The Reality Of Child Abuse

Child abuse in America is an ongoing problem and something needs to be done. There are approximately one million children abused annually in the United States. (Table 339) Cases of child abuse and neglect are reported every ten seconds, and researchers believe that there’s three times that amount that goes unnoticed. (Child Abuse: Know the Signs and Stop the Violence Against Children.) Something needs to be done for these children who are too weak and too powerless to help themselves.

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.

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 more than 1.8 million investigations done every year and on average, killing more than 5 children every day. The main issue of child abuse is that the abuser is usually someone a child loves or depends on (a 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

There are many things in our society today that unfortunately go overlooked. One such thing that is overlooked is the number of children who are being abused. Unfortunately these children are going through life not knowing whether or not their parents will loose their temper and perhaps kill them. There are many types of child abuse, such as physical, sexual, and emotional. Physical abuse is physical injury as a result of punching, beating, kicking, biting, shaking, throwing, stabbing, choking, hitting, burning, or otherwise harming a child. Such injury is considered abuse regardless of whether the caretaker intended to hurt the child. Sexual abuse includes activities by a parent or caretaker such as fondling a child's genitals,

Child abuse in the United States is a growing epidemic. Every year the number of reported cases, and missing children go up. This is caused mostly by lack of education about the different types of child abuse, and the signs that go along with it. Communities need to provide more resources to better educate the public about the types of abuse, and the signs that go along with it. Child abuse and neglect can be lessened by more resources, more education and to reach out to others.

According to Pecora, Sanders, Wilson, English, Puckett & Rudlang-Perman (2014), “Every year in the USA, about 695,000 unique children are confirmed as victims of child maltreatment (US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau 2011) (p. 321). Such startling statistics suggest that child abuse is not just a public health issue; it is an epidemic. However, research reveals that prevention is possible through a collaborative effort made by parents, schools, the government, social services, and the

An abused child’s reality is different from the imagination; in the mind one can create happiness in a make believe universe. The concept of fusion between a dreamland of vision and reality could never occur in concert; two separate worlds controlled by violence; upon a whim a moment of fear could escalate, therefore, the restriction in place will, in-prison one's soul to suffocate in due time. This restricts the personality from developing and the mind from believing it possesses the power to create those dreams in reality. Several unpleasant disorders, poor choices, death, even murder, ends up happening. Every mind is different, that means every choice is different, one person will handle horrible experiences more appropriate than another,

In the past, the was not a lot done to help prevent child abuse, not because... we didn’t think it was wrong, but simply because we believed that it was not our business how parents punished their children. Then, after the cases started getting worse, and it started being more common for some parents to take punishment “too far”, they decide to start trying Child Abuse Prevention Plans. The ones involved in the prevention of Child Abuse believe we are doing everything we possibly can to make things better. Others not involved, or even some victims of abuse that have not reached out yet, believe we are doing little, to nothing, to help. They are now making laws to prevent child abuse in

Child abuse is a prevalent thing in communities and often time the victims are suffering in silence. We, as a society, have a bad habit of “turning our heads the other way” or “not wanting to get involved.” The mentality of “it’s none of our business” is an extremely dangerous mind set to have. It is time for America to step up and start helping the ones that are not able to fight for themselves. The children of our country.

     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.

It breaks my heart to know that child abuse has a history and throughout history children have been subjected to extensive physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, and neglect. However, doing most of the history of child abuse was accepted and in some cases it was encouraged. As time progressed child abuse has grown to receive more attention and is being recognized as a severe epidemic that has to be stopped. I believe that the views of child abuse has changed over the years for it has left the home from being a private issue to a public issue where different agencies are involved in order to resolve the child abuse and neglect issue. Agencies that take part in investigating and preventing child abuse in today’s time are the Family and Protective Services, SCAN, and several more agencies that are committed to stopping child abuse and

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.

People may not be aware, but any one of their peers, friends, or neighbors may be victims of child abuse. Every day, someone experiences physical, emotional, neglect, and/or sexual abuse. Abuse can lead to death or injury for the rest of a victim's life, from either the perpetrator or themselves. In order to prevent child abuse society must: recognize the types of abuse, understand common causes of abuse, know the characteristics of abusers, and realize the effects abuse has, not just on the child, but on families and communities across the world.

Child abuse is a complex phenomenon with multiple causes and occurs in a range of situations and circumstances. Children are abused by people in a position of power above them. Child abuse is nothing but the oppression of the weak by the powerful. Children are weaker physically than their oppressors and so can be overpowered easily. If they are bold enough to raise their voice they are subjugated

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.