Child Abuse And An Abusive Past Essay

Child abuse is a socially constructed problem. It is a problem that is growing bigger. Beating children is not defined as child abuse in every part of the world; and certainly if you go back far enough in time, the concept of child abuse did not even exist. What western society considers child abuse today may have been considered appropriate discipline in the past. The idea of childhood as being a time in which children develop their intelligence, abilities, and individual personalities, and the idea that society should protect and foster this development and safeguard the innocence of childhood, are modern conceptions. The past did not view childhood in this way and therefore children could be, and were, treated as chattel with no rights. Therefore the idea of child abuse did not exist in the past. Child abuse is a social problem because it socially constructed; modern society has deemed it to be a problem.

Children who have been abused are left with more than just physical scars. They have many psychological, emotional, and behavioral problems as well. Their social lives are affected dramatically, and they suffer lifelong effects. (Lambert) Children tend to

“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.

Parents and other trusted caregivers have been abusing and neglecting children, likely since the early days of man. However, over the past half-century, the United States government has encouraged state governments to focus more efforts on child welfare. The Child Abuse Prevention & Treatment Act defined the term ?child abuse and neglect? as meaning, at a minimum:

An estimated 39 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse exist in America today (Darness2Light, 2009a ). This figure continues to grow daily as perpetrators of this crime continue in this destructive path. The definition of child sexual abuse is the force, coercion, or cajoling of children into sexual activities by a dominant adult or adolescent. Sexual abuse of children includes touching (physical) sexually including: fondling; penetration (vaginal or anal using fingers, foreign objects or offenders organs; oral sex, or non-physical contact including: sexual comments; indecent exposures; masturbating in a child’s presence; child prostitution or child pornography (Child Welfare, 2009a).

The subject of victimization and childhood trauma and neglect, especially sexual victimization is in desperate need of additional awareness despite the increase in the research literature over the past three decades. Youth who experience any form of victimization, whether it be sexual, emotional, and/or physical throughout their childhood are known to have difficulties in their childhood and adolescent development (McCuish, Cale & Corrado, 2015). The abuse they experience can be from their caregivers, sexual victimization by acquaintances and strangers, assaults by peers and can be exposed to violence in their neighborhoods (Finkelhor, Ormrod, Turner and Holt, 2009).

There are many things in our society today that unfortunately go overlooked. One such thing that is overlooked is the number of children who are being abused. Unfortunately these children are going through life not knowing whether or not their parents will loose their temper and perhaps kill them. There are many types of child abuse, such as physical, sexual, and emotional. Physical abuse is physical injury as a result of punching, beating, kicking, biting, shaking, throwing, stabbing, choking, hitting, burning, or otherwise harming a child. Such injury is considered abuse regardless of whether the caretaker intended to hurt the child. Sexual abuse includes activities by a parent or caretaker such as fondling a child's genitals,

Child abuse is the intentional omission of care by a parent or guardian that can cause a

Our life experiences play a large role in shaping who we are as people. My childhood experiences influenced the woman that I am today. My father was abusive. He abused my mother, my siblings, and myself. Whether it was a domestic assault against my mother, slapping of my siblings, or a daily cursing session, our house has always been in turmoil. There were adults that knew about the abuse going on in my home, including teachers. However, none of them intervened for my brothers and I. I cannot help but wonder how my life would have been different if someone had. Experiencing child abuse, as well as my mother’s domestic abuse, is my greatest catalyst in pursing a graduate degree in social work. Pablo Picasso once said, “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” Child abuse could have broken my spirit but it made me stronger. It sparked my interest in mental health, and showed me the importance of compassion. I plan to use my gift to help others improve their quality of mental health, and encourage the development of self-determination.

Child maltreatment is a widespread issue that affects thousands of children every year. There are four common types of child maltreatment; sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse and neglect. All of these types of abuse are very serious and can have many consequences for the children and families. The most common consequence of severe child maltreatment is the removal of that child from their home (Benbenishty, Segev, Surkis, and Elias, 2002). Most social workers trying to determine the likelihood of removal evaluate the type and severity of abuse, as well as the child’s relationship with their parents (Benbenishty et al., 2002). When children are removed from their homes there are many options of alternative housing. The

Childhood trauma is one of the most heartbreaking situations to ever fathom happening. Childhood trauma includes neglect, maltreatment, physical and emotional abuse, and many other forms of mistreatment amongst children. Childhood trauma occurs between the ages of 0 and 6 years of age. When referencing to childhood trauma, one must take thought into who commits the abuse, who is affected by the abuse, and what long term effects can the abuse have on the victims. One must also take into consideration the sex differences when referring to childhood trauma. Numerous of studies have been conducted and many findings have been made. Prior to conducting this research paper, I only considered childhood trauma to be what it was and never considered the long term effects. Because of my assumption, I never even considered the other categories of the trauma.

Do you alter what you say in front of your significant other because you know they will get angry?

I don’t tell her about the abuse in the fucked up foster homes or how years later I went back and took care of every mother-fucker that ever laid a hand on me. Some shit just needs to stay buried.

Childhood is meant to embrace playing in the sun and the rain as well as being carefree as opposed to living in the darkness of the soul. Child abuse remains one of the most contentious issues in our society that affects many children who lack the courage to open up about it as a result of stigmatization and low self-esteem. On the other hand, wife abuse is also a rampant practice that arises out of a marriage. Both child and wife abuse can fall under a form of domestic violence referred to as family violence. However, this research paper will look at them independently as well as relate them to health and criminal justice

Although briefly mentioned earlier, the impact of child abuses on a child is not to be neglected (whether a teenager or a small child). That is why it is important to have a closer look at it. It was not so long ago that America was crowded with a new phenomenon (it might have existed before, but it was more frequent in the 70s), which is the rise of murders, also known as serial murders. It was all over the country and most of the perpetrators of these crimes were known as serial killers and mostly qualified as psychopaths or sociopaths. Most of us are familiar with their names now, like Ted Bundy, Ed Gein, Dennis Raider and many more. They all were guilty of some of the most atrocious murder crimes, which have marked our history and scarred our sensitivity with images that belong in the most gruesome horror movies. One thing that is certain and most psychologists, like Robert Hare, a researcher in the field of criminal psychology would agree that they all have something in common, which is that they all were marked in their childhood by some kind of child abuse. For that matter, it is important to first, describe the direct impact of child abuse, and perhaps explain how these direct consequences can affect these children while they are growing up. This should give a good idea about the real dangers of child abuse.