An estimated 794,000 children were victims of abuse or neglect in the United States in 2007, the latest year for government statistics on the subject, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. In the same year, 1,760 children died from abuse or neglect.

This is shocking, especially considering humans’ tendency to be adorable during infancy and for adults’ inability to resist it, which evolutionarily has increased our survival. But consider the 2002 murder of 6-month-old Brianna Lopez, who was raped, bitten and thrown like a ball by her mother, father and uncle, and that theory gets a big outlier. Humans do terrible things, and some are happening in the United States now.

We have an obligation to report child abuse or neglect. Children have enough challenges without the lifelong effects of abuse; though victims’ fates are not set in stone, abused kids are more likely to develop severe depression, fail academically, and commit violent acts, among other things. By stopping child abuse, you are not only helping that kid but helping society as a whole.

The best way to prevent abuse is to become educated. While signs of physical abuse may be more obvious, neglect is more common, can be just as harmful and is harder to detect, so those signs are just as important to learn. Also, learn what child protection services actually do when they receive a call; these services give priority to keeping children with their families if children are not in immediate danger, so a call reporting suspected abuse doesn’t automatically mean children will be removed from their home. Learn more about what to do if you suspect a child is being abused at helpguide.org/mental/child_abuse_physical_emotional_sexual_neglect.htm.

Stop the cycle of abuse; give our kids a chance. The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline, at 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453), is available to take your call if you suspect a child is being abused or neglected.