It’s difficult to measure exactly how many children in the UK experience neglect. However, research with 2,275 young people aged 11-17 about their experiences of neglect suggests around 1 in 10 children in the UK have been neglected.1
Adults in a child or young person’s life may not recognise the signs of neglect and the child may be too young, too scared or feel ashamed to tell anyone what is happening to them.
This briefing looks at what data and statistics are available about child neglect to help professionals, and the organisations they work for, make evidence-based decisions. This includes information from different sources such as services that work with children and research into children’s and adults’ self-reported experiences.
Statistics can help people and the organisations they work for make evidence based decisions about how best to meet the needs of children. Our briefings look at what available data can tell us about child abuse and neglect.
References
Increase your understanding of child neglect, the potential impact it can have, how you can recognise it and prevent possible neglect from happening.
Lessons from case reviews published between 2021 and 2022 where neglect was a key factor.
Our factsheet explores issues to consider when looking at service data, self-report data, trends and statistics across different areas in relation to child abuse.
