Child abuse is the physical, sexual or emotional maltreatment or neglect of a child or children. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department for Children and Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child. Child abuse can occur in a child 's home, or in the organizations, schools or communities the child interacts with. There are four major categories of child abuse: neglect, physical abuse, psychological or emotional abuse, and sexual abuse.
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".
Douglas J. Besharov, the first Director of the U.S. Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, states "the existing laws are often vague and overly broad" and there is a "lack of consensus among professionals and Child Protective Services
With child abuse and neglect being so prevalent globally, it is important to recognize why these types of maltreatment occur and is a relevant topic for all to explore. Many are interested in how child abuse and neglect affect the individuals who are victims as well as the use and efficacy of treatment procedures. Child abuse has serious physical and psycho-social consequences which adversely affect the health and overall well-being of a child. There are long-term consequences of experiencing these forms of maltreatment. Awareness and understanding needs to be brought to this devastatingly common crisis and the advancement of child abuse and neglect prevention needs to be encouraged.
“ The Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) … defines child abuse and neglect as, at minimum: "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."” (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and Administration for Children & Families, "Definitions of Child Abuse
Defining child abuse is a complicated issue. First, currently the United States does not have a standard definition of child abuse because each state has their definition. Definitions are different at the state and federal level. Child welfare agencies also may have different child abuse and neglect definitions. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) define child abuse and neglect as any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker that result in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or exploitation; an act or failure to act that presents an imminent risk of serious harm (Child Abuse and Neglect User Manual, 2003;
Child abuse is an action by another person, whether it be an adult or another child, which causes significant harm. It can either be physical, sexual or emotional; neglect can be just as damaging at child abuse (NSPCC, 2016). There are many different types of child abuse; domestic abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, online abuse, physical abuse emotional abuse, child sexual exploitation, female genital mutilation, bullying and cyberbullying, child trafficking, grooming and harmful sexual behaviour (NSPCC,
“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.
Child abuse is when a parent or caregiver, through action or failure to act, causes injury, death, emotional harm or risk of serious harm to a child. According to The Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, as amended by the CAPTA Reauthorization Act of 2010, at a minimum, child abuse and neglect is defined as, "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 (Children 's Bureau, 2010)." The law recognizes a child as being any person who is under the age of 18. The law is broken into 2 sections, and each section treats the idea of child maltreatment in different ways. Criminally, those who abuse children are able to be arrested and prosecuted in court. Civil statutes say that people who suspect a child of being abused are mandated to identify and report it.
Child abuse is an issue within society that effects the lives of not only the victims but also the lives of many people in the social order. Child abuse is any mistreatment or neglect of a child that results in non-accidental injury or harm and which cannot be logically explained. There are several forms of abuse and neglect and many state governments have developed their own legal description of what constitutes child maltreatment for the purposes of removing a child and prosecuting a criminal charge. Child abuse consists of different forms of harm including physical, emotional, sexual, and neglect.
Child abuse is at its peak in today's world. It has multiple forms. It is usually referred as physical, sexual or emotional exploitation or negligence of a child. Department for Children And Families (DCF) define child abuse as acts of commission parent or other guardian that consequences in damage, probability for destruction, or risk of harm to a child. Child abuse can occur at many places like child's home, organizations, schools or publics the child interacts or communicates with
Child abuse can be defined as any act or failure to act by a parent or caregiver that results in actual or potential harm of the child. Child abuse can also be known as child maltreatment, which is the general term that is used to describe all forms of child abuse and neglect. Child neglect consists of the failure of the caretaker of the child to properly provide adequate emotional and physical care for the child. Child abuse or child maltreatment usually occurs because of immaturity, unrealistic expectations made by the parents or caregiver, stress in the household, substance abuse, intergenerational patterns of abuse by family members, and the isolation
Millions of children are abused, affected by maltreatment, and neglected all over the world every day. However, a lot of these cases are not reported to the proper authorities. Kim, Mennen, and Trickett (2016) state that, “all the forms of abuse and neglect frequently result in adverse effects on children and adolescents over many domains including physical, psychological, behavioral and social functioning.” In some circumstances, the definition of abuse can be questionable. A lot of parents do not have all the necessities and resources needed to take care of their families. This creates situations in which children are taken from their parents and are placed under the control of the state. These kids are sent to foster or group
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. There are four major categories: neglect, physical abuse, psychological/emotional abuse, and child sexual abuse (Levi, Lo, Selby, and Vandenburg). Neglect is a passive form of abuse in which a perpetrator is responsible to
According to the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act, child abuse is “the physical or mental injury, sexual
It breaks my heart to know that child abuse has a history and throughout history children have been subjected to extensive physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, and neglect. However, doing most of the history of child abuse was accepted and in some cases it was encouraged. As time progressed child abuse has grown to receive more attention and is being recognized as a severe epidemic that has to be stopped. I believe that the views of child abuse has changed over the years for it has left the home from being a private issue to a public issue where different agencies are involved in order to resolve the child abuse and neglect issue. Agencies that take part in investigating and preventing child abuse in today’s time are the Family and Protective Services, SCAN, and several more agencies that are committed to stopping child abuse and
Child abuse is a very sensitive issue that needs to by carefully handled. Child abuse is defined as a no accidental injury or pattern of injures to a child for which there is no reasonable explanation.
The current problem is the continued rise in child abuse and neglect today. Within the United States, the problem of child abuse and neglect is far much common than most people would like to admit. Sanchez (2012) stated that child maltreatment is a global epidemic and a major social problem in the United States resulting in at least 740, 000 visits to hospital emergency departments and more than $124 in child welfare, criminal justice, and health care. Norman, Byambaa, De, Butchart, Scott, and Vos (2012) also observed that child abuse and neglect is a global problem that is mostly perpetrated by parental guardians and parents. Sexual abuse is the infringement of a child’s