Abusive Head Trauma

What is it?

A severe form of child abuse that can result in brain injury or death. It is caused from violently shaking of a child’s head and/or with blunt impact of the child’s head with another solid object.  

Facts

• Babies less than one year old are at the greatest risk of injury from abusive head trauma*
• In the United States, abusive head trauma:
  • Is a leading cause of child abuse deaths in children under five.
  • Accounts for about one-third of all child maltreatment deaths

Sources- CDC

Strangulation and child abuse

Physical violence that occurs with child abuse does not just include hitting, slapping, punching, kicking, restraining, or biting. It can also involve someone putting their hands around your neck, also known as strangulation. When someone is strangled by another person (primarily with intimate partner violence), their risk of lethality (being killed) increases by 750%*.

To learn more about strangulation, click here