Abstract
Child maltreatment is a major public health problem associated with impairment in childhood, adolescence, and extending throughout the lifespan. Within Canada, high-quality child maltreatment studies have been conducted and are critical for informing prevention and intervention efforts. However, compared to other parts of the world (e.g., United States, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Mexico), the number of studies conducted in Canada is far fewer and the data used to study this important public health problem are less diverse. Importantly, to date, representative data on child maltreatment from the general population at the national level in Canada do not exist. This means that many questions regarding child maltreatment in Canada remain unanswered. To advance our understanding of child maltreatment in Canada and to make significant strides towards protecting Canadian children and families, research using Canadian data is essential. To begin to meet these important public health goals, we need to invest in collecting high-quality, nationally representative Canadian data on child maltreatment. Solutions for the barriers and challenges for the inclusion of child maltreatment data into nationally representative Canadian surveys are provided.
Key words: Child abuse, child neglect, Canada, prevalence, public health, national survey
Résumé
La maltraitance des enfants est un grave problème de santé publique associé à la déficience durant l’enfance, l’adolescence et le reste de la vie. On a mené au Canada des études de haute qualité sur la maltraitance des enfants, et ces études sont essentielles aux efforts de prévention et d’intervention. Cependant, comparativement à d’autres parties du monde (États-Unis, Royaume-Uni, Pays-Bas, Mexique), le nombre d’études menées au Canada est très inférieur, et les données utilisées pour étudier cet important problème de santé publique sont moins diversifiées. Surtout, jusqu’à maintenant, on n’a pas recueilli de données représentatives sur la maltraitance des enfants dans la population générale à l’échelle du Canada. Par conséquent, bien des questions sur la maltraitance des enfants au Canada restent sans réponse. Pour améliorer notre compréhension de ce phénomène et pour faire de réels progrès dans la protection des enfants et des familles au Canada, il est essentiel de faire de la recherche en utilisant des données canadiennes. Pour commencer à respecter ces importants objectifs de santé publique, nous devons investir dans la collecte de données représentatives canadiennes de haute qualité sur la maltraitance des enfants. Nous proposons des solutions pour surmonter les obstacles et les défis à l’inclusion de données sur la maltraitance des enfants dans les enquêtes représentatives canadiennes.
Mots clés: maltraitance des enfants, négligence des enfants, Canada, prévalence, santé publique, enquête nationale
Footnotes
Conflict of Interest: None to declare.
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