People are appalled when they hear about a child who died at the hands of their parents, yet they turn a blind eye to the signs leading up to their death. In today 's society, there are currently quite a few flaws with how the safety and protection of children is handled. For far too many children, their physical abuse goes unreported due to factors such as wanting to avoid getting involved, while emotional abuse goes unnoticed. Consequently, studies show that currently three times as many children are abused than are reported to CPS agencies (“Child Abuse and Neglect Statistics”). CPS which stands for child protective services is an American organization responsible for investigating the abuse of minors, though they are unable to investigate …show more content…
While all teachers and doctors are mandated reporters, everyone else in society is not, which means it is at their discretion whether or not to report child abuse and most people choose not to. When it comes down to whether or not non-mandated reporters will take action against what they have witnessed, studies show that they are responsible for reporting less than 38 percent of cases each year (“Child Abuse and Neglect Statistics”). There are many reasons why one might choose to ignore the abuse around him and a common reason is wanting to avoid getting involved. People who have witnessed child abuse tend to feel as though it is not their place to get involved with how someone else parents their children. They also worry that the abuser will know it was them who contacted authorities and will pursue them out of anger. Another reason that greatly contributes to the lack of reporting is the obscurity surrounding what classifies as child abuse. The definition of child abuse changes with each person due to how they themselves were raised or what society around them views as acceptable. Most people agree that severe neglect and physical abuse are detrimental to the health of the children it is inflicted on but what they believe qualifies as physical abuse varies among them. This variation leads people to not know when they should make a report so they do not make one at all. However when these people fail to report child abuse they witness, they put children at risk for further harm and potentially even death. In 2005 roughly 1,500 children in the United States died as a result of unreported child abuse (“Child Abuse and Neglect Statistics”). With the use of child abuse screening, schools would be removing the need for others to decide whether or not to report child abuse because they would be detecting abuse
Could 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
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.
Child abuse is a serious crime, that if violated can come with many consequences, and rules. Reporting child abuse is a mandatory law enacted in 1978 (but amended many times) stating that people must report child abuse immediately1. This law was created to identify children that are victims of child abuse. Relating to the law the Department of Human Services has responsibility to access and investigate suspected child abuse. "Each year Department of Human Services investigators conduct 20,000 investigations involving 30,000 children (in the state of California).2" There are a lot of cases reported each year, involving innocent children, abused by their parents. Although there are thousands of cases reported each year, thousands go unreported. "Child abuse has serious consequences which may remain as indelible pain throughout the victims lifetime3" Child abuse can have permanent negative affects on the child, permanent affects that the child will never forget. The abuse can also bring a better side to the child, making the child wanting to be more independent. Child abuse is very common, and can affect any child of any race, color or religion.
The Child Protective Services (CPS) system is charged with protecting victims of child abuse and neglect. When an act of child abuse has the potential to be a criminal act, however, law enforcement will also conduct an investigation. In about 49% of cases of serious physical abuse, and nearly 75% of cases of sexual abuse of children, both CPS and Law enforcement conduct investigations (Cross, Finkelhor, & Ormond, 2005) .
Finally, Children Protective Services has let down many children and families. Children who are in the homes of loving, nurturing parents are take away from their secure environments, and are placed into degrading situations. The children who are in desperate need of help do not receive it. Many of the real cases of abuse go unnoticed and unfounded. The system need to distinguish the difference between real child abuse and parenting because there is a child out there who does need help but the workers are too busy focusing their time on cases that are not necessary. If CPS would create a new sstructure and set new standards, many more lives could be saved.
This webpage, the Canadian Child Welfare Research Portal, aims to provide access to research on the Canadian child welfare system. It looks upon the different forms of abuse including sexual, emotional, and physical abuse which affects a child’s wellbeing. As well, further links are provided to help readers understand the exposure of domestic violence and neglect within the household. According to this webpage, child abuse and neglect includes acts of commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver which create a potential, threat or result of harm to a child. As well, supplementary links to frequent definitions used when discussing child
For 30 years, advocates, program administrators, and politicians have joined to encourage even more reports of suspected child abuse and neglect. Their efforts have been successful, with about three million cases of suspected child abuse having been reported in 1993. Large numbers of endangered children still go unreported, but a serious problem had developed: Upon investigation, as many as 65 percent or the reports now being made are determined to be "unsubstantiated", raising serious civil liberties concerns and placing a huge burden on investigative staffs.
“You don’t hear me when I say”. “Mom please wake up”. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention a whopping 3.4 million referrals were obtained from U.S state and local child protective services in 2012. These referrals were for child abuse and neglect, many of the victims were under the age of three years old at the time of the reporting. To put this into a visual perspective, the number of reported child abuse cases that were essentially reported is enough to fill up ten modern football stadiums. It is also estimated that one out of every ten of those cases will actually be proven, and justice sought for the victim. It was stated by the National Criminal Justice Reference Service that, “child victims are extremely vulnerable, and often completely helpless, and that they are often hurt by their own
CPS workers ought to do an adequate amount of work to keep the child in a safe and protected environment. CPS workers are missing vital signs throughout their investigations, which may possibly prevent fatalities amongst children due to abuse and neglect. This is why it is extremely important to keep track of how many fatalities occur which are based on abuse and neglect, which CPS workers determined there is not a substantial amount of harm that can endanger the child and put him or her in an unsafe environment, and learn from these experiences to attempt to prevent these
Within the last few decades there has been an increase in public awareness concerning child sexual abuse. Child abuse is defined as intentional acts that result in physical or emotional harming. However most people don’t understand that there are different forms a child abuse; they include physical, neglect, and sexual abuse. Child abuse is widespread, one that most topics people would rather not think about. For the longest time individuals have been in denial because it’s easier when everyone believes that they live in a perfect world.
Child 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.
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...
Research has shown the relationship between the types of child abuse. According to some research, it has been stated that there are three major forms of child abuse: physical abuse, emotional abuse and sexual abuse. Studies have also demonstrated reliable evidences to support how these forms of child abuse affects children and their adulthood relationship. According to some research performed by some authors, experts who work in the field of child-care are now able to identify and understand the psychological problems that abused victims are likely to develop later in their adulthood stage. Kathryn Hildyard and David Wolfe’s essay on child neglect mentions how child neglect affects children’s health development. Child neglect is known to be the most usual form of child abuse due to the large amount of children that have been neglected or not cared for. Kristen Springer and Jennifer Sheridan’s article on physical and mental health consequences explains how physical abuse affects children emotionally in their early stages of childhood.
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.