Bella Edwards; three-year-old girl found unconscious within her Queens, NYC apartment; after being left under direct supervision for eight hours with her Step Father. Edwards died within hours after reaching the hospital, her death is being ruled as murder and charges of rape due to evidence of intense bruising and forced entry within abdomen area.
Statistically Speaking..
Every 8 minutes a child is sexually abused.
63,000 children are sexually abused per year.
93% of sexually abused children are abused by someone they know.
80% of sexual abused children are abused by their own parent
6% of sexually abused children are abused by a relative
5% of sexually abused children are abused by a sibling
4% of sexually abused children are abused by their parents unmarried partner
88% of sexually abused children are abused by Men
9% of sexually abused children are abused by Women.
Effects of being a sexually abused child can be detrimental and long term:
4x more likely to develop drug and/or alcohol addiction
3x more likely to experience major depression
It makes me cringe to my stomach to hear these stories of abuse; placed upon children/babies/infants and the cruel circumstances they’ve endured. No human deserves to be abused, let alone a child. This is an issue that is becoming more present within society. We can all speak of what we would’ve or wouldn’t have done to protect our kids from these monsters. But how are you supposed to know whose who? What are the signs? Do sexual abusers show signs of their mental capacity or lack thereof? What causes an adult to abuse a child who is both innocent and helpless? Too many victims, too many deaths, not enough answers or assistance. Its unnatural for this to be a societal norm.
