Are there any statistics that show an increase or decrease of child abductions/ual abuse etc.?

My ex-wife doesn't want me to let my 7 year old daughter go to her friend's house (down 1 floor in my building) by herself. I think my daughter should be able to do the things that I did as a kid. Part of that is going to your friends houses without a bodyguard. The ex thinks that it's much worse today than it was when we were kids in the 80's. I don't think that is accurate and that we just hear about child abductions and ual abuse more frequently because the news media sensationalizes these types of human tragedies more than they did back then. Is there any statistical data that can confirm either side of this disagreement?