In the USA, 20% of reports of abuse and neglect to child protective services are made by educational personnel, making educators the country’s primary reporters.2 Despite evidence that the incidence of child abuse and neglect has substantially increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, in the initial stages of lockdown, Connecticut, California, Michigan, Kentucky, New Hampshire, and Louisiana all reported double-digit percentage decreases in reports to child maltreatment hotlines.3, 4, 5 These reductions do not reflect decreased incidences of child maltreatment, but unfortunately are a direct result of the precipitous decrease in contact between children, educational personnel, and other community youth programs.
Even if increases in incidence of child maltreatment are short lived, their effects are not. Child abuse and neglect can lead to myriad long-term health consequences, including mental health disorders, sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancies, and substance abuse.6 The long-term impact underscores how urgently the current increases in child maltreatment must be recognized and addressed.
Below are studies related to the Pandemic showing that it has caused way more problems than any virus has
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7326432/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7472978/
https://pcar.org/news/instances-sexual-abuse-and-domestic-violence-increase-during-crises
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/world/coronavirus-domestic-violence.html
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/car.2650
https://www.jmir.org/2020/11/e24361/