Child Abuse Children are a special group population that has experienced enormous challenges. Child abuse has remained a significant problem yet to be conquered in the efforts to promote and protect their welfare. The non-governmental organizations have been at the forefront of safeguarding the children across the globe to offer equal opportunities to enhance their development. Such firms have written numerous reports regarding the abuse, promotion, and the legislation that ensures the wellbeing of the minors. The paper examines a case of Nixmary Brown, a seven-year-girl child that suffered immensely in the hands of her stepmother. Children suffer and endure torture in the hands of the people that are close to them. Conferring to Arthur (2012) for instance, Nixmary’s stepmother molested and denied her the fundamental rights of protection from harm and danger. Instead of providing moral support to Brown, her stepmother abused her sexually at a tender age. Parents and guardians must offer protection and psychosocial support to their children to empower them to be safe. The seven-year-old girl suffered silently in the hands of her stepmother without telling her story to anyone. The case reveals …show more content…
For instance, it strengthened the agencies concerned with the wellbeing of the children to investigate, report, and prosecute those found culpable. The changes mandated such organizations to initiate prosecution following reports of child abuse and neglect (Reder & Duncan, 2013). The case led to new transformations that saw the introduction of foster care, particularly to the children that were suspected to be experiencing maltreatment to save them from the unfairness. Many firms became alert and interested in children’s welfare after Brown’s case, a situation that contributed to the effective introduction and implementation of the acts that protect the
The child welfare system in United States uses a dominant colonial approach to how the child welfare system is applied. They are based on the foundations of patriarchal ideology. When approaching child welfare the attention is mostly given to the families and individual blame occurs, this may reflect the way the systems are designed, operating from a liberal ideology. Furthermore, in the process of child protection family service systems are exposed to the use of formal coercion and contested court involvements, although this is considered a last resort and avoided, if possible. Typically, after a child maltreatment report, the allegation is investigated and assessed for degree of state interven...
The author, Rachel Aviv, raises various questions about the new approaches taking by the government on regards to child abuse. The traditional approach on regards to child abuse cases was to keep families together. Over the past 40 years, child care agencies changed their
Child abuse does not discriminate against a child because of age, sex, religion, or socioeconomic background. Every child is vulnerable to abuse. Parents today face the possibility that someone they know or a stranger may hurt or take advantage of their children. Research indicates that as many as one out of every four children will be the victims of some kind of abuse (National Child Abuse Statistics). Furthermore, one of the biggest ironies of child abuse is that the family, a child’s primary source of care, love, and security, can also be their most taunting experience. This was the case of 17 month old baby, Peter Connelly. Throughout his short life span, he suffered from neglect and physical abuse that ultimately caused his death. Child abuse is a serious problem that is being taken too lightly.
Since the case of Mary Ellen Wilson in 1874, child abuse has seen it’s share of light in published news. It is disheartening to read countless stories of future generations being harmed to the extent of psychological damage or even death. Child abuse as a whole has been addressed multiple times in various news blogs, however, nothing has been done to work towards abolishing it at a larger level. The future of America is in jeopardy based on the level of abuse that children endure. Childhelp states that approximately 5 children die every day at the hands of child abuse. America struggles to find equality, and by bystanding the stripping of its youth, continual prolonging is inevitable. Raising this nation’s children in means of nurturing and care is the first step to uplifting America as a whole. In 2012 alone, 1593 of America’s children died at the hands of child abuse, 70.3% of which were younger than the age of three (Safe Horizon). In order to prevent further child abuse, the American government should address stricter child protection laws, psychological stability, and an increase the recognition of those that have released their stories.
It is way too often that we hear about children getting abused by someone who is meant to protect them; that someone can be a parent, a grandparent, an aunt or an uncle. The abuse can be in many forms; mental, physical or emotional; it can be a combination of or all of these. This paper is about the abuse and torture of a young boy. This paper will tell how this case came to the attention of the authorities and discuss the crime, and who was accused, prosecuted and ultimately convicted of the abuse.
When children are hurt physically, emotionally, or sexually it is known to be child abuse. Children are known to be neglected when they are not getting the proper attention needed for children. When children are neglected or abused in any way it is the responsibility of others to report such acts to the authorities as to what they have witnessed first-hand or signs of abuse or neglect seen after the fact, these people who reports such acts are known as third parties. The proper authorities to report child abuse or neglect is called Child Protected Services also known as Child Welfare. After the abuse or neglect is reported the proper authorities will then investigate to see if the abuse or neglect is legit or fraudulent (Sedlak, 2001).
...g and filled with detailed solutions for each act of child abuse. The book allows the reader to visual themselves in each situation and knows how to react towards such each incident. It helped me understand why adults abused as children act the way they do when it comes to social interaction. Personally, I have attained new information that I was unaware of. In the beginning, I have always believed that child abuse only involved physical or sexual abuse. I did not know that emotional abuse actually existed. I was unaware of the fact that emotional abuse gravely affects children as they grow up. This book may open up the minds of people who are unaware of or refuse to believe that child abuse is occurring daily in our society because it is so informative and persuasive at the same time. If one needs to educate themselves concerning child abuse, consider this book.
Child abuse is an extremely sensitive subject to many people. But to many people from McMartin Preschool, it is something that will stick with them forever. According to The World Book Encyclopedia, child abuse is “a term that generally refers to mistreatment of a child by a parent of another adult” (Zigler). It could also be “limited to life-threatening physical violence, including severe beating, burns, and strangulation” (Zigler). The horrific McMartin Preschool Trial was crazy and disgusting, leaving children scarred, parents angry, and the accused wronged.
Throughout the semester we have discussed many cases, but Shirley Wilder’s case and story is the craziest and saddening I have ever read. The obstacles she and her son go through are things that I could not even imagine or see myself surviving. Nina Bernstein took an interest into the case because she wanted to know what happened to Lamont, Shirley Wilder’s son. By doing that she has opened people’s eyes to a whole new issue right in our own backyards. The problems within the foster care system go back from the beginning. Animals had more protection than children. In the 1874 case of Mary Ellen McCormack she was the one who finally put a human face on child abuse. Her neighbor, Etta Angell Wheeler, decided to take action, but since there was such a lack of child-protection laws she had to take the case up to the A.S.P.C.A (the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). From there on child abuse/neglect cases were supposed to be handled better and have better laws to protect these children.
There are many flaws throughout the childcare system, which can alter the overall goal of protecting children. Today, there have been several such cases in child protection that resulted in tragedy. This may happen in the foster care system itself, or in the child’s primary home.
David suffered physical, mental, and emotional abuse from the age of four to 12-years-old. As his teachers and principal, neighbors, and even his maternal grandmother and father stand by and let the abuse happen, it makes me wonder what they could have done differently. For example, David’s father saw the abuse firsthand and he would try to intervene to help him out initially. David’s father was caught by the madness of his wife in calling him, ‘the boy’ and ‘It’. As much as his father tried to comfort David, he did not have the will to stand up against his wife. Another example, the maternal grandmother commented on bruises visible on David’s body and she did not take action to report her daughter for abusing her grandchild, David. Instead, David’s grandmother stated that she should stay out of it and let David’s mother raise her children as she saw fit. I believed the unreported instances observed by the public to be just as substantial a crime as the child abusers themselves. Also, the Department of Children and Social Services were contacted because of the alleged child abuse events that occurred previously; however, he was not taken from the home because the social worker of the agency sided with David’s mother. The social worker did not complete a thoroughly
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 3.3 million referrals for alleged maltreatment were made in 2013. Out of the 3.3 million referrals, 899,000 children were officially documented as being maltreated(Child Abuse & Neglect 2015). Child abuse is the mistreatment of a child. Child abuse is recognized in several forms; physical, emotional, sexual and neglect. Children who experience any form of abuse will tend to withdraw themselves from their peers and sometimes from other family members who are not aware of what is taking place. Child abuse occurs not just in the homes of these children, but can also occur in schools, churches and after school programs. Anywhere a child is present there is a chance that abuse can occur. This paper will review the forms of child abuse, the effects of child abuse, reasons child abuse occurs and possible therapies to bring healing in the parties involved.
Research has proven that the statistics of child abuse have risen worldwide. In the United States alone they were over 1,000 child fatalities due to child abuse in 2002(Child). In 2004, The US Department of Health and Human Services estimate that 872,000 children were determined US victims of child abuse. Approximately 17.5 percent of the maltreatment victims were physically abused(Hmurovich). Every year, there are approximately three million children that are involved in cases of child abuse. Of that, about twenty-five percent are just cases of physical abuse(Lansford). The number of abused or neglected children that are killed each year went from 798 in 1985 to 1,185 in 1996(Bean Child). Child abuse is one of the five leading cause of childhood death in the United States. Although there are so many reported cases of abuse, no one will ever know with certainty how many children have or are being abused(Mankiller). Every year, child-protection agencies receive three million referrals of child abuse or neglect involving six million children. The majority of children abused are younger tha...
Child abuse in general is quite complex and at the same time one of the most challenging social issue facing people all around the USA. Child abuse cases have been recorded in all the states of the USA. The cases occur in all areas be it cities, small towns, suburbs, and even in rural areas. The vice also happens in all types of families regardless of the ethnic origin of the family or the even family income (UNICEF, 2015). It is thus important that effort is put into reducing cases of child abuse.
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.