Opinion

GUEST COLUMN, Teresa Huizar, CEO, National Children’s Alliance

News outlets obsess over shocking, high-profile crimes -- from murders to violent carjackings. In response, politicians focus on preventing these tragic, but statistically rare, events.

Meanwhile, far more prevalent and costly crimes go unnoticed.

That's especially true when it comes to America's epidemic of child sexual abuse. A staggering 10% of American children experience sexual abuse before their 18th birthday. Less than one-tenth of 1% of Americans are robbed each year. An even tinier fraction -- 0.0075% -- are victims of homicide.

Child abuse inflicts scars that last a lifetime. The costs to the children and society are enormous.

That's why lawmakers who want to get tough on crime or rein in government spending should devote more resources to addressing child abuse.

Every dollar spent on preventing abuse pays for itself many times over. A year's worth of U.S. child maltreatment cases -- including physical, sexual, and psychological abuse, as well as neglect -- costs $428 billion over time, according to the CDC. Our healthcare, welfare, education, and criminal justice systems pay the bill.

The impact of child abuse doesn't end when police rescue the child. Survivors need years of support, which can include medical care, counseling, and more.

A network of Children's Advocacy Centers across the country take on this work, serving hundreds of thousands of children each year. CACs coordinate teams of medical professionals, law enforcement, prosecutors, social workers, and victim advocates who guide children and their families through every process to get justice and heal.

These centers play a vital role in supporting law enforcement and prosecutors. CACs conduct medical examinations and forensic interviews with children, providing critical evidence. Victim advocates at assist in crafting victim impact statements, which have been shown to influence a perpetrator's sentencing when read aloud in court.

Law enforcement and prosecutors rely heavily on this evidence because prosecuting child abuse isn't a given. In one study, researchers examined 325 cases of child sexual abuse.  More than half of cases stalled at the investigation stage and less than a quarter made it to trial.

Unfortunately, CACs have had their financing slashed. For 40 years, the Victims of Crime Act supported victim services through a dedicated fund made up of fines from white-collar crimes -- not taxpayer dollars. But in recent years, the fund has plummeted, resulting in a $630 million shortfall in 2024.

Without adequate funding, CACs will not be able to aid every child who needs help, and securing convictions for abusers will be more difficult.

Lawmakers can help by passing the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act. The bill would preserve funding by tapping into another non-taxpayer source -- penalties from false claims against the government. That would allow CACs to keep supporting law enforcement.

Many elected officials have vowed to make our cities safer and hold criminals accountable. By addressing child abuse, lawmakers can make good on those promises.

Teresa Huizar is CEO of Washington, D.C.-based National Children's Alliance (NCA), the nation's network of nearly 1,000 Children's Advocacy Centers, providing justice and healing through services to child victims of abuse and their families. This piece originally ran in The Detroit News.