Casey Anthony Case Overshadows Widespread Abuse and Neglect of America's Kids

By Kristi Murphy
Published July 15, 2011
| FoxNews.com

The Casey Anthony trial and the terrible
story of the death and dismemberment of 8-year-old Leiby Kletsky in
Brooklyn this week has captivated our nation like so many high profile
cases in the past. While many might believe that cases like this will
bring attention to the issue of protecting our children, at the end of
the day these individual stories only highlight the tip of the iceberg..
The reality is that 150 children, most under the age of four, die every
month from abuse or neglect. While high profile cases do bring
awareness, they take our focus off the real issue of suffering children
and instead keep us embroiled in speculation and legalities.


Despite intense public and media scrutiny of cases such as Susan Smith in 1994,
JonBenet Ramsey in 1996, Andrea Yates
in 2001 and Baby Gabriel in 2009, the number of child deaths from abuse
keeps rising and these abused children become tabloid fodder. According
to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), more than 3.3
million reports of child abuse are made every year, or about one every
10 seconds. The 2009 Child Maltreatment report
from HHS estimates that 1,770 child abuse deaths occurred in 2009,
averaging to five per day and this number is on the rise. Child abuse
occurs at every socioeconomic level, across ethnic and cultural lines,
within all religions and at all levels of education. Child abuse is an
epidemic and brutal deaths happen every day in neighborhoods just like
those in which we all live.
Many Americans were drawn into the Casey
Anthony case - intrigued with the drama of another seemingly “good”
American family unraveling. The story of an adorable missing
two-year-old girl juxtaposed with a remorseless, carefree young mom
living the “beautiful life” fed America’s preoccupation with “reality”
TV. By the time attorneys at the trial showed us the real-life imagery
of this defenseless child dumped like a pile of trash in a swamp, it was
just another episode in the reality show and the public was numb to the
horrific nature of what really happened to Caylee.

For those of us that work to prevent and
treat child abuse we deal with stories and images like this every day.
Horror stories of parents locking their children in cages, or leaving
them alone with a box of crackers for days on end while they go on party
binges are all too common. Real life cases of parents burning their
children’s hands on the stove to “teach them a lesson” or horrible cases
of prolonged sexual abuse that continues for years without anyone
knowing is the norm for too many of our children.

The drama in that Florida courtroom is
nothing compared to the life or death situations that kids face every
day. Although we hope that Caylee will still receive justice, perhaps
her tragedy could be a spark in all of our lives to make a change for all
the children who suffer unnecessary, tragic deaths. Great strides have
been made in recent years with better reporting, new legislation and
increased awareness, but there is still much to be done.

The first step is education. There are many free resources at www.childhelp.org
including statistics and tips for children, parents and professionals
on signs of child abuse, ways to stop it and how to report it. Parents,
children, neighbors or anyone can call 1-800-4-A-CHILD®, a national
24-hour free crisis hotline staffed by degreed counselors. The calls are
anonymous and can be the lifeline needed to de-escalate an abuse
situation, answer questions or concerns, gather resources or help an abuse survivor cope.

In this day and age, with a rising epidemic
of abuse, we cannot use the excuse that we didn’t know. Everyone,
including the media, needs to offer help and resources to families and
parents that are struggling- we have an obligation to our children and
an obligation as citizens within our communities to be advocates for
those who cannot speak for themselves. They, just like Caylee, deserve nothing less.

Kristi Murphy, (LCSW) is Clinical
Director at Childhelp, Inc. a leading national nonprofit organization
dedicated to helping victims of child abuse and neglect and at-risk children.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/07/15/casey-anthony-case-overshadows-widespread-abuse-and-neglect-americas-kids/#ixzz1SC8F72hi