Every day across Hillsborough County, children face frightening and hurtful situations. Far too often, parents and caregivers cope with everyday stressors by numbing themselves, leaving children with no one to turn to for the support and love they desperately need.

Child abuse is often the symptom. Underlying issues such as mental health challenges, substance abuse, and economic insecurity are the deeper problems that can ravage families from the inside out.

Children are at risk physically, emotionally, and sexually. You may be wondering:

Neglect
When a caregiver fails to provide needed food, clothing, shelter, medical care, or supervision, it can put a child’s health, safety, and well-being at risk.

Emotional or Psychological Abuse
When a caregiver tells a child that he or she is worthless, flawed, unloved, unwanted, endangered, or valued only for meeting another’s needs. Psychologically abusive behaviors may include blaming, belittling, degrading, intimidating, terrorizing, isolating, restraining, confining, corrupting, exploiting, and spurning.

Physical Abuse
When a caregiver uses physical force against a child that results in, or has the potential to result in, physical injury. This may include hitting, kicking, punching, beating, biting, pushing, shoving, throwing, pulling, dragging, shaking, choking, burning, scalding, or poisoning.

Sexual Abuse
When a caregiver attempts to have sexual contact with or exploits a child. This can include intentional touching of a child’s private areas (with or without clothing), exposing a child to sexual activity, producing sexual images, sexual harassment, or child sex trafficking.