BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Children in the U.S. are not blessed with enough protection for their safety, freedom and rights of education, says a report on the U.S. human rights released issued on Sunday.
Citing the U.S. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the report, issued by the China's State Council Information Office, says at least 100,000 children across the country are trafficked each year.
Child sexual abuse is a widespread public health problem. Research indicates that 20 percent of adult females and 5 to 15 percent adult males experienced sexual abuse in childhood or adolescence, the report says.
In 2012, several religious figures were found to have sexually assaulted children. In July 2012, Roman Catholic monsignor William Lynn was sentenced to six years in prison for allowing a priest suspected of sexual misconduct with a minor to have continued contact with children. In September, a Roman Catholic bishop in Kansas City was found guilty of failing to tell authorities about child pornography that was produced by a priest under his supervision, according to the report.
The number of homeless children increases sharply in the U.S. and many children are stricken by poverty, the report says.
For the first time in history, public schools reported more than one million homeless children and youth. Only 52 percent of identified homeless students who took standardized tests were proficient in reading, and only 51 percent passed the math portion, the report cites the data released by the U.S. Department of Education on June 27, 2012 as saying.
Forty-four states reported school year-to-year increases in the number of homeless students, with 15 states reporting increases of 20 percent or more. The number of homeless children enrolled in public schools has increased 57 percent since the 2006-2007 school year, according to the report.
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