Child Abuse in America
The effects of child abuse can be long lasting or even fatal. One cannot fathom the idea of why anyone would intentionally hurt an innocent child. Child abuse happens to children of all ages, gender, and religions. A report from the Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities states, “Every day, four to eight children in the United States die from abuse or neglect at the hands of their parents or caretakers” (2016, p. 12). Child Maltreatment 2014 reports, in 2014, an estimated 1,580 children died from abuse and neglect in the United States (p. 5). Child abuse comes in many different forms from physical to psychological to neglect to sexual. Different factors can increase the likelihood of abuse happening. According to Building Community Building Hope, 2016 Prevention Resource Guide, these can include immaturity, unrealistic expectations, stress, substance use, intergenerational trauma, and isolation (p. 36). The effects of abuse and neglect are serious. When it results in a child fatality, it becomes a tragic consequence and the loss of a precious life. Something as simple as reporting suspicion can be the difference between life and death. It’s imperative to know the risk factors of abuse. By educating yourself and your children about abuse, you can help prevent it from happening to your children and others.
Children are one of the most precious things on earth. Everybody has children in their lives, either their own, or know children in their community. We all need to be aware of the safety and well-being of the children around us. Being a teacher requires me to be a mandated reporter. Over the last twenty years of teaching, I have seen various forms of child abuse with ch...
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...bused and neglected. Whether it is physical, psychological, neglect, or sexual, it’s all detrimental to children. By educating ourselves and our community, we have a change to help prevent abuse and neglect. This can start in schools by educating teenagers about the responsibilities of becoming parents. Hospitals can also be a resource for parents that are about to have a child. They have many resources and videos that they can show before parents leave the hospital with their newborn. We need to turn things around for these children and be the person that can make a difference in their lives. If we see families that are struggling, we need to step in and get them the resources to help them. This could be parenting classes or offering to help them out when they are overwhelmed. Listen to the plea of so many children who are suffering from abuse and neglect.
Hurley, Jennifer (1999). Child Abuse Opposing Views . San Diego : Greenhaven Press, Inc. print.
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.
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.
Children who grow up being abused physically or mentally will develop problems and the response by children to abuse and neglect could manifest in behaviors of delinquency such as dropping out of school, drugs, alcohol abuse, sexual promiscuity, prostitution, self-mutilation, stealing and other crimes and offenses. It does not matter whether you are born into a wealthy, middle class or poor family; children who are abused commit most of the same acts of delinquency.
Today child neglect is the largest part of child abuse in the United States, and almost two-thirds of all reported cases in child protective services is neglect (Dubowitz). Before the 1970’s child abuse mostly referred to physical abuse; however, now it encompasses physical, emotional, and sexual abuse as well as neglect (Compton’s). Physical abuse is when a child is hurt by getting hit, punched, kicked, or any other form of beating by an adult (Compton’s). This abuse will only harm the child physically and though it is horrific and can lead to long term effects it will normally only lead to violence. Emotional abuse is when an adult is hateful to the child by calling him names, and another form of emotional abuse is when an adult is punishing a child in a way that will cause him mental trauma (Compton’s). Emotional abuse is terrible for the child’s self-esteem however they can go and learn that they are important to the world by their contributions. Sexual abuse is when a child is touched inappropriately or molested (Compton’s). This is detrimental to a child but in most cases the child will block this out for when they grow older it is like it never happened which will cause no harm to their mental state. Neglect is when an adult will not seek medical help for their child and will not provide them with food, shelter, clothing, or emotional support (Sullivan). This is where the real trauma takes place on a child. The child will not suffer from being hit but they suffer from starving until someone is kind enough to feed them or they die from malnutrition. The child will not suffer from a parent calling them names but they might never know if their parent knows their name or cares to even speak to th...
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.
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.
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment or neglect of a child. Child abuse is not only physical, but it is sexual, mental and emotional abuse. Child abuse is more than just bumps and bruises. It is also abuse that can not be seen. There are several cases of child abuse in the United States. Babbel (2011) reported twelve out of every 1,000 children up to age 18 in the United States were found to be victims of maltreatment in 2005. Susanne Babbel, Ph.D. (2011) found in 2006, approximately 905,000 children were abused that year. Babbel (2011) stated, 16% of those children were physically abused and the remaining 84% were sexually abused. Many cases are reported by teachers and caregivers, but some cases never get reported until it is too late and the child gets abused to death. Susan Babbel (2015) reported in her article that about 1,460 children died in 2005 from abuse and neglect. Physical abuse can be easily detected. If there are suspected marks or bruises on a child, then there is a good possibility the child may be neglected. On the other hand, sexual, mental and emotional abuse are not easy to recognize.
People 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.
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.
People need to be more informed about different forms of violence and abuse problems in society in order to know when to report unacceptable behavior. Too often things are unreported or undetected due to people being unaware on what to do leaving children in an inadequate situation. Several key people in communities like teachers, physicians, dentists, hospitals, or daycares are mandated reporters where they are obligated to observe the well-being of each child and report misbehavior if necessary. Recently, there has been a jump in violent behavior reports due to changes in legislation and a shift in attitudes of the general public on the harmful effects of children (Lavergne et al., 2011). Child Protective Services can step in to provide different resources or help groups to help the family to get back on their feet. Some of the services are shelter services, counseling, family violence centers, and temporary emergency care. The temporary emergency center like the Children’s Haven is a safe neutral location for children to go while families are experiencing crisis. Law enforcement can decide to place children from violence or substance abuse situations in a neutral setting until a foster care has enough openings for every child to be placed together. Temporary emergency centers can also provide support for parents undergoing traumatic situations for instance if a mother is trying
We’ll start with child abuse victims and the affects and reasons of this abuse. There are four types of child abuse and I will list them in order from least to greatest, neglect, physical, sexual and emotional abuse. Neglect takes first with the NCVS having 54% reports of child neglect in 2007. Neglect is a very serious form of abuse it is the failure for a parent or guardian to provide for a child’s basic needs, including physical and educational needs. We grow and development drastically in the first twelve years of our life so when parental guidance and love is absent it affects a child’s developmental skills along with learning right from wrong. Many forms of neglect occur in larger households and with households with domestic violence. Many parents with multiple kids become too busy focusing on the older children they tend to forget the youngest one. So it’s common for a three year old to walk out of the front door and on to the street when no one is there to tell him or...
When the topic of abuse comes up, many different forms of abuse pop into individuals heads. Whether its Physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal abuse or even drug abuse, the list just keeps going. Now take all those different forms abuse and imagine them happening in a family. A father physically abusing his children, a mother verbally berating her daughter about her body image, a child growing up in fear. According to the research by David Wolfe in the Journal of Consulting and clinical Psychology, that the number of children that have suffered a physical injury due to physical abuse is between 1.4 and 1.9 million annually. With such a high number of physical abuse happening to children, one can imagine how high the number of all the
The continuing cycle of child abuse can be ended when we are willing to look at the devastation it leaves in the lives of not only the child victims, but everyone who is a part of the family or society where family violence dwells. When individuals are willing to stand up for these young victims and get involved, only then will positive change come. Look at the positive change that grew out of the abuse and rescue of one 9 year old girl named Mary Ellen when one person with compassion in her heart was willing and resolute to get involved and make a difference.
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.