Child Abuse Essay

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“When you look into your mother’s eyes, you know that is the purest love you can find on this earth.” Mitch Albom’s quote insists that a parent’s love for their child is unconditional and never ending. However, in some cases this is not exactly true. People in America during the twenty first century have turned to violence as a key component to getting what they want. Child abuse is becoming more and more common among the relationships of parents and their children, and it is rapidly increasing. Many believe that child abuse is nearly impossible because no parent would ever intentionally harm their child. In many cases, the crime is committed not only by parents but older siblings, neighbors, or sometimes complete strangers that intentionally harm a child. Although there is no particular reason for child abuse, many factors such as stress, low income, race, and anger can contribute to an adult purposely hurting their child physically, mentally, socially, or simply neglecting a child.
Although there is no exact definition for child abuse, there are four major ways to define a parent as abusing their child. Many believe that child abuse means a parent is physically harming their child. Even though this is one of the most dangerous and painful forms of child abuse, it does not correctly cover all aspects or forms of abuse. A different type of abuse that can also permanently “scar” a child can be the form of mental abuse. Mental abuse can immensely affect a child and can cause many problems such as trust issues and trouble forming friendships with others. Verbally assaulting a child is the most common way of mental abuse. A parent can purposely curse or say harmful things which lower the self-esteem of the child. Mental abuse can eve...

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...ry seriously. Many factors contribute to the severity of the charges the guilty party may face. The adult’s criminal background and history have a lot to do with how badly they will be punished. For instance, a first time offense will still result in a harsh punishment but will be more lenient when compared to someone who has previously been charged. Another contribution to how severe the guilty party can be charged with is based on the age on the abused child. A child who is younger in age is considered a more serious case and can cause the parent to serve a longer sentence in prison. Depending on the case, some that abuse are not sentenced to prison but are required to register as a child sex offender for life. This completely affects the parents chances of getting hired for any decent job, possible loss of custody of the child, and their overall reputation.

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