There are various strategies used within schools to tackle child
abuse. In order to discuss the strategies fully there is a need to
define what exactly is meant by child abuse. It is also necessary to
be aware of what advice and guidance there is offered through
Government documentation and circulars to schools on their role in
preventing child abuse. Having put child abuse and the school's role
into context, then the strategies used by the school as a whole and by
the teacher within the classroom can be discussed.
Therefore what exactly is meant by child abuse? There is a tendency to
automatically assume that abuse means sexual abuse. The 1986 draft
report by the Department of Social Security [DHSS], Child Abuse -
Working Together defined child abuse as falling into six categories:
physical abuse, physical neglect, failure to thrive, emotional abuse,
sexual abuse and potential abuse. The present definition for child
abuse according to Department for Education and Skills [DfES] Circular
10/95 has been narrowed down to include only four categories:
Ø sexual abuse -physical signs or a substantial behaviour change
Ø emotional abuse -excessive dependence or attention seeking
Ø physical abuse - regular broken bones, bruises, lacerations and
burns
Ø physical neglect - inadequate clothing, poor growth, hunger, or
apparent deficient nutrition
These are the guidelines from which schools work.
However, what we as a society perceive as abuse may in other
cultures/societies be seen as normal practice. There are many cultures
for example where young girls, twelve years of age are taken as
brides. Much publicity has been given recently to the plight of Muslim
women under the Taliban regime. Females have been treated as property,
not as equal citizens and suffered as a consequence. The guideline
produced by Liverpool City Council for its schools actually contains
within it a policy on female genital mutilation [Liverpool City
Council, 2000]. This form of 'abuse seems totally abhorrent to our
society, but again is an accepted form of behaviour by other
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.
In American society today we fail to address several issues that need to be addressed. Unfortunately, child abuse is one of the major issues that our country is plagued with, yet we neglect to bring this to the attention of the entire nation. It is often over looked because everyone has a different view of what exactly defines child abuse. The International Child Abuse Network (ICAN) uses four basis categories to docunment the child abuse cases. They are: emotional abuse, neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. I will be describing the first three.
he Importance Of Reflecting On Changes In Children’s Behaviour Regarding Abuse And Strategies Children Have To Protect Themselves
Raising a child is a challenging life task that is given over to individuals all over the world without an instruction manual. People must learn by experience how to nurture, care for, and provide for miniature versions of themselves for almost two decades in most cultures! Discipline plays a major role in raising a child because most parents truly want what is best for their children and want them to grow up to be responsible, respectable, and successful adults; however, in some unfortunate cases, parents misinterpret the term discipline and in turn end up abusing their children. The question becomes, is there truly a difference between discipline and abuse? And if so, what is it? With education, individuals can learn how to properly distinguish between discipline and abuse and realize that there is a clear black and white difference between the two. The origin of the word discipline stems from the Latin word disciplina, which means “instruction [or] knowledge” (“Definition of discipline”, n.d.). As stated in the Oxford Dictionary, the definition of the word discipline is “the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, [or] using punishment to correct disobedience” (“Definition of discipline”, n.d.). According to WebMD, a website that is visited and seen by millions of people in the United States every day, discipline is “the process of teaching your child what type of behavior is acceptable and what type is not acceptable. In other words, discipline teaches a child to follow rules” (“Child Discipline Methods”, n.d.). It even goes on to state that “it sounds so straightforward, yet every parent becomes frustrated at one time or another with issues surrounding children and discipline” (“Child Discipline Metho...
The presence of child abuse goes back as far as history can remember. It was present in such societies as Ancient Egypt and Rome. We remember these societies as being great and prosperous. On the down side child abuse was very common, and mostly by the elite who had the power and the gold. We also have cases of child abuse in the
Child abuse is a social problem that spans the entire world. Child abuse is defined, “When a parent or caregiver, whether through action or
The term child abuse was once as rarely heard as that of pink elephants. However rare the term has once been, it is now a term used consistently throughout the news and various other publications today. Along with the progressing decline in society's morals, has come the rapid increase of crime. One such crime is child abuse. Although child abuse is common, the act is defiling. As a result of the abuse, children who fall victim to this often need psychological treatment and counseling. Often, the child is never the same as he or she once was before. The dictionary defines child abuse as: "the physical, or emotional, or sexual mistreatment of children" (Dictionary.com). Everyday thousands of children are the victims of this abuse. The abusers range from parents, friends, total strangers, to even day-care workers.
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 is an extremely significant conflict around the world; it is the physical maltreatment or sexual molestation of a child. There are 4 main types of victimization against children. Those containing physical, emotional, sexual abuse and neglect. Physical abuse is when a parent or guardian wounds their child in the form of injuring them or in any other manner causing them agony. Emotional abuse also recognized as mental abuse is when they mentally upset a child’s feelings that may generate trauma. Sexual abuse can probably be characterized as someone forcing a child in an act of unwanted sexual relationships. Neglect is the form of not providing a child with their basic physical and emotional necessities. Most people are forming organizations to prevent from future child abuse occurring but most people are also not getting involved in such dangerous crimes. Usually more than 90% of abusers tend to be people children know, love, or trust, according to Bright Futures 4 Kids.
As reported in Child Maltreatment 2013, out of the estimated 905,000 victims of child abuse and neglect reported in the United States in 2013, 8.8% were victims of sexual abuse. 1 This means that in that year over 79,600 children were sexually abused in the United States. “There is general agreement among mental health and child protection professionals that child sexual abuse is not uncommon and is a serious problem in the United States.” 2
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, or emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. It can be detrimental to one’s daily life, affecting not only the abused child, but also those who are associated with the child. It can have lasting effects that may carry over to adulthood and cause potential issues with relationships or perhaps within their own families as well. It is important that we learn to recognize the signs of child abuse and neglect so that we can save the lives and future of our children. Child abuse is widespread, often not reported, and is responsible for many problems involving our youth today.
Child abuse, while having many different forms and levels of severity, can be basically defined as the maltreatment of a child by a parent or other adult. When one thinks of child abuse, usually the first thing that comes to mind is physical harm, but the issue is actually much more complex. The abuse of a child can also be manifested in verbal and emotional forms, as well as in sexual molestation. All forms of child abuse generally result in similar emotional disorders and behavioral issues, but the major consequences of sexual abuse, such as mental or emotional scarring, promiscuity, and the tendency of former victims to become sexual abusers, cause it to be the most severely damaging form of child abuse.
The Center of Disease Control and prevention defines child abuse as any act or series of events that results in harm, potential harm or threatens the child’s safety (Webb, 2007). While many people believe that child maltreatment is simply physical many other forms of maltreatment occur; sexual abuse, neglect and abandonment are also common forms of abuse. Domestic Violence is also included in the definition of child maltre...
Child abuse has become a chronic and common issue in the country today. In the United States of America, an estimated three million children are victims of abuse every year. Whether the abuse is physical, emotional, sexual, or neglect, the scars can be deep and can have a negative effect on a child’s education. According to academic research preformed at Brown University in April 1996, it was noted that abused children have a harder time maintaining good grades in school due to their stressful home lives, which leads to a lack of focus in the classroom. These issues are severely hurting the education of many children which damages their conscious development. Unstable households are the number one cause of children not performing at the level of proficiency in the classroom. (Family Mobility Helps) There are four different types of abuse, but the effects are similar, which is physical, or emotional harm placed upon the child. There are certain types of abuse that are often harder to identify. Neglect is the most common form of child abuse. Family members and caregivers are the abusers in most cases. Research has shown there are three major reasons why abuses children suffer academically. The reasons are withdrawal, poor communication/social skills, and behavioral problems. Child abuse does not only hurt a child’s education, but can lead to deaths. Therefore prevention is the key to the success of a child’s future. (Rynders)
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.