Impact of Child Abuse in the United States
opinionated Essay
1470 words
Child abuse in the United States is a growing epidemic. Every year the number of reported cases, and missing children go up. This is caused mostly by lack of education about the different types of child abuse, and the signs that go along with it. Communities need to provide more resources to better educate the public about the types of abuse, and the signs that go along with it. Child abuse and neglect can be lessened by more resources, more education and to reach out to others.
Every year an approximate 139,000 cases of child abuse and neglect are reported in Ohio, and 72,000 are thoroughly investigated (Ohio's Children 2012). Although some might think this number is high, it is believed that the number of actual child abuse cases would be three times higher if all cases were reported (Public Awareness & Advocacy). They strongly believe that the reason so many cases go unreported is due to lack of education. With only one seminar available it is impossible to say that all 17,000 residents of Defiance County are adequately educated on the types and signs of child abuse. The best, and only accurate, remedy to this problem is to offer more educational resources and make them more widely available.
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...
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...orted. Communities need to provide more knowledge of the types and signs to be able to know what to look for on a child/ children.
Works Cited
"Advice for Professionals." Kidscape. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
"Child Abuse Symptoms, Causes, Treatment - Who Abuses Children? - OnHealth." Onhealth. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
"COCA - Council on Child Abuse / Prevention. Education. Awareness." COCA - Council on Child Abuse / Prevention. Education. Awareness. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
"The Family and Child Abuse Prevention CenterWelcome to Family and Child Abuse Prevention Center." The Family and Child Abuse Prevention CenterWelcome to Family and Child Abuse Prevention Center. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
Hmurovich, J. Big Ideas for Children: Investing in Our Nation's Future. Washington, DC: First Focus, 2008. Print.
"Love Our Children USA." Love Our Children USA. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that child abuse in the united states is a growing epidemic and that communities need to provide more resources to better educate the public about the types of abuse and the signs that go along with it.
- Opines that the number of actual child abuse cases would be three times higher if all cases were reported. defiance county's 17,000 residents are not adequately educated on the types and signs of abuse.
- Explains that child abuse is an issue in every state, every country, worldwide. they state that they need better policies regarding the education of children.
- Explains that lower income families and young single mothers are the most likely to have child abuse in the home due to the levels of stress in these types of families.
- Analyzes jim hmurovich's article on the need for a uniform, national policy for the prevention of child abuse and neglect.
- Explains that the family and child abuse prevention center provides education to parents, families, children, and the community about child abuse and neglect.
- Explains that council on child abuse (coca) provides presentations and training to professionals and communities in southern ohio. they also offer printed material for individuals, schools, and groups.
- Opines that people need to know how to prevent and be aware of child abuse and neglect, but do they know what it is and the signs to look for on a child or children?
- Explains that there are three types of child abuse that people need to be aware of: physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.
- Explains that one fourth of girls and one sixth of boys are sexually abused by an adult by the age of seventeen. sexual abuse is non-consensual sexual contact on a child or children.
- Explains that emotional abuse is the act of belittling, ignoring, corrupting and acting cruel, isolating, rejecting, and scaring another person, which can lead to ultimately winning control over them.
- Explains that there are three categories of child neglect that either refuse or delay attention and/or affection in a child's life. the first is physical neglect, followed by educational neglect.
- Opines that there are many things we can do to prevent or lessen the tragedy of abuse and negligence.
- Opines that child abuse and neglect is a major problem everywhere and needs to be addressed as such by implementing better stratifies, funding, and more organizations.
- Cites kidscape's "advice for professionals" and "child abuse symptoms, causes and treatment - who abuses children?
Related
- analytical
- explanatory
- opinionated
- How Child Abuse and Neglect Affect Childhoodanalytical essayChild maltreatment can affect any child, usually aged 0-18, and it occurs across socioeconomic, religious, ethnic or even educational backgrounds. Arguably, child abuse and neglect is a violation of basic human rights of a child resulting from social, familial, psychological and economic factors (Kiran, 2011). Familial factors include lack of support, poverty, single parenthood, and domestic violence among others, (McCoy and Keen, 2009). The common types of child maltreatment include physical abuse, emotional maltreatment, neglect, and sexual abuse among others. Abuse and neglect can lead to a variety of impacts on children and young people such as physical, behavioral as well as psychological consequences which will affect the development and growth of the child either positively or negatively based on the environment and agency. More so, emotional, cognitive and physical developmental impacts from child neglect in the early stages of childhood can be carried on into adulthood. Research findings reveal that the experience of maltreatment can cause major long-term consequences on all aspects of a child’s health, growth as well as intellectual development and mental wellbeing, and these effects can impair their functioning as adults. Commonly, the act of abuse/ or neglect toward a child affects the child’s physical, behavioral development and growth, which can be positive or negative, depending on the child’s environment and agency. Another way to understand how the act has affected the child is to look at the child for who they are, and interviewing and observing their behaviors of their everyday life.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that child maltreatment can affect any child, usually aged 0-18, and it occurs across socioeconomic, religious, ethnic, or even educational backgrounds.
- Explains that child maltreatment can be viewed as a human rights violation that is caused by various factors involving the individual, family and the community.
- Explains that child abuse and neglect causes impaired brain function and development. negative physical abuse can damage a child's developing brain, causing sensory impairments, cognitive, learning, and behavioral disabilities.
- Explains that psychological child abuse or neglect can affect the child mentally, emotionally and socially. child abuse especially sexual abuse has been associated with disturbed mental health leading to self-harm, depression, and suicide attempts.
- Argues that socialization is a key aspect in individuals' development and that abused and neglected children are more likely to be arrested for juvenile delinquency.
- Argues that children learn through their families and have their own agency to structure their world. despite the negative consequences of child maltreatment, many survivors view their childhood experiences as motivation to protect their children.
- Recommends interviewing or observing children first hand to better understand how the act of maltreatment has or has not effected a child.
- Explains that child abuse and neglect can lead to a wide range of adverse consequences for children. abused or neglected children tend to be depressed, perform poorly in schools, and have low self-esteem.
- Explains that arata, langhinrichsen-rohling, and bowers examined the long-term effects of child abuse.
- Explains carrick, k., and scannapieco, m. understanding child maltreatment: an ecological and developmental perspective.
- Describes finkelman, byrgen, and taylor & francis' child abuse: a multidisciplinary survey.
- Cites kehily, m. j., understanding childhood: a cross-disciplinary approach.
- Explains kiran, b. (2011). child abuse and neglect. journal of indian society of pedodontics and preventive dentistry.
- Cites smith, m., and segal, j. (n.d.). recognizing, preventing and reporting child abuse.
- Explains vitaro, f., and carbonneau, r. resilient children of parents affected by a dependency.
- Describes the long-term consequences of child abuse and neglect.
1844 wordsRead More - Child Abuse in Americaexplanatory essayThe effects of child abuse can be long lasting or maybe even fatal. “The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect estimates that 2.9 million children are abused or neglected by parents or caretakers each year” (“Child Abuse” Encarta). This fact is very disturbing to the many of us that don’t know child abuse was this common in the U.S.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that child abuse can be long-lasting or even fatal. the national center on child abuse and neglect estimates that 2.9 million children are abused or neglected by parents or caretakers each year.
- Describes the various types of child abuse, including physical, emotional, sexual, and educational abuse.
- Explains that many people have difficulty understanding why any person would want to hurt a child. the public often assumes that the people that abuse their children suffer from mental illness but fewer than 10 percent of abusers have mental illnesses.
- Explains that child abuse results from a complex combination on personal, social, and cultural factors. intergenerational transmission of violence is displayed when abused children become abusive parents.
- Explains the effects of child abuse, including physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.
- Explains that there are many different forms of treatment for abused children, but the first step is always getting past the denial. there are anonymous hotlines for children to call in and receive help.
748 wordsRead More - Child Abuse and Neglectexplanatory essayChild abuse in America is an ongoing problem and something needs to be done. There are approximately one million children abused annually in the United States. (Table 339) Cases of child abuse and neglect are reported every ten seconds, and researchers believe that there’s three times that amount that goes unnoticed. (Child Abuse: Know the Signs and Stop the Violence Against Children.) Something needs to be done for these children who are too weak and too powerless to help themselves.
In this essay, the author
- States that child abuse in america is an ongoing problem and something needs to be done for these children who are too weak and too powerless to help themselves.
- Explains that children who have been abused are left with psychological, emotional, and behavioral problems, as well as personality and neurological changes. sexual abuse has been linked to nightmares, bed wetting, sadness, clinging behavior and anxiety.
- Explains that speech is affected from abuse and neglect, and that physical abuse can have lifelong effects on children.
- Explains that children tend to act out how they are feeling instead of verbalizing it. they show aggressive and out of control behaviors towards their relationships. boys exhibit these traits, while girls hold in anger, fear, and anxiety.
- Explains that physical abuse is the mistreatment of a child that causes physical injury, impairment, or endangerment. it accounts for about 25 percent of abuse cases.
- Explains that abdominal injuries result from the abuser kicking, hitting, punching, or jumping on the child. internal bleeding and tearing are common effects.
- Explains that broken bones in infants up to six months of age are often caused by physical abuse, such as fractures from pulling and yanking on children's limbs. poisoning is also considered a form of physical child abuse.
- Explains that the leading cause of death in child abuse cases is from head trauma. shaken baby syndrome results from an infant being shaken vigorously.
- Explains that emotional abuse leaves behind no physical signs of abuse, but its effects can be even more damaging than those of physical abuse.
- Explains that neglect is also a form of emotional abuse. it is often confused with poverty, but they are very different.
- Explains that medical neglect occurs when parents refuse treatment for their child for unjustified reasons.
- Explains that safety neglect occurs when a caregiver does not provide adequate supervision for the child.
- Explains that the third kind of neglect is educational neglect. children may be forced to stay home from school to work or babysit. parents are selfishly delaying their child’s cognitive abilities.
- Explains that emotional neglect, like emotional abuse, is the hardest to detect. emotionally neglected infants grow up and show signs of persistent head banging and they may rock their bodies back and forth for no apparent reason.
- Opines that sexual harassment is a bigger problem in schools than many people like to believe. a recent survey found that 83 percent of girls and 60% of boys had been sexually assaulted.
- Explains that drastic changes in behavior are an initial sign that a child has been sexually abused. there are also physical signs of sexual abuse, such as rips and tears of the genital and anal area.
- Opines that it is important to prevent abuse from happening in the first place by educating and counseling new parents on the difficulties of parenthood.
- Explains child abuse: know the signs and stop the violence against children.
- Explains moses md, scott, and family practice notebook's "child abuse."
- Explains that palusci, md, ms, vincent j., and nemours foundation's "shaken baby/shaken impact syndrome".
2539 wordsRead More - Alcohol, Drugs and Child Abuseopinionated essayDare to envision a young child who is helplessly beaten, who starves every night because her mother decided to spend the money on her drug habit, or visualize a child that is always covering up for his mother because the police are questioning why he is always home alone. These things are not uncommon, child abuse and neglect happen in staggering numbers all over the country. Cases of child abuse and neglect are reported every ten seconds in the United States. This is an ongoing issue, that not only affects the present, but it will increase complication in the future as well. There are many things that are a result of child abuse that follows them through into their adulthood such as, poor physical health, poor emotional and mental health, social difficulties, cognitive dysfunction, high-risk health behaviors, and behavioral problems. It also increases the chance of imprisonment, substance abuse and a higher chance of being involved in crime. These problems are not only a dilemma for them but it also has a negative effect on society.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that child abuse and neglect are an ongoing issue that affects the present, and it will increase complication in the future.
- Defines child abuse as any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation. over the past decade researchers have reported higher recurrences of health problems in survivors of childhood abuse.
- Explains that miller, mcclusky-fawcett and irving (1993) found that significantly more young women diagnosed with bulimia reported sexual abuse after age 12 than did a group of matched controls.
- Explains that violence and criminal activity, along with drug abuse, are long-term consequences of child abuse and neglect for adult survivors, especially for those who have been physically abused.
- Argues that childhood abuse is one of the many reasons to blame for the development of serial killers. children are taught right from wrong, compassion, trust, and how to interact appropriately with others.
- Analyzes the link between childhood sexual abuse and substance abuse in a 1995 review. the results are upsetting and unsettling.
- Opines that going to bed hungry should never happen to a child in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, yet it happens every single night.
- Explains that parental drug addiction is a form of child abuse. it causes physical and emotional problems, such as growth defects, neurological advancement, and asthma.
- Explains that child displacement occurs when a child is removed from their harmful habitat and assigned to temporary housing units run by foster parents.
- States that west virginia's total cost for supporting and running the foster care program is currently $64,910,604 including all of the extra costs like the laws and medicaid.
- Explains that attachment issues arise when a child is abused, neglected, or abandoned, and the state or government still has custody.
- Opines that if the country could break this vicious cycle, it would help reduce the cost of imprisonment, health care, hospitalization, and supporting parentless children.
1356 wordsRead More - Preventing Child Abuseexplanatory essayPeople may not be aware, but any one of their peers, friends, or neighbors may be victims of child abuse. Every day, someone experiences physical, emotional, neglect, and/or sexual abuse. Abuse can lead to death or injury for the rest of a victim's life, from either the perpetrator or themselves. In order to prevent child abuse society must: recognize the types of abuse, understand common causes of abuse, know the characteristics of abusers, and realize the effects abuse has, not just on the child, but on families and communities across the world.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that every day, someone experiences physical, emotional, neglect, and/or sexual abuse. abuse can lead to death or injury for the rest of a victim's life.
- Explains that child abuse prevention must begin with understanding the different types of abuse. the child abuse prevention and treatment act (capta) defines abuse as the motive, act, or lack of action of a parent or guardian.
- Opines that there is no need for physical discipline, but there are other ways for it.
- Describes emotional abuse as an action or failure to act that leads to mental injury of a child. pennsylvania defines neglect as the lack of parental care or supervision for long periods.
- Explains that multiple risk factors, including poverty, increase the likelihood of abuse, such as immaturity, impulsivity, and low self-esteem.
- Explains that whites are the most likely to face sexual abuse by themselves, while asians and native americans are most often just physically abused. social media is partly at fault for abuse.
- Explains maslow's hierarchy of needs to understand the effects of child abuse.
- Explains that victims of child abuse have a difficult time trusting others and have low self-esteem, which leads to depression, phobias, eating disorders, sleep issues, and substance abuse.
- Explains that governments and communities work to set up prevention programs for children, parents, and society to help them cope with physical and emotional scars of abuse.
- States that clark, robin e., the encyclopedia of child abuse, new york: facts on file, 2007.
- Explains that child abuse and neglect, if untreated, can last a lifetime.
- Opines that $80 million a year; calls for. washington post, 12 sep.
- Explains that megan's law and jacob wetterling crimes against children and sexually violent offender registration act are notification laws that notify people where sex offenders live.
2020 wordsRead More - Psychological Effects of Child Abuseanalytical essayDue to the rise of domestic violence in many families, psychologists are helping affected children cope and confront their emotional imprisonment by using various methods. Over the years, there has been a drastic increase in domestic violence cases. In many instances, the children are most affected in the involvement of the violent disputes. Psychologists study the behaviors of affected children and develop a plan of treatment that aim towards the child’s overall health. Psychologists provide the best treatment by immersing themselves inside the child’s situation and connecting with what the child sees. Furthermore, psychologist use a strategy of taking small steps in the overall treatment. Sadly, over the years, there’s been an increase in the volume of cases that psychologists see each year.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes the psychological effects of domestic violence on children, and explains the various forms of child abuse.
- States lisa j. cohen's scientific overview of how child abuse affects the brain. trauma can cause myelination and synaptogenesis, which can lead to complex ptsd.
- Explains how children affected by abuse develop a mental representation as being unworthy of care and protection. psychologists are at the forefront in the care that abused children receive.
- Opines that parents who abuse their children don't know that they are actually hurting them. psychologists urge parents to teach children to become self-aware in order to not be victimized.
- Explains that domestic violence has increased over the years and caused the suffering of many children. psychologists help abused children confront their emotional restraints by using various methods.
- Introduces barnett, ola w., cindy l. miller-perrin, and robin d.
- Explains that psychologists help affected children cope and confront their emotional imprisonment by using various methods. domestic violence has increased over the years and has become a major issue for children.
- Cites dugard, jaycee lee, geffner, jaffe, and sudermann. a stolen life: a memoir.
- Describes the apsac handbook on the abuse of children, second edition, published by sage publications.
1222 wordsRead More - Persuasive Essay About Child Abuseopinionated essayCould you imagine how children must feel when they are abused by someone that is supposed to love and protect them, and nothing is done to help them? For this reason, it is important to realize there are legislative laws protecting child abusers from hate crimes, and excuses certain people from mandated reporting abuse. In fact, almost five children die every day as a result of abuse. Also, money is spent to convict and imprison child abusers which could be put towards programs that help people to recognize and prevent abuse. Children are the future; therefore, it is important for them to grow up in an environment they can thrive, feel safe and free from harm. After all, as the old saying “It takes a village to raise a child” stands true to this day. Now is the time for everyone to put forth the extra effort to create ways to bring child abuse, a growing epidemic to an end. As responsible citizens it is the duty to report when child abuse is suspected, create laws that
In this essay, the author
- Opines that it is time for everyone to put forth the extra effort to bring child abuse, a growing epidemic to an end.
- Opines that anyone who suspects a child is neglected or abused should be mandated to report the abuse to an official, no exemptions, and no exclusions.
- Explains that spanking is a form of discipline in some homes, but considered abuse in others.
- Explains that there are wide variations of penalties and convictions for child abusers, based on different state laws, depending on the victim's age and severity of the crime.
- Opines that there should be a straight across the board felony conviction for any person that abuses children, and that ities should properly follow through with the orders of the justice system.
- Opines that if more programs were created that would teach people to recognize the signs of an abused child and how to prevent abuse, this could decrease the number of child abuse cases in the united states.
- Explains that knowledge gives people strength to do things they may not ordinarily do. community programs can be created amongst neighbors, such as a safe house for children to go if they are in the neighborhood.
- Concludes that children will continue to die if action is not taken to prevent child abuse. children are the most valuable resource for the future of america.
1733 wordsRead More - What Is Child Abuse?explanatory essayDid you know that more than 700,000 children are abused in the United States each year (“National Statistics on Child Abuse”)? Child abuse has been an ongoing problem for hundreds of years. There are many different types of child abuse, such as physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. These three types of abuse affect each child differently, depending on how they are being abused. Physical, emotional, and sexual child abuse shows the ugliness and darkness of humanity.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that children struggle to tell someone about physical abuse because they fear that their parents will get mad and hurt them even worse. victims live in fear of abuse when they get home from school.
- Explains that physical abuse affects children both at home and at school in various negative ways.
- Explains that sexual child abuse is a worldwide problem that involves portions of both aspects of physical and verbal abuse.
- Explains that many children who are sexually abused have trouble telling their story for many years after they have left their abusive home.
- Explains that physical, emotional, and sexual child abuse affects each child differently, depending on how they are being abused.
- Explains that sexual abuse affects victims in many harsh ways, such as self harm, depression, low self esteem, post traumatic stress, and personality disorders.
2242 wordsRead More - Child Abuse and Neglectexplanatory essayChild Abuse: Prevention through Education and Awareness.” Child Abuse. 2014. Article Originals, Inc., Web. 27 Oct 2014.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that child abuse dates back to biblical times and has risen in the public eye. according to childabuse.com, there are four types of abuse: physical, sexual, emotional, and neglect.
- Explains that physical child abuse should be stopped as soon as possible, for it could result in death. it involves any type of physical discipline that causes visible injuries or wounds on a child.
- Explains that sexual abuse is defined as acts of sexual harassment and sexual exploitation of minors. the nature of the crime, shame of victim, and involvement of loved ones may make it harder for children to come forward and report abuse.
- Explains that emotional abuse involves verbal assaults, ignoring, or constant conflict from the family. it also includes over the top punishments such as locking a child into.
- Defines physical neglect as failure to provide for a child’s physical survival, including inadequate food, shelter, medical care, and supervision.
- Explains that some of the signs of child abuse are easy to see but are just overlooked. they include bruises on the body, changes in behavior, poor self-image, depression, hunger and thirst, aggressive behaviors, suicidal thoughts or a reluctant attitude about going to their own home.
- Explains that depression is one of the most frequent side effects of a child being abused. other aftereffects include inability to trust, fear of intimacy, suicidal thoughts, and other self destructive behaviors.
- Explains that most abusers are members of the victims family, either a parent, close relative, or caretaker. males and females abuse their own children at similar rates.
- Explains that successful child abuse interventions reduce the risk and promote protective factors to ensure the well-being of children.
943 wordsRead More - Child Abuse in A Child Called It by Dave Pelzeranalytical essayIn 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.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that american society neglects to address child abuse, which is one of the major issues that our country is plagued with. the international child abuse network (ican) uses four basis categories to docun
- Explains that emotional abuse includes acts or the failures to act by parents or caretakers that have caused or could cause serious behavioral, cognitive, emotional or mental disorders. less severe acts are overly negative criticism or rejecting treatment.
- Explains that neglect can be physical, educational, or emotional. it can include not providing adequate food, clothing, medical care, supervision, and weather protection to the child.
- Explains that physical abuse is to cause or inflict physical injury upon a child. the parent or caretaker may claim not to have intended to hurt the child, that the injury was an accident.
- Explains that ncands calculated the fatalities by maltreatment, child abuse and neglect in 1998, which included 421 physical abuse fatalities, 375 neglect and medical neglect deaths, and 10 deaths that could not be classified.
- Argues that society has as much responsibility in contributing to child abuse as the person that is actually committing the act of abuse.
- Narrates the story of a young boy named david pelzer who must triumph over the horrendous abuse inflicted by his mother. the excessive use of alcohol plays an important role in the abuse.
- Explains that dave was starved and endured many beatings for accepting food, and cruel and unusual punishments were used to extract the food from his almost lifeless body.
- Explains that the outside world does nothing to help this suffering, small child with obvious signs of mistreatment. the mask his mother used to cover up the constant cruelty was most effective.
- Analyzes how david pelzer was kept from society and denied the simple loves of life. the world knew that a little boy could never be as horrible as his mother described him to be.
- Opines that david pelzer is the most courageous person that they have never read about. there are worse cases, but they could never imagine it.
- Explains that pelzer, david j.a child called "it": one child's courage to survivepub.
- States that the us bureau of the census estimates the population of states by age, sex, race & hispanic origin from 1990 to 1999.
- Cites the american association for protecting children (aapc) and ogintz, e. the littlest victim.
1704 wordsRead More