Cartographic Resources Depict Social Issues

Child Abuse Maps from Ball State University Libraries


April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, first recognized in 1983 as a time to acknowledge the importance of the prevention of child abuse. The map shown above (click to enlarge) is from the Allyn & Bacon Social Atlas of the United States by William H. Frey available from the Atlas Collection in Bracken Library.

According to the atlas, “in 2004, at least 1,806,070 cases of child maltreatment were reported and investigated. Of all cases, 62.4% involved neglect, 17.5% involved physical abuse, 9.7% involved sexual abuse, and 7% involved psychological abuse.”

The map depicts the states with the highest rates of child abuse and neglect—Florida, Georgia, Iowa, West Virginia, and Massachusetts. Child fatalities in each state are marked with a red cross. “More than 80% of abuse fatalities were young children. Forty-five percent were less than a year old.”

The GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) and the Atlas Collection on the second floor of Bracken Library provide cartographic resources that can be used for papers or as visual aids for presentations. For more information about using maps depicting numerous social issues, please contact the staff of the GRMC at 765-285-1097.