Child Abuse A famous author, Dave Pelzer, said: “Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul. The most important task of parents and guardians is to protect the young and most vulnerable of society. Unfortunately, this task is often neglected by individuals whose actions are controlled by their bad habits and temperaments. Such behaviors may result in terrible abuse of children. Although not all abuse is committed by parents or guardians but rather by siblings and peers, the number of children being abused by primary caregivers is astounding. The following paper delves into the factors of child abuse, mainly physical and sexual abuse, and the ramifications they produce in the future …show more content…
The abuse may occur by means such as wielding a knife or other sort of weapon, locking a child out of the house for an extended period of time, or spanking to the point of physical injury. Physical abuse has many origins. One is a traditional belief that corporal punishment is the best way to discipline a child, as the old proverb goes, “Spare the whip and spoil the child.” However, during such disciplinary actions, the rage of the parent may cause him/her to lose control and severely abuse the child. Family background, such as a low socioeconomic status, stressful family situations and high levels of arguing and fighting may be a contribution to the physical abuse of children. From the child side, abuse sometimes exist as a result of a child’s harsh temperament, unattractive looks or simply the reminder of an aversive relative. It is important to note that all these causes are just correlations and are not fully …show more content…
The abuse may be in the form of actually engaging in sexual relations with an underaged child, exhibition or the unexpected exposure of one’s genitals to a child and just having the child observe sexual relationships among others or pornography. Severe consequences have been linked to the sexually abused child’s adjustments and health issues such as sexually transmitted diseases. Importantly, the effects are more prevalent when certain factors are prevalent. For instance, the abuse occurs repeatedly, it is coerced by physical threats, the attacker is a family member and actual penetration
It has been suggested that children who are victims of sexual abuse also become abusers themselves. Children of abuse have a higher probability of becoming a future abuser. Child abuse is characterized as any act that jeopardizes or impairs a child’s physical or emotional health and growth. These acts include any harm done to a child who cannot be rationally explained and is often characterized by an injury or series of injuries seeming to be non-accidental in nature. The behaviors of child abuse can happen in both boys and girls leaving them with severe lifetime symptoms. Treatment is often necessary for them to overcome the actions done to them, but it is not always successful in curing the mutilation. However, the existence of one sign of child maltreatment does not mean child abuse is occurring within a home. Even with proper education, therapy, and validation one has the probability to become an abuser himself/herself.
The life of David Pelzer began with horrifying odds; however, he managed to pull himself from the ashes of poverty to become the admired man he is today. He endured overwhelming amounts of psychological and physical abuse during his youth. He suffered brutal indignities endorsed by his mother and during his early years he was tortured in an inhumane and degrading environment. During the latter years of his youth, he was placed in the foster care system and he went on to service the military. During his career as an author, Pelzer published many successful biographies (Foster Club.) The first successful memoir was titled "A Child Called It." It was a non-fiction novel depicting Pelzer's childhood. As an adult, Pelzer became an advocate for children
abuse he endured at the hands of a figure that should represent security and comfort-his
Currently, there are many children whom suffer from emotional, physical, and sexual abuse in their family. Emotional abuse is the lack of interest or affection parents have towards their children. As a result of emotional abuse, children are left feeling worthless and unloved. Physical abuse refers to attacking children resulting visible bodily injuries from either being burned, pushed, punched, slapped, or whipped. Sometimes physical abuse can be extremely severe that children have broken bones, fractures, or hemorrhaging. Sexual abuse occurs when a person forces, tricks, or threatens children to have sexual contact. These acts of child abuse could prevent children from living a normal adulthood. In order to deal with such a traumatic childhood, adults abused as children should rid themselves of such burdensome, painful memories.
Physical abuse is to cause or inflict physical injury upon the child. This may include, burning, hitting, punching, shaking, kicking, beating, or otherwise harming a child. The parent or caretaker may claim not to have intended to hurt the child, that the injury was an accident. It may have however, been the result of over-disciplines or physical punishment that is inappropriate to the child?s age.
The effects of abuse tend to vary with different children but any type of abuse can cause serious damage. Not all children display the same responses to physical and emotional abuse. A few of the typical emotional responses include; showing excessive fear, extreme anger, low self-esteem, and an inability to trust adult figures. In contrast a few physical responses are difficulties developing speech patters, difficulties getting involved with other ch...
According to Tennyson Center for Children, “A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds in the U.S.” (“Child Abuse in America”). One cannot fathom the idea of why anyone would intentionally hurt the innocent children of today’s society. Child abuse happens with children of all ages, gender, and religions. Likewise, the world can be identified as a harsh place, where child abuse occurs around the world, and is even evident in the United States. There are many factors that contribute to this repulsive behavior. Physical, sexual, and psychological cruelty are effects of child abuse.
The early childhood years are a period of rapid change in the brain, this leaves children exceptionally vulnerable to psychological abuse. Psychological abuse includes rejecting, ignoring, criticizing, belittling, humiliating, threatening with violence, or otherwise terrorizing the child, all of which have the effect of eroding the child's self-esteem and sense of security. Psychological abuse can come as a result of actions that do not specifically target the child. Studies show that children who have experienced domestic violence are more anxious and insecure then those who do not. Children who observe violence react with many of the same psychological symptoms as children who have experienced it directly. Psychological abuse is often accompanied by other forms of abuse. It is difficult to prove, however, and rarely is
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 3.3 million referrals for alleged maltreatment were made in 2013. Out of the 3.3 million referrals, 899,000 children were officially documented as being maltreated(Child Abuse & Neglect 2015). Child abuse is the mistreatment of a child. Child abuse is recognized in several forms; physical, emotional, sexual and neglect. Children who experience any form of abuse will tend to withdraw themselves from their peers and sometimes from other family members who are not aware of what is taking place. Child abuse occurs not just in the homes of these children, but can also occur in schools, churches and after school programs. Anywhere a child is present there is a chance that abuse can occur. This paper will review the forms of child abuse, the effects of child abuse, reasons child abuse occurs and possible therapies to bring healing in the parties involved.
An estimated 39 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse exist in America today (Darness2Light, 2009a ). This figure continues to grow daily as perpetrators of this crime continue in this destructive path. The definition of child sexual abuse is the force, coercion, or cajoling of children into sexual activities by a dominant adult or adolescent. Sexual abuse of children includes touching (physical) sexually including: fondling; penetration (vaginal or anal using fingers, foreign objects or offenders organs; oral sex, or non-physical contact including: sexual comments; indecent exposures; masturbating in a child’s presence; child prostitution or child pornography (Child Welfare, 2009a).
Child maltreatment can affect any child, usually aged 0-18, and it occurs across socioeconomic, religious, ethnic or even educational backgrounds. Arguably, child abuse and neglect is a violation of basic human rights of a child resulting from social, familial, psychological and economic factors (Kiran, 2011). Familial factors include lack of support, poverty, single parenthood, and domestic violence among others, (McCoy and Keen, 2009). The common types of child maltreatment include physical abuse, emotional maltreatment, neglect, and sexual abuse among others. Abuse and neglect can lead to a variety of impacts on children and young people such as physical, behavioral as well as psychological consequences which will affect the development and growth of the child either positively or negatively based on the environment and agency. More so, emotional, cognitive and physical developmental impacts from child neglect in the early stages of childhood can be carried on into adulthood. Research findings reveal that the experience of maltreatment can cause major long-term consequences on all aspects of a child’s health, growth as well as intellectual development and mental wellbeing, and these effects can impair their functioning as adults. Commonly, the act of abuse/ or neglect toward a child affects the child’s physical, behavioral development and growth, which can be positive or negative, depending on the child’s environment and agency. Another way to understand how the act has affected the child is to look at the child for who they are, and interviewing and observing their behaviors of their everyday life.
Abuse in child can differ from physical, emotional, mental, sexual and neglect. The effects of child abuse vary between children these effects can be long lasting. Some of these problems can be psychological such as anxiety, depression, academic problems in school, withdrawn and difficulty connecting with others, and can even experience flashbacks and post-traumatic stress. They also have physical effects such as bruises, sprains, fractures, poor hygiene and inappropriate dress. Children living in an environment that is full of fear and violence develop poor coping skill some of these coping skills can be eating disorders, drug use risky sexual decision and self-harm. Some children fall into a cycle of abuse and become abusers themselves. Each child can experience one or more
Child abuse can affect a child in the long-run and it can be both positive and negative. Hence, measures taken on child abuse is crucial in determining the child’s behaviour in the future when they reach adolescence and go through adult life. Detection and proper management can help child abuse victims to overcome the obstacle and progress in their life without being held back by their past. (Lowenthal, 2016, Definitions of Child Abuse, 2) Child abuse can be categorized in many different types. Sexual, emotional, psychological and neglect is one of many.
Child abuse is a serious worldwide problem that occurs in any social, cultural, or income group. There are many different types of child abuse, including: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect abuse. Studies show that one in four girls and one in eight boys are sexualy abused before they reach the age of eighteen. Approximately one in twenty children are physically abused each year. The effects of child abuse often last throughout a child’s lifetime.
Child abuse is a very serious problem that continues to happen all over the world. The Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, defines child abuse as a failure to act as a parent or caregiver which results in physical/emotional harm, sexual abuse, and in some cases death. There are many different types of child abuse such as emotional, physical, neglect, and sexual. With each type of abuse there are warning signs you can spot before it is too late. When a child is abused there is a huge possibility that it can cause them to have many long term effects.