Thesis statement: Child abuse is an international social and public health problem worldwide. Every year, 40 million reports of child abuse are made with suicide being the third leading cause of death among youths across the globe. It’s a terrible widespread phenomenon that the international society should show more dedication to putting an end to, otherwise more innocent children will suffer every day.
Outline: –
I. Definition of child abuse.
II. Types of Child abuse. A. Physical abuse. B. Sexual abuse. C. Psychological/emotional abuse.
D. Neglect
III. Risk factors of child abuse
A. Child.
B. Caregiver.
C. Relationships.
D. Social and Community.
IV. Impact of child abuse. A. Physical impact. B. Emotional/Psychological impact. C. Social impact.
V. Child abuse and the society
Child abuse is a huge global problem with a serious impact on the victims’ physical and mental health, well-being and development throughout their lives, and consequently, on the society in general. While every child has the right to live a healthy, violence-free life, every year millions of children around the world are victims of physical, sexual and emotional abuse.
Child abuse is when a parent or caregiver, whether through action or failing to act, causes injury, death, emotional harm or risk of serious harm to a child. According to the World Health Organization, “child abuse includes all forms of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect and negligent treatment and exploitation”. (WHO, 2006)
The World Health Organization indicates that up to 53,000 children are murdered worldwide each year. Between 80 and 93 percent of children suffer some form of physical punishment in their homes. In 2002, the WHO estimated that 150 million girls and 73 million boys under 18 experienced some form of forced sexual intercourse or violence. 218 million children worldwide are laborers, 126 million of whom work in hazardous environments. 1.8 million are involved in prostitution or pornography and 1.2 million have been trafficked. Up to 275 million witness domestic abuse annually. 250,000 soldiers in the world are children. One billion children live in countries where it is legal to beat pupils. (WHO, 2006)
One major type of child abuse is physical abuse. “Child physical abuse is defined as the intentional use of physical force against a child that results in –or has a high likelihood of resulting in- harm to the child health, survival, development, or dignity. This includes hitting, beating, kicking, shaking, biting, strangling, scalding, burning, poisoning and suffocating”. (WHO & ISPCAN, 2006; Krug et al., 2002). A key principle in physical child abuse is being a non-accidental behavior resulting into physical injury. Usually, when a caregiver is involved, such injury is considered abuse regardless of whether or not the caregiver is intended to hurt the child.
Sexual abuse is another form of child abuse. It” is defined as the involvement of a child in sexual activity that he or she does not fully comprehend, is unable to give informed consent to or for which the child is not developmentally prepared or else violates the laws or social taboos of the society” (WHO & ISPCAN, 2006; Krug et al., 2002). Gilbert et al. (2009) defined sexual abuse as any completed or attempted sexual act, sexual contact or noncontact sexual interaction with a child by a caregiver. Female Genital Mutilation; a common practice in some countries in Africa, Asia and Middle East, is one major form of child sexual abuse. Estimates indicate that 140 million girls and women are living with consequences of FGM in addition to 3 million girls under the age of 15 being at risk for FGM annually (WHO, 2012). Another form of child sexual abuse is child marriage, which is now considered a violation of human rights.
One other form of child abuse is psychological or emotional abuse. Psychological abuse involves any form of behavior that damages a child emotional development or sense of self-worth, making the child feel he/she is not loved or of no value. According to the WHO, emotional and psychological abuse involve both isolated incidents and a pattern of failures over time to provide a developmentally appropriate and supportive environment. It may include constant threats, criticism, rejection, as well as withholding love, support, or guidance. Abuse of this type includes the restriction of movement, forms of belittling, blaming, threatening. frightening, or discriminating against (WHO & ISPCAN, 2006; Krug et al., 2002).
Neglect is another form of child abuse and is defined by WHO as the failure to provide for the development and well-being of a child in areas such as health, education, emotional development, nutrition, shelter and safe living conditions. Nevertheless, the parent of neglected children may not be financially poor, they may even be financially well-off. (WHO & ISPCAN, 2006; Krug et al., 2002). As per Straus & Kantor (2005), neglect may be physical as in the failure to provide necessary food, clothing or adequate or safe shelter, it also includes the lack of appropriate supervision as in leaving a young child alone or with someone who is not able to care for him or her, driving while drunk with an unrestrained child in the car. Neglect could be also medical as in failure to provide medical or mental health treatment, or educational as in failure to educate a child or attend to special education needs, or emotional as in negligence of a child emotional needs, failure to provide psychological care or permitting the child to use alcohols or other drugs.
There are several risk factors for child abuse that may not be collectively present in all social and cultural environments, yet provide some answers to many questions around this topic. Some of these are related to the child being unwanted or unable to fill parents’ expectations, or being with special needs. Some related to the caregiver having difficulty connecting with the newborn, having been abused themselves when they were children, having misused alcohols or drugs, or being involved in a criminal activity, etc., Other risk factors relate to disturbed relationships as in family breakdown or family violence, lack of network or community support, etc.. Some related to several community and social factors as in gender and social inequity, high level of poverty or unemployment, social, cultural & legal norms and practices that promote violence towards others.
The effect of child abuse is often discussed in terms of physical, psychological, behavioral, and societal consequences. Practically, it is difficult to separate the effect types as they are all more or less connected to each other in one way or another. Physical effects, such as damage to a child’s brain can have psychological implications such as emotional difficulties or cognitive delays. Psychological problems often lead to high-risk behaviors. Depression and anxiety may lead to smoking alcohol or drugs abuse. High-risk behaviors, in turn, may lead to long-term physical health problems, such as sexually transmitted diseases, cancer, and obesity. Not all children who have been abused will experience long term consequences, but they may have an increased vulnerability towards them though.
The most common physical consequence of child abuse is abusive head trauma; an inflicted injury to the head and its contents caused by shaking and blunt impact. Abusive head trauma is considered the most common cause of traumatic death for infants. Impaired brain development is another common physical consequence that results into important parts of the brain to failing to form or develop properly. These alterations in brain maturation have long-term consequences for cognitive, language, and academic abilities and are connected with mental health disorders (Tarullo, 2012). Several studies have shown a relationship between various forms of child maltreatment and poor health. Adults who experienced abuse or neglect during childhood are more likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease, lung and liver disease, hypertension, diabetes, asthma, and obesity (Felitti & Anda, 2009).
Consequences of emotional damages include poor mental and emotional health comprising isolation, fear, and an inability to trust which can translate into permanent psychological consequences such as low self-esteem, depression, and relationship difficulties. Experiencing childhood trauma and adversity, such as physical or sexual abuse is a risk factor for borderline personality disorder, depression, anxiety, and other psychiatric disorders. A study using ACE data found that roughly 54 percent of cases of depression and 58 percent of suicide attempts in women were connected to adverse childhood experiences (Felitti & Anda, 2009).
Children who experience neglect are more likely to experience social difficulties and develop antisocial behaviors as they grow up. Parental neglect is associated with marginal personality disorders, attachment issues or affectionate behaviors with unknown/little-known people, inappropriate modeling of adult behavior, and aggression (Perry, 2012).
While child abuse usually occur within the family, the impact does not end there. Sadly, the society as a whole pays the price, in terms of both direct and indirect costs. The direct cost of child maltreatment and related fatalities in 1 year totals $124 billion, according to a study funded by the CDC, which is more costly on an annual basis than the two leading health concerns, stroke and type 2 diabetes (Xiangming, Brown, Florence, & Mercy, 2012). On the other hand, programs that prevent abuse have shown to be cost effective. Indirect costs represent the long-term economic consequences to society. These include costs associated with increased use of health-care system, youth and adult criminal activity, mental illness, substance abuse, and domestic violence. One study found that all categories of adverse childhood experiences were associated with an increased likelihood of employment problems, financial problems, and absenteeism (Anda et al., 2004). As claimed by the author, these long-term costs impacting the workforce and the society are preventable
There are several strategies for preventing child abuse including the restructuring of the related laws as well as the translation of the children rights resolution into national laws, the implementation of firmer police and jurisdictional systems while promoting a culture that supports social, economic and cultural rights. It is also imperative to Introduce beneficial social and economic policies that provide early childhood care and ensure worldwide primary and secondary education while taking measures to reduce unemployment and develop good social protection systems to support changing cultural and social norms that support violence against children. Strategies should also address the reduction of economic inequalities, tackling poverty and reducing income and gender inequalities. Instituting training programs that develop awareness about parenting and educating children on how to recognize and deal with abusive situations.
To minimize the suffering of children every day, it becomes critically imperative to break the child abuse cycle and reduce the likelihood of long-term consequences. This can only happen when communities across the globe more firmly align, cooperate and continue to develop and implement strategies that prevent abuse or neglect from happening in addition to applying more aggressive penalties on abusers. While experts agree that the causes of child abuse and neglect are complex, it is possible to develop prevention initiatives that address known risk factors.