Child abuse is one of Australia’s biggest and most misunderstood social problems. Despite being under-reported, Australian authorities confirmed 42,457 children were abused or neglected in one year alone.
That’s one child every 13 minutes suffering physical, sexual, emotional abuse or neglect, often by someone they know and should be able to trust; most often in their own home. Thousands more cases go unreported, and the number of children and young people in out-of-home care is increasing.
When people think of child abuse they often think of severe beatings or sexual abuse, however emotional abuse (43%) and neglect (26%) are more common and the impacts are just as damaging to a child. Each state and territory has different definitions, and not all child abuse is a crime.
It can be a single incident, or a number of incidents that occur over time. It doesn’t matter how much a child has been harmed, but whether they have been harmed, are being harmed, or are at risk of physical, psychological or emotional harm.
The effects of child abuse and neglect can be significant and lead to lifelong problems. It can impact a child’s brain development, how they feel and think about themselves, how successful they are at school, even their physical development and skills. In the long term it can lead to drug and alcohol abuse, mental illness, difficulty developing and maintaining good relationships, unemployment and all sorts of social disadvantage – all due to their childhood experiences,
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 article posted by the Australian Institute of Family Studies explains the long-term effects of child abuse and neglect for adult survivors. The article explains that there are many different types of child abuse which falls in the categories of physical, emotional, neglect, sexual and witnessing family violence. Abuse can also intentional or sometimes even unintentional. Also, different sub-types of maltreatment may be related to different negative outcomes. The author
Child abuse is epidemic in many countries as well as the United States. It is estimated that every thirteen seconds a child is abused in some manner: physically, sexually, emotionally or by neglect (Friedman). Each year, there are over 3 million reports of child abuse in the United States involving more than 6 million children. Child abuse can be reduced with proper education of the parents and with greater public awareness.
The National Children 's Alliance reported that the number of unique cases of abused and neglected children in the United States stands at an annual rate of 700,000 and rising (as cited in ?U.S. Department of Health & Human Services,? 2016, p. ii). Sadly, this means that more than 1,900 new children become victims of abuse and neglect with each passing day. Neglect was the type of
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 3.3 million referrals for alleged maltreatment were made in 2013. Out of the 3.3 million referrals, 899,000 children were officially documented as being maltreated(Child Abuse & Neglect 2015). Child abuse is the mistreatment of a child. Child abuse is recognized in several forms; physical, emotional, sexual and neglect. Children who experience any form of abuse will tend to withdraw themselves from their peers and sometimes from other family members who are not aware of what is taking place. Child abuse occurs not just in the homes of these children, but can also occur in schools, churches and after school programs. Anywhere a child is present there is a chance that abuse can
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).
Child abuse previously categorized as a minor incident, which is currently more visible to the eyes of people as increasing and important to address in society. According to the National Child Abuse and Neglect System as of 2012, “the number of child victims was around 3.8 million children, 1/5 of the population of child victims were found to be victims of substantiated (17.7%), indicated (0.9%), and alternative response (0.5%). Which resulted in the rest 4/5 of the child victims were not actual victims of child abuse.” (Child Mal, 2012) That sums up to about
401). An analysis of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS-2008) revealed that in 2008 the rate of reported infant maltreatment was 51.81 per 1000 children with children below the age of one having the greatest likelihood of being the subject of maltreatment with frequencies lessening with age (Fallon, et al., 2013, p. 2). Child neglect has come to be described as the “neglect of neglect,” as it has been minimized by physical and sexual abuse and exploitation; therefore, neglect is often overlooked and under identified. Furthermore, child neglect is often difficult to identify due to cultural and spiritual differences. What is often negligent for one family may be considered usual to another (Cowen, 1999, pp. 401-403). Consequently, infant neglect often results in social, mental and physical delays, adult traumatization (Harper, Stalker, Palmer, & Gadbois, 2008), and failure to thrive (FTT); the result of inadequate nutrition resulting in poor physical development and, in extreme cases, psychosocial short stature; a disorder of the pituitary and hypothalamus which causes the child to not only be underdeveloped in weight but also in height due to major emotional and psychological trauma (Block & Krebs, 2005, pp. 1234-1235).
Not only are children being abused, but most cases are occurring, unreported. In fact, researchers go as far as to say “as few as 1 in 10 of those instances of abuse are actually confirmed by social-service
According to statistics 12.4 per 1000 children under the age of 17 have been a victim of child abuse. More than 6 million children are reported as abused in the last year. Sadly the fate of many of these children that live in abusive homes is death. 1.84 per 100,000 was reported to be abused in 2012. The number continued to rise to 1.96 in 2014. In the reported cases both or one parent was the cause of the death 79% of the time. In 16% of the cases a non-parent guardian was the cause of death. 5% of the deaths were caused by an unknown person.
According to NSPCC there are more than 50,000 children in the UK are abused and neglected annually, this estimates that there are 8 children suffering abuse for every one child that is identified. This is a strong link between socio-economic circumstances of families and the chances of the child experiencing abuse and neglect. This association extends across all developed countries, different types of abuse and culture variation depending on the culture however definitions and research methods deem equal to both poverty and child protection systems.
The keys to preventing child abuse and neglect are to recognise that all families face some stress and to intervene as early as possible to support vulnerable families. It’s easy to think that child abuse and neglect is just a problem for ‘certain’ families. The reality is that parenting today is complex, challenging and a steep learning curve for many. A third of new parents for example, has never held a baby before; many families are far away from the support of their extended families and old friends; most parents are in the labour force - often working long hours; and 20 per cent are lone-parent families. Many families are also coping with domestic violence, poverty, alcohol or drug addiction, mental illness or a childhood history of abuse.
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.
In 2012, an estimated 1,642 children died due to child abuse and neglect, which is 4.5 children every day (Fromm). Approximately 4 out of every 5 are under 5-years-old and children under 1 account for 2 out of 5 of all fatalities. Children under 5 are more likely to die from child abuse due to lack of ability to cope with abuse. Children’s bodies are more fragile and it is easier for an individual to physically harm a small child rather than older children who can somewhat fight back.
The issue of child abuse and neglect is serious, controversial, and is escalating in today’s society. Many people are not aware, but child abuse is rampant in our society. Many child abuse and neglect cases go unreported because a person may not know the signs and symptoms of child abuse and neglect or perhaps the person or person may feel that this is an private issue and needs to be handle with in the home and no outsiders should be involved. Without the proper awareness of child abuse and neglect and the involvement of everyone this issue will continue to raise our eyebrows.