AND LOOK WHATS HAPPENING IN USA
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Introduction
Every five hours a child dies from abuse or neglect in the US.
The latest government figures show an estimated 1,770 children were killed as a result of maltreatment in 2009.
A recent congressional report concludes the real number could be nearer 2,500.
In fact, America has the worst child abuse record in the industrialised world. Why? The BBC's Natalia Antelava investigates.
Scale of abuse
Sixty-six children under the age of 15 die from physical abuse or neglect every week in the industrialised world. Twenty-seven of those die in the US - the highest number of any other country.
Even when populations are taken into account, Unicef research from 2001 places the US equal bottom with Mexico on child deaths from maltreatment.
In Texas, one of the states with the worst child abuse records, the Dallas Children's Medical Center is dealing with a rising number of abused children and increasing levels of violence. Meanwhile, the Houston Center is expanding its services to deal with the rising problem of child sex abuse
Emma's story
Emma Thompson was just four years old when she was beaten to death in 2009. Her injuries included broken ribs, a bloodied lip, widespread bruising and a fractured skull. She had also been raped.
Her mother and her mother's partner have been jailed over the abuse. But Emma's father, Ben, believes his daughter was let down by everyone around her.
Just like Emma Thompson, hundreds more children fall through the cracks of the child protection system.
Some blame overworked investigators and inefficient management, while others say it's the federal government's drive to keep families together that is the problem.
But child protection officials in Texas, a state with one of the highest total number of child deaths from abuse and neglect in the US, say such cases are complicated and difficult to assess - especially when a child's guardians are hiding what is really going on.
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Introduction
Every five hours a child dies from abuse or neglect in the US.
The latest government figures show an estimated 1,770 children were killed as a result of maltreatment in 2009.
A recent congressional report concludes the real number could be nearer 2,500.
In fact, America has the worst child abuse record in the industrialised world. Why? The BBC's Natalia Antelava investigates.
Scale of abuse
Sixty-six children under the age of 15 die from physical abuse or neglect every week in the industrialised world. Twenty-seven of those die in the US - the highest number of any other country.
Even when populations are taken into account, Unicef research from 2001 places the US equal bottom with Mexico on child deaths from maltreatment.
In Texas, one of the states with the worst child abuse records, the Dallas Children's Medical Center is dealing with a rising number of abused children and increasing levels of violence. Meanwhile, the Houston Center is expanding its services to deal with the rising problem of child sex abuse
Emma's story
Emma Thompson was just four years old when she was beaten to death in 2009. Her injuries included broken ribs, a bloodied lip, widespread bruising and a fractured skull. She had also been raped.
Her mother and her mother's partner have been jailed over the abuse. But Emma's father, Ben, believes his daughter was let down by everyone around her.
Just like Emma Thompson, hundreds more children fall through the cracks of the child protection system.
Some blame overworked investigators and inefficient management, while others say it's the federal government's drive to keep families together that is the problem.
But child protection officials in Texas, a state with one of the highest total number of child deaths from abuse and neglect in the US, say such cases are complicated and difficult to assess - especially when a child's guardians are hiding what is really going on.
