Child protection experts are worried that school closures and self-isolation efforts in place to hamper the spread of the coronavirus in the US will put children at greater risk for abuse and violence, according to this article from ABC News. Some states have reported receiving fewer calls to child abuse hotlines since the stay-at-home measures were put in place.
“We are concerned about this significant drop in calls, particularly because children and youth who may be experiencing abuse and neglect are now home all day and isolated,” said Minna Castillo Cohen, director of the Colorado Office of Children, Youth and Families, in a news release.
Other hotlines have received an increased number of calls. "With in-person operations limited at child protective services and other government agencies, kids and teens have been texting the hotlines themselves from unsafe homes," according to Daphne Young, chief communications officer for Childhelp, a child-welfare organization with a national abuse hotline.