Throughout the course of history, millions of children have been victims of physical abuse; it has been shown that the effects of this abuse can profoundly influence ones mental and physical health in the span of his or hers life.
Although child abuse has soon become a more discussed issue, it is nothing new in today’s society. Dating back to ancient times, physical child abuse has always attributed to lives of people around the world. Approaching and understanding child mistreatment has changed as societies have modernized and progressed; whereas one thing remains an unalterable issue, child abuse happens constantly and continuously worldwide.
Looking back on remote times, child abuse was a very prominent and under looked element of living. In ancient tribes, newborn infants were killed frequently simply to lessen the number of mouths to feed because of the scarce amount of food supply. Peoples in ancient societies such as Egypt, Greece, and Rome would beat or sacrifice their children to the gods in hopes of good fortune to be brought upon them, or to ordinarily keep the gods happy (Dolan 37). As centuries went on, child abuse was more noticeable in daily and family life.
Many poverty-stricken parents would batter their children- breaking their legs or gouging out an eye- so that the children would drive pity out of others while being forced to beg on the streets, during nineteenth century times. Because people during the nineteenth century believed that parents had the right to discipline and raise their child in ways that they saw fit; also, based off of the naïve mindset that a parent could never hurt their beloved child, very few legal actions were made to stop physical child abuse. Due to advances in common law du...
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The American Humane Association reports about 899,000 children as victims of abuse each year in America; according to the studies performed eighteen percent of those children are victims of physical abuse (Schuite 1). There is one name for that eighteen percent: physical abuse, but when looked at and broken down many different types of physical abuse have been found to be more detrimental or harming than others.
A group of 313 professionals (lawyers, social workers, police, and pediatricians) all participated in a study to find the different levels of seriousness in all types of abuse. The respondents rated each situation of abuse on a nine-point scale, the upper point, nine, being the most serious and the lower point, one, being the least serious. The ratings were averaged out to get an overall score of the most serious and least serious.
Child abuse in general is quite complex and at the same time one of the most challenging social issue facing people all around the USA. Child abuse cases have been recorded in all the states of the USA. The cases occur in all areas be it cities, small towns, suburbs, and even in rural areas. The vice also happens in all types of families regardless of the ethnic origin of the family or the even family income (UNICEF, 2015). It is thus important that effort is put into reducing cases of child abuse.
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.
Child abuse is an issue in every state, every country, worldwide. There is no place that is immune to child abuse. This being stated they need better policies in place regarding the education on child abuse. Many people have many different opinions on how to lessen the amount of child abuse that goes on in this country, however many of them focus on stricter punishment for the abuser’s (Hmurovich, 2009). However, they know that stricter punishment will not lessen the amount of child abuse; it would truly have little to no impact on...
Child abuse goes way back in history starting from the time when a little 10 year old girl got removed from her parents home in 1874. The case is connected to the founding of the New York Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children, which gave rise to the founding of similar societies (National Association of Counsel for Children). Most children under the age of 3 tended to have a higher rate of victimization and girls had a higher risk than boys. Sexual abuse was frequently associated with family problems such as parental alcholism, parental rejection, and parental marital conflict (Bright Futures 4 Kids). Throughtout history, child abuse seems to be less crucial and likely than it was before because back then there was a lower rate of child care. Man...
The mistreatment of children is classified by four types of actions: physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, and neglect. Although, in recent years several steps have been taken to prevent the maltreatment of children it seems that child abuse is still prevalent in today's society. Countless children around the world suffer from some form of abuse and in many cases the same child experiences more than one. There is no exact number of victims because it difficult to measure the exact amount of children going through abuse. Child abuse almost always occurs in private, and because abuse is often hidden from view and its victims may be too young or too frightened to speak out, experts in child welfare suggest that its true prevalence
Poverty as we know it is not a new issue at all, but none the less it’s a crucial problem that plagues much of the world. So much so, that it’s been stated that three billion people live off of less than $2.50 each day (dosomething). Poverty is a debilitating state to be stuck in, it takes so much more from people than just from a financial aspect. Someone who’s suffering from poverty have higher chances of experiencing a medical problem. People in this economic state also have much lower odds at succeeding in important areas such as school or finding a job. Poverty does not use a narrow view, instead it plays effects on people in much wider variety than just financially.
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.
There are many forms of physical abuse, such as, slapping, hitting, strangling, beating, kicking and sexual abuse. In many cases objects being thrown at a child that can injure them. Many times, physical abuse goes undiscovered because children tend to hurt themselves all the time anyway. According to the book, Violence the Enduring Problem states, “Many child victims are fearful or incapable of reporting their victimization to an authority figure. And Despite the mandatory reporting laws in place in all states, evidence of abuse and neglect can often remain hidden except for extreme cases, such as when broken bones and concussions require medical care” (170). Also, physical abuse is often explained away by adults as accidents. But according to Childhelp.org states, “A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds. That in 2014, state agencies found an estimated 702,000 victims of physical child abuse” (Child Help). It is an epidemic that has plagued the United States for decades. Child abuse is an ever-growing social problem. Children that are physically abused have a high propensity to develop psychological disorders, such as, depression, anxiety, and PTSD. There is evidence about the mental health implications of physical abuse and environmental stressors that contribute to the ongoing
Physical abuse is physical force or violence that results in bodily injury, pain or impairment. It includes assault, battery and inappropriate restraint. In the U.S., state and local protective services investigated 3.6 million reports of child abuse or neglect in 2006. Of these, more than 900,000 children were identified as victims of child maltreatment. (Craig & Dunn, Ex.: 2010, p. 195) Parents are most likely to be perpetrators of child maltreatment: In 2006, 83% of victims were abused by a parent, either acting alone or with another person. Mothers are somewhat more likely than father to maltreat their children, in part because they spend more time with them. (Craig & Dunn, Ex.: 2010, p. 198)
The physical abuse of children covers a wide range of actions from what some might term ‘justifiable chastisement’ such as slapping or spanning to the sort of actions which most would agree constitute deliberate, sadistic cruelty against children.
Child abuse is a social problem in America that has many contributed factors. Factors that contribute to child abuse and neglect includes poverty, divorce, substance use, lack of education, stress due to unemployment, mental health issues, teenage parent, and a history of child abuse in the family. It took decades for physicians to conclude that parents have been violently assaulting their children. Child abuse, child labor, juvenile delinquency, and similar social questions historically were ethical and moral problems, not strictly medical ones. (Helfer, Kempe, & Krugman, 1997). In 1962, the Journal of American Medical Association published “The Battered-Child Syndrome.” The article transformed society’s views and dates the rediscovery of child abuse as a social problem. Following this article, the U.S. Children’s Bureau adopted the first laws mandating physicians to report any suspicions of abuse and neglect to the police or child welfare. By 1974, some 60,000 cases were reported. In 1980, the number exceeded one million (Myers J. E., 2004).
When the topic of abuse comes up, many different forms of abuse pop into individuals heads. Whether its Physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal abuse or even drug abuse, the list just keeps going. Now take all those different forms abuse and imagine them happening in a family. A father physically abusing his children, a mother verbally berating her daughter about her body image, a child growing up in fear. According to the research by David Wolfe in the Journal of Consulting and clinical Psychology, that the number of children that have suffered a physical injury due to physical abuse is between 1.4 and 1.9 million annually. With such a high number of physical abuse happening to children, one can imagine how high the number of all the
Early American culture did not consider child abuse a crime. Children over the age of 7 were made to work as hard as adults of the time period. They were often beaten if they did not. This changed in the late 19th century when 9 year old Mary Ellen, who endured physical beatings from her foster mother, was reported to the authorities by concerned neighbors who heard Mary’s repeated cries at the hand or switch of her foster mother. In 1874, a mission volunteer named Etta Wheeler was informed of Mary’s cruel life of beatings, imprisonment and cold-hearted servitude. When Etta Wheeler was finally permitted to observe Mary in her living quarters, appalled she began to do everything in her power to get Mary out of her horrid situation. Wheeler convinced the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to intervene and by legal means have Mary removed from the home. Their argument was that “Mary Ellen was a member of the animal kingdom, and thus could be included under the laws which protected animals from human cruelty” (Bell, 2011, p. 3). Out of this advocacy for Young Mary was formed the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. The overall effect of young Mary’s abuse was permanent changes in United States law making abuse, violence, and negle...
Child abuse has enduring consequences that may continue to haunt the victim long after the abuse. The effects of child abuse can manifest in childhood, adolescence, or adulthood and may affect an individual’s development in many forms including physical, cognitive, psychological and behavioral aspects (Briere, 1992).
Physical abuse is defined as a purposely intended act of atrociously causing physical harm to a child. This type of offense is generally inflicted by a parent or guardian who is accountable for providing for a child’s welfare. Influential components that may contribute to the acts of physical abuse done by the supervisor includes his or her immature behavior, lack of parenting abilities, possible association with crisis, personal experience of a tragic childhood, or addiction to drugs. Furthermore, physical abuse may result from parental discipline which can cau...