the relative scale of each of these forms of abuse is provided here.
Sexual abuse of children, the least common form of abuse, is mostly committed by men. Although note that there is no shortage of female perpetrators. Neglect of children is mostly committed by mothers, reflecting the fact that they are usually the primary care-givers. Female perpetrators tend to dominate the other two forms of abuse, although there are significant variations (and gaps in data) between different studies. Links to sources of statistical data concerning the perpetration of child abuse are provided below.
Child abuse, where it occurs within the home, is itself a subset of a broader range of destructive behaviours known as domestic violence.
Domestic violence is not a gendered crime, although most feminists believe otherwise and never stop telling us so. They justify this position on the basis of their claim that domestic violence is overwhelmingly perpetrated by men against women. But if we were to accept that, then surely child abuse and neglect must also be a gendered crime given that the majority of the perpetrators are female and the majority of victims male? Why isn’t perpetrator gender nearly such a big issue in the child abuse debate (or abuse of the aged, etc), as it clearly is in domestic violence?
I would draw the readers attention to an article entitled ‘Abuse and neglect: Australia’s child protection ‘crisis’’ published in ‘The Conversation‘. An interesting thing about that article was that it never mentions the issue of gender. This contrasts strongly with articles that ‘The Conversation‘ publishes about domestic violence, wherein gender is invariably the central theme.
I submitted a comment in relation to that article – pointing this out – but it was removed by their moderator within minutes. As an aside, that’s entirely typical of the censorship that takes place at that web site.
Thus we seem to have one form of violence involving somewhat more male perpetrators, and where gender is absolutely pivotal. Then we have other forms of violence where most perpetrators are female, yet apparently gender is not a significant issue. How strange and paradoxical.
Could it be, as some have suggested, that researchers move the goalposts depending on whether the relevant information alternately supports or undermines the feminist narrative? The issue of the corruption of gender-related research is addressed in another blog post.
How about we start telling it like it is? Most child abuse and neglect is perpetrated by women, and women should acknowledge this and deal with it the same way they harangue men to take ownership and deal with domestic violence, i.e. tell all your friends it’s wrong. Though the impact of that approach, in isolation, is unlikely to amount to much in the way of a reduction in abuse.
Perpetrators of domestic violence expose their children to the unhealthy experience of seeing and hearing abuse taking place, thus this behaviour is itself a form of child abuse. Pro-feminist advocacy groups and journalists sometimes offer up statements such as “25% of young people have witnessed physical domestic violence against their mother”. As always, the lack of comparative data for male victimisation is a sure-fire indicator of sexist bias.
The actual situation, as identified by ‘One in Three‘ is:
“23% of young people have witnessed physical domestic violence against their mother or stepmother, and 22% of young people have witnessed physical domestic violence against their father or stepfather” (Source)
See also ‘Why aren’t we talking about abusive mums?‘ by Corrine Barraclough (15 June 2017)
It is of great significance that victims of child abuse, be they male or female, are much more likely to become perpetrators of not only child abuse, but also domestic violence, upon reaching adulthood. Thus abusive women are guilty twice over. In the first instance they abuse their partners and children, turning their lives into a living hell. Then, assuming their abuse doesn’t lead to murder or suicide, those children grow up and have children who they abuse – thus perpetuating an inter-generational cycle.
We should be giving equal emphasis to combating all forms of domestic violence including child abuse and elder abuse. Instead because of the inordinate degree of influence by the feminist lobby, the government is concentrating all of its effort on reducing violence against women based on the flawed claim that DV originates from the disrespectful attitudes of men and boys.
I believe that, were we to take a broader and longer-term view of the DV issue, then we should be placing far greater emphasis on women’s role in perpetrating child abuse. This would see, for example, the provision of more behaviour modification programs for abusive women with the aim of reducing the level of domestic violence in both the current and subsequent generation.
Statistical information on child abuse, and related discussion:
As previously noted, many statistical sources regarding child abuse (esp. in the past 5-10 years) don’t detail the gender of the perpetrator. This problem was identified in this Australian study for example. This is rather curious given that gender is promoted as the pivotal issue in the sphere of domestic violence research. Of course there the majority of perpetrators are male and thus entirely consistent with feminist dogma.
(The above quote was a reader’s comment in relation to ‘The blind spot in our domestic violence crisis’)
Lucy Letby: Nurse accused of murdering babies ‘wrote note saying “I killed them on purpose”’ (18 April 2023)
Brisbane mother and girlfriend jailed after ‘heinous’ abuse of three-year-old boy (12 June 2020)
Vile mother who dressed her nine-year-old daughter in a Playboy outfit and restrained the girl while men raped her cries as she’s found guilty (12 March 2020) Australia
An inconvenient truth about child abuse | The Spectator Australia (14 July 2018) By Augusto Zimmermann – Recommended reading
Women who sexually abuse children are just as harmful to their victims as male abuser (21 August 2017)
New research on perpetrators of child sexual abuse released (29 September 2016) Australia
This U.K article notes that “mothers are the “unseen force” behind so-called honour-based abuse, inflicting violence on their daughters” and that “of the 100 “honour” crimes she studied, 49 involved mothers – but this was often not recorded in crime reports.”
FactCheck Q&A: does Australia have some of the highest rates per capita of fetal alcohol syndrome in the world? (18 April 2016)
Who abuses children? (September 2014)
The Cost of Child Abuse in Australia – Nov 2008 The sole reference to the gender of the perpetrator in this study was the following quote from another study (page 111)
“mothers were more frequently cited as being the perpetrators of maltreatment (63% compared to 45% for mothers and father respectively)”
Child Maltreatment 2013 (USA)
40.5% of all child abuse is committed solely by biological mothers 17.7% of all child abuse is committed solely by biological fathers 19.3% of child abuse is committed by both the mother and the father 6.4% of child abuse is committed by the mother and some other individual 1.0% of child abuse is committed by the father and some other individual 11.9% is committed by someone other than the parents 3.1% is committed by an unknown or missing perpetrator.
Child Maltreatment 2012 Department of Health and Human Services USA. Refer table 5-3. Other reports in this series can be found here.
Reddit discussion threads on the issue of perpetrator gender, included here as they contains links to further statistical sources of note:
Child Abuse – Who Are the Perpetrators? (2016)
Do mothers commit the majority of child abuse? (2016)
Anyone have statistics on the gender of the perpetrators of child sexual abuse? (2013)
Just in case everybody doesn’t know by now: the majority of child abuse is perpetrated by women, not men (2012)
The truth about women who commit domestic violence and child murders (7 April 2011)
“The Western Australian figures shed light on who is likely to abuse children in families and are in line with overseas findings. The data show there were 1505 substantiations of child abuse in WA during the period 2007-8. Natural parents were responsible for 37% of total cases. Of these, mothers are identified as the perpetrator of neglect and abuse in a total of 73% of verified cases.”
Mum, not dad, more likely to neglect kids (23 September 2009)
Most child abusers are women: report (11 April 2007) Australia
“The report shows there were 13,184 substantiated child abuse cases across Queensland in 2005-06. Women were responsible for 7,319 – or 55.5 per cent – of cases, and males for 5,846, or 44.3 per cent.”
Characteristics of child sexual abuse victims according to perpetrator gender (August 1995)
Some specific incidents of female-perpetrated child abuse:
PhD student Nicole Virzi could face death penalty for baby’s alleged murder (26 August 2024)
Mother gets probation for abusing 3-year-old son (25 July 2024) incl. link to video. Revolting behaviour and then let off by the Court
Bionca Ellis, woman accused of stabbing 3-year-old Ohio boy to death in grocery store parking lot, smirks and giggles as the charges are read to her (10 June 2024) USA
Mom Sentenced in Death of 4-Year-Old Daughter Who Was Fed Mountain Dew in a Bottle, Causing Her Teeth to Rot (25 May 2024) USA
Stockport nursery worker guilty of baby’s manslaughter (20 May 2024) UK
Colorado paraprofessional arrested after police say video shows her beating autistic child on school bus (9 April 2024) USA
Woman who kept toddler, 2, in cage and also tried to sell child for £1million found dead (7 April 2024) UK
Monster mum who served up her 16-year-old daughter to a rapist confronted: ‘F**k yourselves’ (2 April 2024) Australia. Nothing but #SoundOfCrickets from Feminist HQ. As is usually the case
Ohio woman gets life in prison after toddler starved at home while she was on vacation (20 March 2024)
School shooter’s mum hosted hotel sex parties (3 February 2024)
YouTuber Ruby Franke sobs in court as she’s jailed for child abuse (21 February 2024)
Two women charged after allegedly tossing baby ‘like a toy’ outside bar (18 September 2023) USA
‘You f–king pig’: Mum’s comment to boyfriend accused of toddler murder (25 June 2023)
Girl drowns in hotel pool while mum drank at bar, prosecutors say (17 May 2023)
Charlie Nowland: 47-year-old charged with manslaughter, criminal neglect (26 April 2023) Australia
Judge’s socialite ex-wife charged with distributing child porn, planning to sexually abuse girl (22 April 2023)
Drug-addict mum jailed for eating daughter’s pet hamster Mr Nibbles in disgusting video (9 March 2023)
Mum dawdled on phone, slept while daughters died locked in sweltering car (14 February 2023)
UK nurse Lucy Letby accused of murdering seven babies allegedly told parent of bleeding newborn ‘trust me, I’m a nurse’ (12 October 2022)
Leiland-James Corkill: Killer lied to social workers, report finds (29 July 2022)
Mum arrested for selling her five-day-old boy for £2,900 ‘to pay for a nose job’ (12 July 2022)
Evil mum who slashed adopted son’s penis in sick punishment caught after 7 years on run (10 July 2022)
Woman jailed after prolonged abuse, killing of 5yo Malachi Subecz (30 June 2022) NZ
Five-year-old Logan Mwangi who was found dead in a river was kept ‘like a prisoner’ and ‘dehumanised’ in small bedroom ‘dungeon’ in days before he was murdered (12 April 2022) Boy neglected, abused and killed by mother, step-father and another.
Welsh mum ‘missed punishing’ son after death, court hears (6 March 2022)
Brothers, 4 and 6, found in street after midnight while their mum went drinking (4 March 2022)
Why Melbourne mum left her baby in boiling car for five hours (10 February 2022)
Woman is charged with attempted murder for allegedly stabbing two young children and injuring herself (3 February 2022)
Toddlers found tied and trapped in woman’s home, police say (14 January 2022)
Teen mum tosses newborn into dumpster in New Mexico (11 January 2022)
Police say woman sex trafficked five-year-old daughter to man who raped and killed her (2 January 2022)
Kaija Millar left baby in car for five hours in 37C to play pokies at Melbourne pub (3 November 2021) “I just want him to survive because I don’t want to go to jail.”
Teen mother, 19, bursts into tears as she is jailed for nine years | Daily Mail Online (7 August 2021)
Nurse Lucy Letby accused of murdering eight babies and attempting to kill nine (news.com.au) (11 May 2021) UK
Indiana woman arrested after child nearly dies from severe head lice infestation (news.com.au) (8 May 2021) USA
UK teen mum leaves daughter to starve to death after partying for six days straight (27 March 2021)
Cops release photo of woman who punched 2-year-old boy on subway (23 February 2021) Read the article … no criticism of the perpetrator, but bystanders were blamed for not getting involved.
Childcare worker charged after allegedly ‘binding disabled boy’s wrists’ (26 November 2020) Australia
Babysitter, 30, ‘squeezed baby girl, 1, to death until she felt her bones pop’ (16 November 2020) USA
Foster son of Britain’s most sadistic mum opens up about horror childhood (29 October 2020) UK
Boy traumatised after neighbours act out at noisy kids (19 August 2020) See how far you have to scroll down to find out the horrible neighbour was a ‘she’. Curious that
I ‘beat the crap’ out of my toddler. I hit so hard I hurt my hand (28 February 2020)
Monster mum ‘tortured and beat son, 2, so horrifically all that was left of him was his leg and liver’ (1 November 2019)
Dad busts babysitter kicking twin babies on nanny cam (22 October 2019)
A girl has died after her nanny ‘forgot’ her in a hot car (23 September 2019) USA
‘Mum cut my throat’: Toddler’s shocking dinner-table confession (13 July 2019)
Vile mum films herself beating her toddler daughter and sends footage to jailed ex-husband to get back at him (5 June 2019)
Baby dies after mum took him clubbing and fell asleep on him (8 June 2019)
Violent mum dragged father of her child around ‘like a rag doll’ in Wythenshawe school (18 April 2019) UK
Chilling story of the ‘kind’ Victorian midwife who murdered hundreds of babies (8 December 2018)
Teachers allegedly used zip ties to restrain young students (2 October 2018)
#Diversity #Inclusion (September 2018)
East Texas mum made explicit videos of her 8-year-old daughter and tried to sell her for sex (24 June 2018)
We lost the battle but we’ll win the war: Father of little girl who was brutally attacked by own mother … (27 April 2018) Australia
90 days in jail for Eagan home day care provider convicted of inflicting brain injuries on 1-year-old (29 September 2017)
Woman charged in child’s gruesome death in hot car released on bail (22 September 2017) Canada
Woman spiked two-year-old boy’s Fruit Shoot drink with enough morphine to kill an 11-stone adult and tried to blame the boy’s father (9 September 2017) UK. Serious child abuse + false allegation, and is then awarded a pussy-pass
Adelaide mother escapes jail sentence after bashing eight-month-old daughter with a spoon (8 September 2017)
15 mothers who viciously killed their children (15 July 2017)
Texas mum left two kids in hot car as punishment (25 June 2017)
‘I was sexually abused by my mother and I need to talk about it’ (17 June 2017)
An Albury mother has been charged with serious child neglect (10 May 2017)
Kolkata Teacher Brags About Molesting A 10-Year-Old Boy, Accepts She Is A Pervert (23 March 2017) India
Mother accused of daughter’s attempted murder told police she was ‘possessed’ (9 March 2017)
Girl, eight, allegedly bashed to death by grandmother wrote ‘I hate this life’ in her diary (3 March 2017)
Mother allegedly assaulted two sons for opening Christmas presents early (23 December 2016)
Video of Pecos woman hitting her daughter (21 December 2016)
2 Wisconsin women charged in death of 7-year-old who was starved, burned and beaten (3 December 2016)
Girl 5 died after her mother sedated her with heroin (30 November 2016)
Mother left her son, 2 in a washing machine … (27 November 2016)
Day care worker hangs 1-year-old boy (21 November 2016)
Nanny charged with abuse after being filmed ‘putting buttocks in disabled boy’s face and dragging him across floor’ (6 October 2016)
My childhood home – scene of my nightmares (4 October 2016)
2 women found drunk in Salem parking lot with infants, police say (20 September 2016)
Woman who battered and knifed 8 year old boy jailed for 15 months (20 September 2016)
Mother guilty of bruising son’s genitals (15 September 2016) Australia, with related Reddit discussion thread here
Gold Coast mother accused of shocking abuse of her daughter including rape, torture (3 September 2016)
Abused girl says her name is ‘idiot’ as mum Jennifer Deden and Clarence Reed are arrested for child abuse in Arkansas (18 August 2016)
Girl whose mum put her in a oven begs for her to remain in jail (29 July 2016)
Mother found guilty of allowing death of baby at hands of boyfriend (29 July 2016) The headline tries to diminish responsibility of mother – the mother did not merely “allow” the death, she was an active participant in the abuse and was also charged with murder. Pussy-pass?
Woman charged in Boscobel infant’s death first blamed father (28 July 2016)
Queensland mum jailed for abusing four daughters (22 July 2016) Australia
Three and a half years jail for mum who dumped newborn in drain (21 July 2016) Australia
Mother, 40, ‘locked her naked five-year-old son in a cupboard for more than 10 HOURS while she went on a family day out to Blackpool’ (12 July 2016)
Day-care worker pleads to raping, videotaping toddlers (2 July 2016)
Stepmother of five-year-old Josiah Williams handed 99-year sentence in brutal starvation case (29 June 2016) USA
Brockton babysitter accused of horrific child abuse on two boys (14 June 2016) USA
Red Deer mom charged with using son to make child porn sent to U.S. man (2 June 2016) Canada
Woman ex-soldier used electric shock dog collar to punish toddler and beat him so hard she broke a wooden spoon (26 May 2016) UK
What do I do? Wife verbally abusive and now starting to get physical with toddler (13 May 2016) Reddit discussion thread
NSW mother charged with attempted murder after allegedly hitting her young son with her car (10 May 2016)
Double Jeopardy on Sunday Night: Will baby Chloe’s killer ever be brought to justice? (4 April 2016) Australia
Brisbane mum jailed for child cruelty (29 March 2016) Australia
Single mother, 35, is arrested for ‘putting her two-year-old daughter in the oven, leaving her with third-degree burns’ (21 March 2016)
Mother Stabs Her Baby 90 Times With Scissors After He Bit Her While Breastfeeding Him! (8 March 2016)
Vacaville woman convicted of having sexual relationship with young boy (8 March 2016) USA. It was her own son
Babysitter Moriah Gonzales was caught smothering a baby with her hand, police say (5 March 2016) USA
Nanny who beheaded Russian child says it was revenge for Putin’s Syria strikes (3 March 2016)
Mum Christi Howell and her boyfriend Casey Shackleford allegedly waterboarded her son (20 February 2016)
Mom charged with murder after allegedly running daughter over with lawn mower (18 February 2016)
Grandparents deny seeking revenge for mum’s sexual violation of baby (28 January 2016) NZ
Mom Sentenced For Molesting Son (25 January 2016) USA
Day care teacher who turned classroom into a ‘baby fight club’ found guilty (17 January 2016) USA
Lesbian couple ‘beat one woman’s 5-year-old son with a hammer, duct-taped his eyes and kicked him in the groin until he bled and suffered two strokes’ (14 January 2016)
Woman eludes murder conviction for son’s death after beating (4 January 2016)
Mum who sexually abused her own daughter is jailed for 9 years (9 December 2015)
FGM: mother and retired nurse both found guilty of mutilating two sisters (12 November 2015)
Rachel Kinsella charged with intentionally poisoning her nine year old son repeatedly (8 November 2015)
Mildura Mother used daughter as ‘sex slave’ to satisfy husband’s lust (5 November 2015)
Mother and her lesbian lover ‘beat toddler to death over eight days then tried to frame seven-year-old boy for his murder’ (6 September 2015) and related reddit discussion thread
Woman Gets 23 Years For Killing Baby Girl In 2012 (4 September 2015)
Mother, 71, jailed for historical sexual abuse of twin daughters (28 August 2015)
Hunter Valley woman appears in Cessnock court charged with injecting daughter with urine (19 August 2015) Australia
Mother charged with torture and murder of Tyrell Cobb (14 August 2015) Australia
Woman Accused of Tossing Infant from 4th-Floor Window (8 August 2015)
Queensland’s Task Force Argos helps shut down Philippines-based child abuse ‘service’ for foreigners (26 June 2015) A ‘service’ run by women, by the way
County Commissioners will investigate Pocono Child Abuse Response (18 June 2015)
Psycho woman goes on a rampage with 2 children, father doesn’t do anything (15 June 2015) Video
Mother allegedly hit five vehicles during police chase while children in the car (14 June 2015)
Mom sentenced to 40 years for raping own children (7 May 2015) USA
Woman accused of putting her newborn in plastic bag, leaving it in her desk drawer (27 April 2015)
Texas woman helped starve boy to rid him of a ‘demon’ (16 April 2015)
B.C. woman put superglue in baby nephew’s ears because she was jealous of son-bearing in-laws (8 April 2015)
Mother, accused of molesting daughter, jailed for bail breaches (31 March 2015)
Mother used one-year-old baby as weapon in Alice Springs street fight (21 March 2015) Features the comment “Women who are victims of domestic violence should seek help from relevant support agencies long before it reaches such a crisis point.” Of course she’s a “victim“, rather than a perpetrator … she’s a woman, right?
Blogger Mum Poisoned Son To Death With Salt (2 March 2015)
Mother charged in brutal stabbing of 4 year old son in NW Harris County (27 February 2015)
Mum arrested for abuse after ‘beating daughter and sending her to school in grade-shaming T-shirt’ (25 February 2015)
Joyce Hardin Garrard charged with making nine-year-old granddaughter Savannah run until she died (23 February 2015)
Mother Accused Of Punching Son In Face For ‘Being Too Feminine And Gay’ (20 February 2015)
“Listen to their screams…”: Mother’s chilling phone call to husband ‘as she burned their three daughters alive’ (12 February 2015)
Father finds surprising video on his son’s IPad (9 January 2015) Click on video and scroll to the one minute mark
Queensland woman charged with trying to kill two kids in house fire (30 December 2014)
Children stabbed to death in the Cairns suburb of Manoora (20 December 2014)
Five-year-old Scottish boy suffered a ‘sickening and violent death’ that was so gruesome medics had to be given counselling – as police question mother (6 December 2014)
Texas mum ‘hid daughter’s body in fridge’ (5 December 2014)
No jail time for former Lake Charles woman in scalding case (30 October 2014)
Mum who tried to turn daughter against father condemned as ‘child abuser’ (12 June 2014)
Mum tried to sew daughter’s mouth shut (18 October 2014)
Woman, 48, jailed for seven years after horrific torture of teenage nephew (16 October 2014)
Killer mum in court to access daughter she injured in horror attack (7 October 2014)
‘Sickened’ judge jails woman for ‘horror’ child abuse (6 October 2014)
Mother pleads guilty in Shaniya Davis’ death (18 October 2013)
General discussion of child abuse:
Intimate partner violence a major risk factor for filicide but researchers say new data provides a roadmap to intervention (2 July 2024) Feminists again trying hard to avoid female accountability for filicide (Australia)
Brutalised children can become brutal adults: An interview with clinical and forensic psychologist Dr Naomi Murphy (3 May 2023)
Rotherham mum-of-two stormed into post office and attacked elderly owners with screwdriver (18 March 2022) UK
Feminists throw children under the bus – by Bettina Arndt (30 August 2021)
Feminism’s shameful betrayal of boys – by Bettina Arndt (2 June 2021)
Evidence shows children who are smacked are more likely to be involved in partner violence in adulthood (3 May 2021)
Women caught on video abusing children (10 March 2019)
Half of Canada’s prisoners were abused as children, McMaster study suggests (21 February 2019) Article doesn’t identify the ratio of male/female abusers, which generally means ‘predominantly female’
An article informs us of the considerable danger caused by dads drinking, but neglects to mention the (even greater) danger caused by mums drinking (17 February 2019) and subsequent Tweets from Bettina Arndt (and another).
The Female Abuser Is Protected by Society (30 May 2018)
A study has found kids who get smacked are more likely to assault their partners as adults (11 December 2017)
Mothers who sexually abuse their sons, by Ginger Gorman (8 June 2017) Australia
Unspoken abuse: Mothers who rape their sons, by Ginger Gorman (15 January 2017)
Why do mothers abuse children? It must be the fathers, so says the US government (28 June 2016)
Children are the forgotten victims of family violence, by Jeremy Sammut (7 December 2015) Australia
When mothers abuse (5 November 2015) Australia
Women who kill, by Janet Bloomfield (28 August 2015)
New research shedding light on sex abuse committed by mothers against their sons (8 August 2015) Profiles the work of Lucetta Thomas
Maternal Punitive Reactions to Children’s Negative Emotions and Young Adult Trait Anger: Effect of Gender and Emotional Closeness (16 April 2015)
Child-killer parents should have subsequent children taken away: coroner (10 April 2015)
Let’s not forget the real victims of family violence… children (5 April 2015)
An open letter to Rosie Batty, by Mark Dent (15 March 2015)
Why deliberately alienating a father from his child is domestic abuse (9 December 2014)
Most of this blog post concerns killings by women, but child abuse is addressed towards the end (13 October 2014)
Five reasons feminism should deal with women who abuse children (20 October 2014)
Mum, not dad, more likely to neglect kids (23 September 2009) Western Australia
Turning a child against a father with false accusation is…child abuse (4 August 2014)
Some people have suggested that feminist ideologues using pre-pubescent girls in expletive-laden videos to further their cause is also a form of child abuse (commentary here and here). Another one is seen when feminist mothers bemoan the fact that they are rearing a male and map out a path of indoctrination, see this article for example.
Other related posts within this blog include:
On women having flings with children and students
The often contrasting reaction when mums and dads kill their children
On violence carried out by women and girls
