Child Abuse: Saddest and Most Tragic Problem Today

Published case reviews draw special attention on the professionals lack of knowledge and confidence when assessing risk in children coming from various religions and cultural backgrounds. A lack of understanding of these two key components, might put at significant risk the children's welfare, leading professionals to overlook certain situations and to offer inadequate support or lower standards of care (NSPCC, 2017).

Each week Child Protective Services receives more than 50,000 allegations of child abuse. Two-thirds of the allegations have enough evidence to start investigations. The results of these investigations showed 2,450 children are abused everyday (Ianelli, 2006). In 1999, CPS, nearly four, confirmed an estimated 1,401 child abuse and neglect fatalities every day. (Child Abuse Statistics, nd).

The rediscovery of child abuse can be largely contributed to the news media for highlighting the inhumane treatment of children by parents and guardians. Many children were being viciously punished by parents and guardians as a form of corrective training. The harsh punishment and beating would have resulted in severe injuries to the child and their wellbeing. The disturbing circumstances reported by the media drew strong condemnation from people and organization around the nation. The highlighted problem by the media helped mobilize a very strong social movement to deal with the problems and issues relating to child abuse. The movement then quickly highlighted some very important aspect of child abuse such as sexual exploitation, incest, gross

Child abuse is a rising topic of discussion in sociological debates across the nation due to the increased awareness concerned professionals are bringing to it. The issue has long been diagnosed as generational and cyclic in nature, where children who receive abuse grow up and replicate the process on their own offspring, and so on and so forth. This analysis attempts to illuminate possible connections between various factors within the parent’s lives that may correlate to child abuse in the home. Connections between the reproductive process (birth control, reproductive freedom, and population policies), economic stresses, character-based traits, and occupational stressors will be presented, analyzed, and then correlated

Back in the day there were not as many child protecting laws and assisting facilities like there are today. In 1960’s there was very little information as it relates to child abuse. A Canadian psychologist by the name of William L. Marshall said, “you could read all the information in one morning. With the lack of information there was no way for individuals to readily identify what constituted as child abuser. Child abuse before 1875 was in fact the era before child services were created to protect the children.

Child maltreatment has been a serious public health problem not just in the United States but globally. Maltreatment is defined as neglect which means failure to provide for a child’s basic physical, educational, or psychological needs. Physical abuse such as causing physical harm, sexual abuse, abuse that includes fondling a child’s genitals or breasts, and psychological abuse, such as verbal put-downs and other behavior that terrorizes, threatens, rejects or isolates the child. “According to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), in 2007 approximately 794,000 children (10.6 per 1,000 children of all ages) were identified as victims of child abuse or neglect. Approximately one-half (46.1%) of all victims were non-Hispanic white, 21.7% were African American, and 20.8% were Hispanic. One-third (31.9%) were under the age of 4 years.” (Gross, 2010)

Child abuse and neglect is a national problem which has increased to epidemic proportions in the United States. More than 2.5 million reports of child abuse are made in the United States annually with over hundreds of deaths related to child abuse that has been reported each year. In 2013, an estimation of 1,520 children died from abuse in the United States. In that same year, Children’s Advocacy Centers around the country had served nearly 295,000 child victims of abuse, providing victim with support to these children and their families. Moving to 2014 this number was maxed to over 315,000. An estimation of 679,000 children were victims of abuse. There were 47 out of the 50 states that reported approximately 3.1 million children who received preventative services from Child Protective Services agencies in the United States. In the first year of a child 's life it was the highest rate of victimization of 23.1 per 1,000 children in the national population of the same age. Of the children who experienced abuse, nearly 80% sufficer neglect; 18% suffered physical abuse; and 9% suffered sexual abuse.

Sexual abuse of children damages them for them entire lifetimes and robs them of the full, comfortable relationships they should have as adults. However, given these differences, sexual abuses evokes similar responses in everyone because it is as aggressive and conceive abuses of power that is expensive as humiliating, degrading and destruction. One of the major achievements of the past quarter century has been the growing awareness of the prevalence and changing psychological consequences of the sexual abuse of children. The majority of perpetrators are someone the child or family knows. As many as 93% of victims under the age of 18 know the abuser. A perpetrator does not have to be an adult to harm a child. They can have any relationship to the child including an older sibling or playmate, family member, a teacher, a coach or instructor, a caretaker, or the parent of another child. According to 1 in 6, sexual abuse is the result of abusive behavior that takes advantage of a child’s vulnerability and is in no way related to the sexual orientation of the abusive person.”

Child abuse, a very sensitive yet susceptible issue. Many people do not want to face the consequences that child abuse can impose in children’s futures. The way a child is raised plays a very important role in how the child is going to grow up to be. More than likely if a child is raised in a stable, well brought up home, the child is going to grow up to be an average individual. On the other hand, if a child is raised in a home where they are physically and mentally abused, they have a greater chance of developing mental issues, and leading a wrongful life. Child abuse plays the most influential role when it comes down to criminal behaviour.

The social problem that I researched was child abuse. The term child abuse 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”(Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2013). Every state is responsible for providing its own definition of child abuse and neglect within the minimum standards set by CAPTA. “Most Federal and State child protection laws primarily refer to cases of harm to a child caused by parents or other caregivers; they generally do not include harm caused by other people, such as acquaintances or strangers. Some State laws also include a child’s witnessing of domestic violence as a form of abuse or neglect” (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2013).

A serious social problem in modern American society is child abuse. "There have been widespread reports of infanticide, mutilation, abandonment, and other forms of physical and sexual violence against children" (Moylan, 2010). When a child is abused, a non-accidental injury is inflicted, or permitted to be imparted, by the person accountable for the child's care, regardless of reason (Durfour, 2011). This may include any form of injury, including undernourishment, sexual molestation, emotional maltreatment, cruel punishment or deprivation of necessities (Holt, 2011).

It is critical to stand up for what you believe in, especially when it comes to abuse. I believe its common sense for all abuse to be taken care of whether it be child abuse, domestic abuse, and animal abuse, they’re all bad.

Child neglect and abuse is very common throughout the world. A large problem with this, is that most cases do not get reported. If a teacher recognizes abusive or negligent signs in the classroom with a student, they are required by law to report to authorities. Neglect typically involves a failure of the parent or guardian to provide a child’s basic needs like food, shelter, medical care, clothing, or educational opportunities. Verbal abuse involves excessive acts of derision, taunting, teasing, and mocking. Physical abuse can involve shaking, beating, or burning. Emotional abuse is a pattern of behavior that takes place over an extended period of time, characterized by intimidating, belittling, and otherwise damaging interactions that affect

The maltreatment of children in the 21st century is a very major issue. Due to maltreatment, children are running away from home, being trafficked into the sex business, and sometimes, lose their life due to a lack of parental supervision and/or loved ones who care about their well-being. Through volunteering at a missing children’s program with Sam’s Club, I’ve learned first-hand just how detrimental maltreatment in our society can be and how we must do everything in our power to prevent children from being exposed to maltreatment, provide them with safe and loving environments, and finally, do all we can to rescue and children that are taken or trafficked and place them in safe environments. In this paper, there will be an exploration of maltreatment of children, including statistics of children who go missing and types of maltreatment, specifically sex trafficking, measures used to find missing children, and finally, what happens to children who go missing, their professions, lifestyles, and quality of life.

These are activities that are targeted at members of the community and general population with the aim to raise awareness about the problems of child abuse. It involves an approach that targets helping families and children before child abuse occurs and not intervening after the harm has been done. This is very essential as every child deserves to grow up and be nurtured in an environment that is safe and stable which helps in the child’s total development such as the physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. These strategies can be via a myriad of programs such as educational programs via public awareness programs, public service announcements, parent education groups, child educational programs, family support and strengthening programs.