美國政府未能保護受虐待兒童大綱

The Associated Press says at least 786 children in the United States have died of abuse and neglect in a six-year span, saying the children died "in plain view of child protection authorities."

美聯社報道，在六年期間，美國至少786名兒童死於虐待和疏忽。這些兒童在“兒童保護機構的眼皮底下”死去。

AP says it discovered during its eight-month investigation that many of the children were "beaten, starved or left alone to drown while agencies had good reason to know they were in danger."

美聯社說，在歷時八個月的調查中發現，兒童保護機構完全應該瞭解這些兒童死亡之前的處境危險，他們中的許多人“受到毆打、捱餓或者無人看護溺水身亡”。

AP conducted the survey in the 50 U.S. states, plus the District of Columbia and branches of the military. The report says many states "struggled to provide numbers" and that "secrecy often prevailed."

美聯社在美國的50個州以及哥倫比亞特區和美國軍隊多個部門做了這項調查。

The survey revealed that most of the 768 children known to have died were under the age of four.

調查報告顯示，已知死亡的768個兒童中，絕大多數年齡在4歲以下。

The data collection system on child deaths is so flawed, AP said, that no one can say for certain how many children overall die from abuse or neglect every year.

美聯社說，有關兒童死亡的數據收集系統存在缺陷，因此沒有人能夠確切地說出每年究竟有多少兒童死於虐待或者疏忽。

The federal government estimates an average of about 1,650 deaths annually in recent years. The Associated Press reports many believe the actual number is twice as high.

美國聯邦政府估計，近些年平均每年有大約1650名兒童死於虐待和疏忽。美聯社報道，許多人認爲實際數字是這個數字的兩倍。