Child Abuse And Neglect

Most of us want to know where to begin to help someone in the various first stages of sexual abuse or assault, and in these next few paragraphs you will learn the process of interviewing a child or adult. In order to interviewing a child you will need to be well educated in child development; such as the Erik Erikson theory which helps us to understand the 8 stages of social and emotional development (Child Development Institute). Having the interview with the child as early as the information has been reported and alone is best. Always make sure the proper informed consent is filled out before any interviewing

Non-contact sexual abuse can be grooming the child over the internet, encouraging a child to perform sexual acts and exposing them to pornography. Children that have been sexual abused might avoid being alone with people or feel nervous around people they feel vulnerable too. Physical signs can occur such as soreness or even STIs, they may also show depression, isolate themselves, not eat properly and have trouble

Sexual abuse can be hard to define because of the many different forms it can take on, the different levels of frequency, the variation of circumstances that can occur. Until a child is fit to function as a self-supporting and informed adult, we have an obligation not to take advantage of their lack of power or protection to inflict damage, or demand submission to acts that are not in their own best interests within. Children are being abused every day in different countries. While commonly accepted wisdom had been that childhood sexual abuse results in long lasting negative outcomes.

Child abuse and neglect is a big problem in the United States. Child abuse is sexual, physical, emotional, and even verbal maltreatment towards the children. When food, clothing, and shelter is not provided this is termed neglect. Many children in the United States are abused and neglected by parents, grandparents, guardians, and friends of the family. Many children suffer abuse such as beating, starved,

As children, we get our cues from our parents or people who surround us every day in our lives. Either at home, school, church or even our neighbors. It’s hard to articulate the emotional withdrawals a child that has been neglected or abused may be feeling. It is not surprising that most adults who have dealt with some type of maltreatment are not able to open up to others for help. Also, they may have

When a child experiences emotional abuse, the wounds run skin deep. Kids who suffer repeated trauma feel lonely, scared, worthless and unloved, which is exactly the opposite of how children should feel. Abused children often become broken, hollow and bitter, with mental consequences that last long after the physical wounds have healed. The emotional stress it puts on children is tremendous.

In the case of sexual abuse, the child may feel he is betraying the person who abused him, by reporting the abuse, since oftentimes the abuser is someone he trusts and loves. The child may also feel powerless, untrusting, may react outwardly with anger, exhibit sexualized behaviors, be withdrawn from friends and family, or develop eating disorders. Anxiety disorders and PTSD, along with suicidal ideation may be present as well.

The United States has been fighting the war against child abuse since the first case of child abuse in 1874 that included a child being beaten and chained against her will (Meadows, 2014). Many people hear the words child abuse and think of physical abuse. While, many people are correct in thinking of physical abuse, an “Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE)” study done by the CDC shows that although physical abuse is the leading form of child abuse, emotional or psychological abuse is the second leading form of child abuse (2014). Although one would think sexual abuse along with physical abuse would be the prominent form of abuse, this is not the case. One of the major reasons emotional neglect is more prominent than sexual abuse is due to the fact that emotional abuse is not being overlooked as often as it used to. In fact, it is now being seen as the gateway to physical and sexual abuse (Garbarino, Guttman, & Seeley, 1988). The amounts of consequences that come from being abused as a child are countless as well as life changing, some of these life-changing effects were identified by the CDC as drug abuse, sexual transmitted diseases, suicidal thoughts, and difficulty learning (2014).

Whether it be a broken bone, emotional distress, or never being able to have a healthy relationship, children are always affected. Abuse effects the way children think and act. Children learn their behaviors from their parents and often abuse is a never ending cycle for most families because it is perceived as normal. Most children think “That’s how I was raised and I turned out fine”. and they never really come to terms with their injuries (whether superficial or not) from abuse. Often times it takes someone going to a therapist to realized their parent really was toxic to their health. Child abuse is an epidemic that as a society we need to try our hardest to prevent and eliminate.

In the US alone nearly “3 million children experience some form of maltreatment” (Spinazzola, Hidgdon, Ford, Briggs, Liang, Layne, Pynoos, Stolbach, Kisiel, 2014 p. S19). The maltreatment of children is an issue that is happening around the world. Most people think about physical abuse being the most common form of maltreatment; however, emotional abuse accounts for “36%” ( Spinazzola et al 2014 p. S19) , and emotional neglect accounts for “52%”(Spinazzola et al 2014 p. S19) of identified child maltreatment cases. Most studies look at how abuse and neglect impacts children in many emotional and behavioral ways; meanwhile, nothing is changing when it comes to their recovery. Most maltreated children will

Tufford, Bogo, & Asakura (2015) states “the domains of child maltreatment include both child abuse (wilful acts such as physical, sexual and emotional abuse which harm a child) and neglect (failure to provide for a child’s basic needs) (Fontes, 2005)” (Tufford, Bogo, & Asakura 2015, p. 3). These areas will have a life-altering impact on a child’s life and it might change how they view people and things around them. Tufford, Bogo, & Asakura (2015) states “neglect, as a form of child maltreatment, can take many forms such as failing to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, supervision, medical care, emotional care or education” ((Tufford, Bogo, & Asakura 2015, p. 3). Neglect is also big issue just as Tufford, Bogo, & Asakura (2015) mentioned, not giving a sufficient amount of food, not providing them with emotional support or proper education or medical care could put a child in this category. Therefore, simply providing a child with their basic needs can solve the problem, although not everyone can afford this basic needs because of life’s situations. Situation like poverty, lack of work, and others can cause this to happen. This is why Tufford, Bogo, & Asakura (2015) also states that “Child Neglect can often be confounded by poverty, inadequate housing and dangerous neighbourhoods as parents or caretakers have fewer resources to provide children with the care they need (Jonson-Reid, Drake, & Zhou, 2013)” ((Tufford, Bogo, &

One in four girls, and one in eight boys are sexually abused before the age of eighteen, one in twenty children are physically abused each year. Religious freedom has become a point of help (Childhelp). Gordon writes that there are many effects of child abuse. Children may be aggressive toward siblings, or the non abusive parent in ways that imitate the abusive parent. They overly complain or try to make everyone happy. They have a very low self esteem, and are in poor health (36). A child may show signs of distress such as isolation, emotional changes, constant communication, jealousy, their background, the need to impress, and making excuses (47). There are many causes for this. A child may be disabled, social isolations, parents lacking their child's needs, the parents history, poverty, lack of family, non biological parents, poor parent-child relationships, parent stress and distress, or community violence (“Child

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.

Statistically, girls are more often the victims of sexual abuse. However, it is also proven that males do not report their victimization as often, and therefore this might skew the statistics. (http://www.apa.org/releases/sexabuse/victims.html) The effects of childhood sexual abuse on the victims are wide ranging and long lasting. Behavioral problems are often wide ranging. Children will often act out in strange and different ways. They cannot emotionally cope with the issues that they have been given. Often out of shame or guilt, they will also keep the abuse to themselves. The emotional problems can develop into depression, anxiety, guilt, fear, sexual dysfunction, withdrawal, and acting out. (http://www.apa.org/releases/sexabuse/effects.html) If these issues are not treated

Think about your childhood, coming home from school, going to practice, and then eating dinner with your family, and your parents coming tucking you into bed and kissing you to bed. The sad truth is that not everyone gets to have that ideal childhood according to the American Society for Positive Care for Children there were 7.2 million reported child abuse cases last year. Tiffany Sharples wrote in Time Magazine last year 9 out of 10 child abuse cases go unreported.  Abuse does not only affect children physically but it's also detrimental impact on the child's mental health causing long lasting mental health problems.