When most people think of “child abuse”, the disturbing news stories of young girls being raped or sexually exploited come to mind but that’s not the only side of it. People seem to only consider physical abuse armful when emotional and mental abuse is just as bad, if not worse. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “abuse” is defined as a corrupt practice or custom. Notice how there’s no specific type of practice or custom mentioned – “physical” does not appear once in this definition. So, why have we redefined this word to mean something that it’s not? If we believe abuse is only a physical corrupt practice or custom then something like brainwashing or verbally harassing a child would have to be considered morally acceptable, right? Wrong. People often overlook emotionally abused children simply because a visible scar isn’t left behind. But child abuse is the violation of any factor of a child's innocence and of the most common examples of child abuse is the indoctrination of children into religion. Now don’t get me wrong, teaching a child about a religion is not harmful in any way but we should never force a child to believe something they may not agree with - that’s not fair to the children. The parents who do this are damaging their kids. A prime example of child abuse through the indoctrination into religion is shown in the 2006 American documentary Jesus Camp. The film centers around Becky Fisher’s evangelic Christian summer camp in Devils Lake,
In schools, the place where Americans first learned critical fundamentals and values of freedom, religion is separated from home life to school life. In the United States, 89% of public school teacher’s cannot lead a class in prayer, 36% can teach a class comparing religions in different countries, and only 23% can read from the Bible for examples of literature (citation). Without religious instruction in schools, students are not granted with the option to display their faith and practice their religion in a school setting. Despite the advantages, some Americans argue that teaching religion in public schools can be dangerous and harmful to students. Schools disapproving of students practicing
The term child abuse was once as rarely heard as that of pink elephants. However rare the term has once been, it is now a term used consistently throughout the news and various other publications today. Along with the progressing decline in society's morals, has come the rapid increase of crime. One such crime is child abuse. Although child abuse is common, the act is defiling. As a result of the abuse, children who fall victim to this often need psychological treatment and counseling. Often, the child is never the same as he or she once was before. The dictionary defines child abuse as: "the physical, or emotional, or sexual mistreatment of children" (Dictionary.com). Everyday thousands of children are the victims of this abuse.
What is emotional abuse? According to Trickett et al, emotional abuse is defined as, “…act or omissions, other than physical abuse or sexual abuse, that caused, or could have caused, conduct, cognitive, affective, or other mental disorders. Psychological or emotional maltreatment frequently occurs as verbal abuse or excessive demands on a child’s performance” (2011). Loue expounds on the terms used interchangeably by stating, “Emotional abuse, a label often used synonymously with the terms emotional maltreatment, psychological battering, psychological abuse, and soul murder…” (2005). Loue further indicates that emotional abuse has also been called, “…the most elusive and damaging of all types of child abuse and neglect” (2005). Emotional abuse should be recognized as a heinous crime. Children who suffer from this type of abuse may not be as resilient as they are when suffering other forms of abuse. Although emotional abuse does not leave a visible scar for those who look upon the victim, it does leave an indelible scar that will not affect the victim for years to come if the victim
One of the most discussed topics in the modern world is children indoctrination into religion. Children aren't developed enough to decide in what to believe or disbelieve. Everyone is born without believing in a religion until it is either forced on them or they are developed enough to decide if one of the religions ''works'' for them or not. Mostly, parents are the most influential part in a child life. They decide what a proper education is to their successor and they impose their ideas to their child.
The conceptualisation of the long-term effects of child maltreatment reflects the surrounding circumstances which expose child abuse as a common event. Childhood abuse is a growing epidemic which evokes extreme emotional responses both privately and publicly and is viewed as a risk factor for an extensive variety of consequent problems. 2014 demonstrated that over 137,585 child abuse cases involving 99,210 Australian children were investigated (Australian Institute of Family Studies 2015). Abuse is categorised into neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse and emotional abuse. Contrary to the implied supposition that emotional abuse is less injurious in comparison to sexual and physical abuse, emotional abuse ranked as the most commonly substantiated harm type in Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Australia Capital Territory (AIFS 2015). Childhood abuse occurs throughout a period where complex and ordered changes occur within a child’s physiological, psychological and sociological being. The following report will accentuate how the state of flux instigated by childhood abuse leaves children susceptible harmful consequences that will pervert or prevent a normal developmental procedure. Through psychological and physiological wellbeing, adult delinquency and the effects on different genders readers will be able to identify the harmful consequences childhood abuse places on victims and survivors.
Herb was a very loving little boy, who always tried to make everyone around him happy. He would climb up in your lap at the age of two or three, and whisper in your ear “I’m your boy, but don’t tell nobody”. Growing up, Herb was an accomplished athlete, and performed reasonably well academically. As Herb reached adulthood, he always took great strides to make the people around him feel happy and special. It was not unusual to find him helping his father on the farm or working on his sister’s car. The only payment he wanted was to see their smile and know he had helped. In adulthood, his little girl became the light of his life and no one suspected that there was a problem. Until the morning, his wife walked
The Cognitive Science Journal found that children who were exposed to religion have a harder time distinguishing fact from fiction. In their study, they told 66 five and six year old children stories containing both realistic and supernatural elements. Out of all of the participants the children who regularly attended church had a significantly harder time identifying the supernatural elements as fictional than those who hadn’t attended church regularly. Devout religion seems to continue to impact children into their teenage years. NBC News found that teen birth rates are higher in religious states. Mississippi ranks at the top in both teenage birth rates and conservative religious beliefs. Experts say that this is mainly due to the discouragement of contraception in religious
Child sexual abuse is an ever-present, psychologically and physically damaging event that occurs daily to hundreds of children. Unfortunately, child sexual abuse is not going away any time soon and the lives of so many precious children are altered forever. These abused children often grow up to be psychologically damaged adults with emotional, cognitive and physical issues that may never be able to be conquered. Far too many adults live with the pain of their secret and it can be quite debilitating. Adults who were abused as children may have many problems in their
Childhood experiences and attachments are crucial to our emotional development. Children around this country are abused and neglected every second. “Childhood maltreatment also represents a serious public health concern, with an estimated 3.3 million referrals to child protective agencies for suspected child maltreatment in 2005” (Bentley & Widom, 2009). Those children who are abused eventually become adults whom suffered from childhood trauma. Although a trauma may be considered to be in the past, for many the scars are ever so present when moving throughout life. Individuals who haven’t be exposed to high doses of stress and trauma are ready to go into fight or flight at any moment, but when this system is started over and over again,
According to statistics there are “40 million children subjected to child abuse each year” (Cause and Effects). “Child abuse occurs when a parent or caretaker physically, emotionally, sexually, mistreats or neglects a child resulting in the physical, emotional, or sexual harm or exploitation, or imminent risk of harm or exploitation, or in extreme cases death of a child” (Child Safety). Child abuse is not only a sensitive subject but a complex one because of the long-term/ short-term effects and the difference between discipline and abuse.
The author of this book ,Stuart was abused by his step father that almost ruined his life and ended up in hospital, but in this book he writes about how he survived the
While Vacation Bible Camp exposes children to God, I always ensure that my group does not feel pressured into believing something if they are uncertain. I provide them with a non-judgemental, open and caring environment for them to explore their religious beliefs. The world is not designed to be uniform in any way and religion is no exception. People should feel free to believe what they desire.
Abuse has many different types, along with many different definitions. Many are aware of the fact that child abuse is constant problem in the United States; the US “has one of the worst records among industrialized nations - losing on average between four and seven children every day to child abuse and neglect” (Child Abuse Statistics) as of 2014, but there are effects to abuse that are sometimes not seen, along with types of abuse that is not seen. Psychological abuse, also often called emotional abuse, and it’s effects are often not noted in media, due to the fact that it is not life threatening. Despite that, psychological abuse even only on its own can cause significant emotional disturbances as the child gets older that can lead to mental
By indoctrinating a child into a religion, you are basically telling them they owe everything to a nonexistent superior being and therefore must be subservient to it and obey all of its man made rules.
Religion can be a wonderful thing; a fixation for some, a truth for others. Unfortunately, for me, it was neither. Growing up in church was convivial, but looking back now, it’s nothing short of terrifying. Children have such malleable minds, and their introduction to organized religion is one thing for certain: brainwashing. I don’t resent my parents for introducing me to religion, I resent them for the effects these uniform teachings have had on me.