Child Abuse and Neglect

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Recommended: What are the causes of child abuse and neglect

At some point in life, everyone has asked why. The word why is used to find a reason or purpose. It can be used for various occasions. For example, when asking why the car broke down or when a child is curious about why they need to take a shower after playing at the park. Sometimes just why by itself can be a plethora of questions, especially when an abused and/or neglected child questions “Why?” Although they only say “Why?” what they can really be asking is “Why is mommy never home, why does daddy hurt me, or why can’t I ever do anything right?” Child abuse and neglect is a big controversial social justice issue. It happens everyday all around the world and can greatly impact the life of the abused and/or neglected child.

World wide over 40 million children are subjected to abuse and neglect per year. Many grow up blaming themselves, their parents, others or god for what happened. Some children are too young to understand why they are neglected and/or abused, several don’t even live past 4 years old. In the United States more than 4 children die every day as a result of child abuse or neglect. Approximately 80 percent of children who died from abuse are under 4 years old. In 2011, 78.3 percent of child fatalities were caused by one or more parents.

Parental child abuse results because of various reasons. One reason is if the child was conceived out of wedlock there is a lot of stress towards the parents created by the child’s birth.
Another reason for parental child abuse is military deployment, which causes multiple stressors. One stressor is the that is spouse left behind must take on all responsibilities that was once handled by both parents. Some other stressors are low social support, marital dissatisfaction and low fa...

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...ming an abusive or neglectful adult. Additionally it can help the abuser/neglector come to term with their own issues.

Child abuse and neglect is a controversial problem that concerns everyone. It has been around for a long time and still goes on today.As Aristotle once said, “Our children hold our future in their hands.” so shouldn’t children should be protected and cared for not abused and neglected. Also by law, as in Section 17 of the Children Act 1979, we all have a duty to safeguard children and protect them from harm.

Works Cited

Crosson-Tower, C. (2002). Understanding Child Abuse and Neglect (Fifth ed.). N.p.: Allyn and Bacon
Williams, H. (2009). Child Abuse (Opposing viewpoints). N.p.: Greenhaven Press.
Melton, G. B., & Barry, F. D. (1994). Protecting Children from Abuse and Neglect: Foundations for a New National Strategy. N.p.: the Guildford Press.

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