What is Child Abuse There is not one specific type of child abuse in fact there are more than one form of child mistreatment such as: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. Before going into further details of the problems and treatment of child abuse; one must know what child abuse is. The United States Department of Health and Human Services provides a standard legal definition of child abuse, CAPTA (2010) states:
"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"; or "An act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm." (United States Depart. Health, 2010)
These definitions clearly show that child abuse can come from any one person even including unrelated individuals who do not share genetics with that victimized child.
Child Abuse Demographics and Statistics Child abuse previously categorized as a minor incident, which is currently more visible to the eyes of people as increasing and important to address in society. According to the National Child Abuse and Neglect System as of 2012, “the number of child victims was around 3.8 million children, 1/5 of the population of child victims were found to be victims of substantiated (17.7%), indicated (0.9%), and alternative response (0.5%). Which resulted in the rest 4/5 of the child victims were not actual victims of child abuse.” (Child Mal, 2012) That sums up to about
It is when bodily injuries upon a child are not accidental. Even though this is the highest related abuse, there are more we need to watch for. For instance, Proctor (2015) informs us that emotional abuse consists of parents who fail to provide their children with the love they deserve and require. This type occurs when a child might be verbally put down by his or her parent. For example, a father is at home watching TV and his son accidentally drops a glass plate in the kitchen. Instead of calmly assessing the situation the father begins to yell at his son telling him he isn’t worth anything to him. In addition, the neglect of a child occurs when a child is abandoned by his or her parents; left to fend for himself/herself (Proctor 2015). This is not ideal since children are not mature enough and they do not have the knowledge of how to be independent or take care of themselves. Furthermore, sexual abuse is one of the worst disturbances that can destroy a child’s life. This can occur with a family member or stranger a child does not know. Children have been proven to trust anyone and everyone who talks to them and that provides predators with the advantage of power of manipulation over them (Proctor
“The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act” states’ that “child abuse is the leading cause of death in children under the age of eighteen.” Child abuse occurs when adults inflict violence and cruelty upon children. Abuse is any willful act that results in physical, mental, or sexual injury that causes or is likely to cause the child to be physically, mental, or emotionally impaired. Abuse happens to children of any age, sex, race, religion, and social status.
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, or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.
Although Child Protective Service reports may underestimate the true occurrence of child abuse and neglect, still in 2014 there were 702,000 victims of abuse and neglect reported to CPS nationwide. Some studies have suggested that as many as one in four children may experience some form of abuse or neglect in their lifetimes. The most vulnerable of children are the youngest with about 27 percent of reported victims under the age of three.
the physical, sexual, or emotional maltreatment or neglect of a child or children (“Definitions of Child Abuse & Neglect). One in five children, who are abused, die every single day as a result of child abuse, with most of these children being under the age of four. Some people believe child abuse should not be the government’s problem because people have the right to do whatever they want with their children, but these people do not understand the effect child abuse has on innocent children, therefore why laws that protect children should be enforced regardless of the privacy and rights of the abusers being violated.
Child abuse is a topic that not many feel comfortable discussing. It goes to reason then, that the abuse one has faced during their childhood is a topic that is also rarely discussed. When a person brings up the situations in which they had been abused as a child, many people will uncomfortably change the subject while giving their condolences. However, childhood abuse can greatly affect future of the adults who have suffered it. Abuse is defined by the Oxford Dictionary (2017) as: cruel and violent treatment of a person or animal. There are three main types of abuse: physical abuse which involves physically harming, psychological abuse which involves verbal abuse (threats, insults, refusal to communicate, etc.) and an array of other acts,
According to the Department of Children and Families abuse is a non-accidental injury to a child which, regardless of motive, if inflicted or allowed to be inflicted by the person
What is child abuse? It can be both physical abuse including sexual or mental abuse and a
"Nearly five children die every day in America from abuse and neglect," according to Every Child Matters Education Fund (as cited by The National Children's Alliance, 2009). This goes to show that child abuse is a major issue in today’s modern society. In fact, statistics show that there are over 3 million reports of child abuse each year in the United States alone (“National Child Abuse Statistics,” n.d.). While the definition of child abuse and neglect changes from state to state, it is defined by The Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) as, at minimum:
The abuser may threaten the child with violence or loss of love. Another reason for victims, especially ones that have been abused within the family, not to report the incidents is that they may be afraid of potential anger, jealousy or shame of other family members. Non- contact forms, like indecent exposure and sexualized talk, are often considered to be sexual abuse. Displaying pornography to a child or using a child to produce pornographic materials are also considered to be types of abuse. The real prevalence of child sexual abuse is not known because so many victims do not disclose or report their abuse. Researches have suggested rates varying from 1% to 35%. Most professionals in the field of abuse rates from 8% to 20%. In some cases most agree that there will be 500,000 babies in the US this year will be sexually abused before they turn 18. People think of adult rape as a crime of great proportion and significance. Most are unaware that children are victimized at a much higher rate than adults. Nearly 70% of all reported sexual assaults (including assaults on adults) occur to children ages 17 and under (Snyder, 2000). Youths have higher rates of sexual assault victimization than
According to Health Reference Center Academic, they recorded the percent and amount of how many child have reported being abused. For example, in “Child Abuse in Japan Hits Record High,” they affirm that child abuse is rising drastically in Japan by stating “Osaka posted the largest number, at 13,738, followed by Kanagawa with 10,190 and Tokyo with 7,814.” Surprisingly, the United States is not that far behind with 28.3% children being psychically abused, 20.7% of them being sexually abused 10.6% emotionally abused, 9.9% having a psychical neglect, and 14.8% being emotionally abused. Unlike in Japan, researchers have made studies on what the statistics are on
In Western countries, preventing child abuse is considered a high priority, and detailed laws and policies exist to address this issue. Different jurisdictions have developed their own definitions of what constitutes child abuse for the purposes of removing a child from his/her family and/or prosecuting a criminal charge. According to the Journal of Child Abuse and Neglect, child abuse is "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, an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm".
However, it is considered that, in general, the criteria to judge a situation as "abuse" must be based on the consequences for the child, both damage and unmet needs of this. This is defined as the abuse and neglect that are under the age 18, and includes all types of physical or psychological abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, negligence and commercial exploitation or otherwise causing or likely to cause harm to health, development or dignity of the child.
Child abuse is characterized as a form of domestic violence. There are four types of abuses; physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and child neglect. Child sexual abuse includes a wide spectrum of sexual behaviors like inappropriate sex talk, making a child view a sexual act, pornography, prostitution, contact abuse etc... This takes place between a child and an adult or older person. Physical abuse involves a parent, family member or guardian causing a non-accidental physical injuries, for instance bruising, bone fractures, scratches, burning, internal injuries, blisters and bleeding.( http://athealth.com/mental-health-topics/)
A lot of children each year are suffering from the epidemic of child abuse and molestation. Statistics by the Child Help Foundation, shows that it is a widespread war against many young children that they have to face and deal with throughout a certain time of their lives. Every year more than 3.6 million cases are made to child protection agencies involving more than 6.6 million children that are been abused. The United States is said to have the worst records among industrialized nations losing an average between four to seven children every day to child abuse and neglect. In 2014 state agencies identified and estimated 1,580 children who have died as a result of abuse and molestation between four to five children per day. Both young boys and girls are