Cases of physical violence against children aged 0 to 5 requiring hospitalization rose by 50% during the first confinement compared to the previous year. Figures corroborated by those of 119, the number for reporting children in danger, which recorded an increase of 56.2% during confinement compared to last year.
-1608749187.jpg "Child abuse: an increase in physical violence during the first confinement")
- Cases of hospitalization for physical violence on children aged 0 to 5 years have increased by 50% with confinement.
- Calls to 119 also increased by 56.2% over this period.
The first left traces, and not necessarily the best ones. In a report carried out by a scientific team from the Dijon University Hospital and by Inserm, cases of abuse and physical violence requiring hospitalization of children under five jumped by 50% during the first confinement. The results of the study have been submitted to the American journal Pediatrics.
Hospitalizations and deaths on the rise
To establish this report, the researchers based themselves on hospital admissions for physical violence in children aged 0 to 5, during the first part of confinement, between March and April. These figures take into account the admissions of all hospitals in France, both public and private, which were then compared to those of 2017, 2018 and 2019.
In previous years, approximately 476 children were hospitalized for acts of physical violence, or 0.056% of the 844,227 hospitalized children. However, while the hospitalizations of children generally fell during the confinement, those concerning children who were victims of physical violence increased by 50% compared to previous years.
Similarly, the intensification of the abuse suffered by children during confinement can also be seen in the number of deaths. In 2020, 1.79% of children hospitalized for physical violence died, compared to 1.65% for the period 2017-2019. These figures, although edifying, nevertheless remain to be qualified, because the turbulent period experienced by hospitals during the first confinement may have indirectly played on this increase.
A climate of violence amplified by confinement
These figures corroborate those provided by the National Telephone Reception Service for Children in Danger, which can be reached at 119. The telephone service recorded a 56.2% increase in the number of calls coming out of confinement compared to to the previous year.
“What we observed confirms research showing that child care is protective, and that the more child care takes place at home, the higher the risk of child abuse.”, analysis for the newspaper The world Catherine Quantin, the deputy head of the biostatistics and medical informatics department at the Dijon University Hospital and director of the study. According to the researchers, this violence could be explained by the particular conditions of confinement, which exacerbated the bloodshed of the parents by dint of being locked on top of each other for long periods.
.
-1608749187.jpg&description=Child+abuse%3A+an+increase+in+physical+violence+during+the+first+confinement){kind=link}