Amelia Lanier
ENG III
Ms. Fox
6 February 2015
Rough Draft: Abuse
Every human has a right to live in a safe environment without the threat or presence of abuse- be it psychological, physical, sexual, emotional, or economical- and to be accepted into shelter without discrimination against age, gender, ethnicity, religion, political beliefs, disability, or economic, mental, or social status. To live in a safe healthy environment is a privilege that all deserve. To have the opportunity to hone their skills and figure out who they are without fear of discrimination or any element of deterrence. All humans are equal and therefore all humans deserve the equal chance to be themselves and grow without fear in their lives.
The definition of abuse
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Any form of abuse can affect a person for life, directly or indirectly, the effects being visible or invisible, hidden away deep down and can be triggered at any time.
Abuse can take several forms and can be one or any combination of psychological abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, or economic abuse. Each subcategory is equally as harmful if used on an individual, and even more so if multiple are used together which is more common unfortunately due to the fact that it is more likely that if one form of abuse is used, then another is also prevalent. Long term effects of all forms of abuse can result in PTSD, depression, ADD/ADHD, academic problems, flashbacks, withdrawal, sleep difficulty, eating disorders, self harm, substance abuse, or panic attacks. (“Effects of Child Abuse and Neglect.”)
Other effects of abusive treatment can result in the abused to experience, during the time of or years later, upsetting emotions, frightening memories, or a sense of consistent danger to oneself, disconnection from oneself or reality, or experience trust issues.
Domestic Abuse can be formatted into a cycle with six steps beginning with abuse, where the abuser initially lashes out and defines their role of power over the abused. The next step is the guilt of the abuser over what actions they had performed to harm the abused. The third step are the excuses that cover up what the abuser has done, excusing their behavior and
It can hold backs a child's mental development such as their intelligence and memory and put the child at greater risk of developing mental health problems. Abuse can also affect a child’s emotional development , they may lack the ability to feel and to express a full range of emotions appropriately and/or the ability to control their own emotions. Abuse can also put a child at greater risk of developing one or more behavioural problems such as:-
Depression and anxiety, for example, may make a person more likely to smoke, abuse alcohol or drugs, or overeat. High-risk behaviors, in turn, can lead to long-term physical health problems, such as sexually transmitted diseases, cancer, and obesity. Not all children who have been abused or neglected will experience long-term consequences, but they may have an increased susceptibility. The immediate physical effects of abuse or neglect can be relatively minor (bruises or cuts) or severe (broken bones, hemorrhage, or even death). In some cases, the physical effects are temporary; however, the pain and suffering they cause a child should not be discounted. Child abuse and neglect can have a multitude of long-term effects on physical health. NSCAW researchers found that, at some point during the 3 years following a maltreatment investigation, 28 percent of children had a chronic health condition (Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation [ACF/OPRE], 2007). Below are some outcomes other researchers have identified: Impaired brain development. Child abuse and neglect have been shown to cause important regions of the brain to fail to form or grow properly, resulting in impaired development. These alterations in brain maturation have long-term consequences for cognitive, language, and academic abilities and are connected with mental health disorders (Tarullo,
When a person is abusing a child, he/she does not think about the effects. When people are mistreating a child, they will be in the moment and not thinking of what they are doing. If an individual chronically abuses his/her child, he is not thinking about the effects the abuse has on his child. There are various long and short term effects of child abuse. Unfortunately, these short-term effects of child abuse are not the most frightening; most abused children do not have lasting physical effects. Other than some bruises and social withdrawal, short term effects are not clear. If asked about bruises, children will make up a lie to protect their abuser (Friedman). The effects of being abused as a child continue into adulthood and create the long term effects. The disturbing part is that abused children will most likely grow up to be troubled adolescents and adults who may even abuse their own children.
The consequences of maltreatment can lead to psychological problems and physical problems. When a child has been abused this can make the child angry. Self-esteem is usually caused when someone is emotionally abused as the person may talk down to the child and make the child feel useless. When somebody is sexually abused, the consequence may be an STI or even unwanted pregnancy. Other consequences that can happen due to abuse is, diseases, stress, and illnesses. These can be due to Neglect, if the child is not looked after properly then the child could end up ill, this can also happen due to neglect if the home environment is not healthy.
Emotional/psychological abuse may involve threats or actions to cause mental or physical harm; humiliation; voilation
Psychological or emotional abuse can also be emotional and mental. It affects adults in many ways. This type of abuse can be oral, through messages or through actions. For example, a previous partner could be jealous of a new relationship and try and separate the two people by creating lies. This problem can occur in both men and women. A person could be threatened and treated with little respect to make the other person seem more superior than the threatened person. Continuous put-downs and name calling can also be psychological abuse as the person could feel embarrassed and humiliated in front of others. All of these things can lead to a person feeling
After an individual has been in an abusive relationship they are no longer the same person they were from the start of the relationship, all the trauma they had to endure leaves them
It is said to believe that abuse occurs in the lives of 3.5 million women in the nation every year (Kelly). There are many different forms of abuse, but they can all take an emotional and physical effect on anyone. Most people who are being affected by abuse are more likely to experience depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder (Kelly). There are a lot of different treatment options that people who are being abused can take but sometimes they may not feel very comfortable in the treatment that they are receiving
The abuse is usually frequent enough that the victim internalizes it. This leaves the victim feeling fearful, insignificant, untrusting, emotionally needy, and unlovable. Survivors of this form of abuse have a hard time understanding why they feel so bad (Munro, K. 2001.).
There are significant signs of psychological trauma due to any kind of abuse. Children experience feelings of low self esteem and depression. Many exhibit behavioral problems including aggression towards other children. Other emotional problems include hostility, fear, humiliation and the inability to express feelings. The social impacts of physical abuse include inability to form relationships, poor social skills, poor cognitive language skills, distrust of others, over-compliance with authority figures, and tendency to solve interpersonal problems with aggression. (2008, p. 1). Verbal and physical abuse has a cumulative impact on children’s socialization. Abused children are caught in damaged relationships and are not socialized in positive, supportive way (Craig & Dunn, Ex.: 2010, p. 196). They learn defiance, manipulation and other problem behaviors that are used to escape any maltreatment. In turn they will learn to exploit, degrade and terrorize.
As a result of emotional abuse e.g. loss of self-esteem and self-confidence, the person may became very withdrawn, unable to trust easy.
Domestic Violence can include many forms of abuse, such as verbal, psychological, emotional, financial, physical, sexual, or spiritual. In many relationships, there is a cycle of violence that repeats over and over. This cycle includes three phases: tension building, explosion, and honeymoon phase. During tension building, minor incidents of physical or emotional abuse may occur. The explosion phase includes more violent acts of abuse. During the honeymoon phase, the abuser may apologize or make promises that the abuse will never happen again. Because this cycle of violence repeats itself, abuse often escalates over time, sometimes leading to the murder of a victim (Domestic Violence
In other instances, the parent can confiscate the child’s belongings or force the children to strip down naked and be photographed as a form of punishment. Considering the types of abuse that these children experience, there are psychological effects that can affect their life as they get older. The effects of household abuse can extend outside the home and affect the child in their performance in society. “Children Exposed to Domestic Violence” states that children exposed to family violence can experience difficulties in paying attention and staying on task (Geffner 39). Abused children are prone to externalizing problems which causes children to act out. Externalizing problems include temper tantrums, impulsivity, hyperactivity, aggression, conflict, cruelty and bullying. Another issue that abused children develop are internalizing problems. Internalizing problems are issues such as headaches, sleep disturbances, anxiety, fear of separation, social withdraw and depression. This overall causes the children to be less engaged in tasks and in normal behaviors.
Abuse can have many different meanings, there is one in particular that takes control in many Americans relationship, “physical maltreatment” (Abuse). Sadly there is an increasing amount of young adults going through an abusive relationship or were in one. Many of the people that become abusers consider violence as a normal behavior because they have witnessed it on a daily basis. They than begin to mistreat everyone that comes in his or her way. An abuser is frequently interested in controlling their victims. An abuser’s behavior is usually manipulating, in order to make their victims
All these types of abuses have a huge effect on the children. These abuses leave long lasting scars whether it is neglect, physical, emotional or sexual. These scars damage a child 's sense of self, abilities to have healthy relationships, ability to function in the world. It gives them a lack of trust. They no longer feel they can trust those they love or think they know really well because of what was done to them. There will always be that fear in the back of their minds wondering if this person will do that to them. For those who have been verbally abused may feel worthless or damaged. After being told over and over again these harsh comments they start to belive they are true. Also