Essay on Child Abuse and Neglect

What is child abuse? From the word “abuse” we can understand that it is some sort of a maltreatment of a child, causing harm and damage both to his physical and psychological well-being. At the Federal level, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) describes child abuse and neglect 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 abuse is a very substantial and widely spread problem in U.S. affecting children of any age, gender, race, background or income, with almost 3 million cases reported every year and on average, killing more than 4 children every day . The main issue of child abuse is that the abuser is usually someone a child loves or depends on (a parent, step-parent, sibling, coach, neighbor, etc.), who violates child’s trust putting personal interests first, therefore official numbers of how many children suffer maltreatment might be not accurate enough as remarkable amount of these cases go unreported. Each case of child abuse is unique, with a lot of individual factors involved, nevertheless, we can distinguish some of the common causes, such as poverty, lack of education, depression, mental or physical health problems, alcohol/drug addictions, social isolation, marital problems, insecure attachments between a parent and a child, etc.

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,

“27% percent, of the 702,000 victims of Childhood Maltreatment, are under the age of Three.” (Child Maltreatment, 2014)

There are also some factors that affect the consequences of child abuse and neglect. Individual outcomes vary widely and are affected by a combination of factors, including: the child’s age and developmental status when the abuse or neglect occurred, the type of maltreatment (physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, etc.), the frequency, duration, and severity of the maltreatment, and the relationship between the child and the perpetrator (Floor, 2013). Child abuse and neglect can have a multitude of long-term effects on physical health. If a child is being neglected they might not have the essentials they need to survive so their physical health can be in jeopardy if they aren’t being fed properly or

Of the children who are abused “approximately five children will die everyday because of the abuse” (“11 facts...”) . This is a scary thought because abused children are more likely to have problems when they are older. According to Dosomething.org “in 2012, 82.2 percent of child abuse perpetrators were found to be between the ages of 18-44, of which 39.6 percent were between the ages of 25-34” (“11 facts...”). Neglect is also a form of child abuse, “in the United States more than 4 children die from abuse and neglect on a daily basis, and for those children over 70 percent of them are below the age of three” (“11 facts...”). People do not realize how common child abuse is, but “2.9 million cases are reported a year just for the United States”. “About 80 percent of 21 year olds met the criteria for at least one psychological disorder” (“ 11 facts...”) child abuse and neglect affects everyone differently, but most victims can say that it has impacted their lives tremendously. Not every person that has been a victim is in the statistics because some people can not say what

Child abuse and neglect cases are on the rise throughout the entire United States. With the increasing amount of parents who are affected with co-occurring illnesses, the risk for abuse and neglect continue to increase. Children who are affected by abuse at home will show signs and symptoms of depression, aggression, inability to stay on task, and fear of their parents.

Child abuse is a devastating problem all across the world. All genders, ages, races and ethnicities are represented among the abusers and the abused. There are different types of child abuse, but all of them can leave emotional and physical scars that will last a lifetime. Child abuse is and will be a an overwhelming epidemic if nothing is done to understand it and/or try to stop it.

Child Abuse happens to about a million children a year in the U.S. alone. Each day in the U.S. 3 children die as a result of Child abuse. Most of the children are younger than 6 years of age. Child abuse is when a parent or guardian causes, injury, death, emotional harm, or if there is a risk of serious harm to a child, through the actions of the parent or guardian or them failing to act. There are many different forms of child abuse such as neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse. Neglect accounts for 63% of child abuse cases, emotional accounts for 8% and even though it doesn’t seem like it, can be the cruelest form of child abuse. While most people might think physical abuse is a high percentage of the abuses it only accounts

The CDC has states that one in every four children suffer abuse. An estimated 702,000 children were confirmed by child protective services as being victims of abuse and neglect in 2014. (CDC, 2016) Studies have found abused and neglected children to be at least 25% more likely to experience problems such as delinquency, teen pregnancy and low academic achievement. (CDC, 2016) A National Institute of Justice study indicated that being abused or neglected as a child increased the likelihood of arrest as juvenile by 59%. Abuse and neglect also increased the likelihood of adult criminal behavior by 28% and violent crime by 30%. (CDC, 2016)

According to American Academy of Pediatrics (2012), child abuse has been escalating in America the past twelve years. Five children die every day due to child abuse or neglect (National Children’s Alliance, 2013). The America’s National Children Alliance (2012) reported 247,000 children were served by a Child Advocacy Center for one or more forms of abuse. Of those statistics, 197,902 were sexually abused and 49,155 were physically abused.

    Child abuse can be describes as “neglect followed by physical and sexual abuse” (2). Abuse affects everyone involved. “Child may be affected when they witness domestic violence, regardless of whether or not they are directly abused” (1). Child abuse has become more largely acknowledged as a common occurrence in homes around the world. Child abuse can inhibit children’s mental and physical development, which can affect the rest of their lives.

Over many years, child abuse has been changing tremendously, and one of the worst records in the world belongs to the United States. According to the 2015 Child Maltreatment Report every day five children die because of abuse. Children who received protection because of abuse has increased nine percent from 2011 to 2015. 683,000 cases of child abuse were reported in 2015, where 75.3 percent of them had been

In 2013, an estimated 679,000 children victims of abuse and neglect and 1,520 children died from abuse and neglect in the United States (National Children’s Alliance, 2014). However, child maltreatment is not prevalent exclusively in North America. It is estimated that worldwide, almost 13 percent of children are sexually abused, almost 22 percent physically abused, 16 percent physically neglected, and over 18 percent emotionally neglected (Stoltenborgh, 2015). Severe consequences, such as impaired brain development, heart disease, poor attachment, depression, and anxiety, can be the result of child abuse and neglect (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2013). Therefore, child maltreatment is a serious and global issue.

The differences in the incidences, prevalence, morbidity and mortality in child abuse can be seen when the caregiver becomes aggravated with their situation. Usually an individual with issues within themselves commit child abuse. Prevention of child abuse will never go away sadly approximately 896,000 American children were victims of abuse and neglect and 1,400 children died. Within the four areas, neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse and emotional abuse lies the problem. By working with the families and educate the parents the numbers can decrease. Primary prevention of child abuse will target the general population with public service announcements about the effects child abuse. Secondary prevention will be to provide services to families and individuals who have a higher risk of abuse and neglect. By reaching out to the communities with more complaints of child abuse will decrease the amount of positive claims of child abuse. Child abuse crosses over every social, economic boundary. It does not directly correlate with health disparities. The accused can come from any background of life. They can come from any race, creed, color or financial class.

Child maltreatment is a staggering social issue in American society. More than 70% of the children who die as a result of child abuse or neglect are two years of age or younger. More than 80% are not yet old enough for kindergarten. (childhelp.org, 2018) Child abuse is the point at which a parent or guardian, regardless of action or neglecting to act causes damage, passing, emotional risk of serious harm to a youngster. There are numerous types of form of child maltreatment, including neglect, physical harm, sexual abuse, exploitation, and emotional abuse. Children who are abused or neglected, including those who witness domestic violen