Child Abuse Essay

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The thought of seeing or hearing about any form of child abuse in the world today would make any normal person cringe. Sadly though, cases of child abuse and neglect arise all the time making us wonder if the issue will ever be solved. Both child abuse and neglect are forms of maltreatment, but abuse can be divided into three other categories, psychological, physical and sexual abuse. Even though most cases of child neglect and abuse go unreported because the victims are either afraid of their abuser or do not want them to get in trouble because they are most often related to them; almost one million cases do get reported each year (Child Abuse 2015). If this is the case, what does that mean for the issue as a whole, will it ever be solved? …show more content…

In his recorded experiences of being neglected, David mentioned how he had been denied the right to eat, have clean clothes or even bathe. He would arrive at school smelling bad with holes in his clothes because he wore the same thing every day for months. On multiple occasions he resorted to stealing food from other student’s lunches because it was the only way he knew he would get something to eat. His mother would purposefully create outrageous scenarios as an excuse to punish him whenever she pleased. Many of the occasions had occurred while she was under the influence of alcohol, but even when she was sober he fell victim to her neglect and abuse (Pelzer …show more content…

This can involve touching the child in inappropriate areas, performing acts of incest, rape, indecent exposure or exploitation of the child by forcing prostitution or creating pornographic materials. Potential evidence of sexual abuse might be when a child shows signs of trouble sitting down or walking, unexpectedly does not want to get dressed or to join in physical activities for gym class, begins wetting the bed or having nightmares, or loss of appetite. They might also reveal a strange, mature, or rare knowledge of sex or sexual behaviors. Or if they are 14 years old or younger and become pregnant or obtain a venereal disease. Some traits to look for in suspected parents or other caregivers might be an overly protective attitude towards the child, denying them access to other children, likes to be isolated or has a controlling attitude towards other family members (Child Welfare Information Gateway

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