In case you weren’t already persuaded that lockdowns were devastating for children, a new study finds that physical abuse of school-aged kids tripled during the early months of the pandemic. 

The authors of “Impact of ‘Stay-at-Home’ Orders on Non-Accidental Trauma: A Multi-Institutional Study,” which was recently presented at the virtual American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference, looked at data from 39,000 children in nine pediatric trauma centers from March to September 2020 and compared it to data from the same span in the three years prior. 

Among children aged 5 and older, the number of child abuse victims reached 103, up from an average of 36 pre-COVID. These may seem like small numbers but they only represent the abuse that rose to the level of a hospital visit — in other words, the tip of the iceberg. 

Amelia Collings, one of the study’s authors, noted that many adults were under increased stress during the lockdown, causing some of the abuse. But she also explained that “while school-aged children were sheltered at home, teachers, health care workers, coaches and other adults outside the family were not there to notice signs of physical abuse.” 

It is astonishing that, at the exact time we should be recognizing the importance of these other adults in spotting signs of abuse and ensuring kids in danger get the help they need, there is a campaign underway to eliminate the “mandatory reporting” of child abuse. 

More than half of child maltreatment reports come to the attention of authorities from teachers, doctors, law enforcement, etc. — people who are required by law to speak up when they suspect abuse or neglect of kids. 

But a group, the upEND Movement, that advocates all but eliminating the child welfare system — what they refer to as “family policing” — recently published a manifesto on its website arguing for repealing laws on mandatory reporting because of what they see as the disparate impact on poor children and on black children in particular. 

“Reporting families to family policing systems opens the door for increased policing and surveillance, and ultimately begins the process through which families experience harm, trauma and punishment,” the manifesto reads. 

The idea has already taken hold in academia. An article in the Columbia Journal of Social Work advocating for an end to this reporting notes that “The state-mandated intervention systems have operated as a means through which to control, manipulate and oppress communities of color and those living in poverty.” 

And now it is working its way into the ideas of policymakers and legislators. David Hansell, the commissioner for the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) in New York City, said, “We have to make sure mandated reporting as a system is not essentially weaponizing the child welfare system . . . to address issues that are not really fundamentally child safety or child welfare issues.” 

There is no doubt that mandated reports can result in incorrect information going to authorities. When there are penalties for failing to report abuse — in most states they carry fines and even potentially jail time — people will err on the side of caution. 

Of course, even if mandated reporting were eliminated people could still make incorrect reports (and we can and should prosecute false reports made with malicious intent, the same way we punish people for falsely reporting any other crime). But mandated reporters, such as teachers and doctors, provide important sets of eyes and ears on kids whose maltreatment might otherwise remain hidden. And unlike neighbors or relatives, these professionals are trained in how to spot signs of abuse or neglect. 

It is particularly strange to see this campaign take shape now. In the past several years our country has undergone a reckoning on child abuse. It is not just that adolescent boys and girls were the victims of molestation and assault by doctors, coaches and clergy. It is that these institutions that were supposed to be looking out for their best interests — the Catholic church, the Boy Scouts, the US Olympic Committee, etc. — were actively engaged in covering up abuse. And plenty of bystanders knew what was happening. 

When gold medalist Simone Biles testified before Congress earlier this year, in a hearing about the mishandling of sexual abuse claims against the US women’s gymnastics doctor, she explained: “To be clear, I blame Larry Nassar and I also blame an entire system that enabled and perpetrated his abuse.” 

If we want to ensure that systems do not continue to perpetrate abuse, we have to hold adults responsible for failing to report child abuse and neglect. Especially for teachers, doctors and members of law enforcement, the obligation to protect children from adults who mean them harm should remain a professional duty, not just a moral one.