FREE ESSAY ON CHILD ABLUSE

CHILD ABLUSE

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What is Child Abuse?
By definition, child abuse is the deliberate and willful injury of a child by a caretaker
hitting, beating with an object, slamming against a wall, even killing. It involves
active, hostile, aggressive treatment. The key word in the definition of child abuse is
deliberate. Why would anyone physically harm a child? The physical destruction of a child
is the extreme reaction of parents to the stress of having children. Most people are not
aware of the fact that deliberately hitting a child is considered a felony in all fifty
states. Abuse of children is more common than most people realize. At least one out of
five adult women and one out of every ten adult men report having been abused in
childhood. Recognizing child abuse in its several forms is a twentieth century
phenomenon. Child abuse is also more likely to be recognized in economically developed
countries than in other parts of the world. Children have been beaten and abandoned for
centuries, based primarily on the belief that children are the property of their parents.
By educating yourself and your children about abuse, you can help prevent it from
happening to your children and better cope with it if it does. (Child 6)
There are four different forms of child abuse. They are physical abuse (child beating and
neglect), sexual abuse, incest, and exploitation (such as child pornography). Physical
abuse occurs when a caretaker deliberately beats the child. Some examples of 
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physical abuse include burning with a cigarette, striking a child, and scalding with hot
water. According to social agencies, beatings of children have been multiplying over the
past twenty-five years or so. The increasing number of reports could mean that in recent
years, social workers, health professionals, and other experts have become better able to
recognize cases of mistreatment. Some 60,000 cases of abuse are reported annually. (Sargo
12) 
Many battered children must endure a second terrible problem - neglect. Neglect, which
occurs when parents or others who are responsible for a child's welfare fail to provide
for the child's basic needs in any number of ways. Physical neglect occurs when the
caretaker fails to provide adequate food, clothing, or shelter. Physical neglect also
occurs when the person caring for a child refuses to seek health care or delays in doing
so. Other examples are abandoning a
child, either permanently or temporarily, and when a child is kicked out of home or
refused to be let back in. There is also educational neglect when parents do not force
their children to attend school. Early civilization regularly abandoned deformed or
surplus children, and ritual sacrifice of the children to appease the gods took place in
Egyptian, Carthaginian, Roman, Greek, and Aztec societies. (Child 2) Either they do not
enroll the child in school at the age required by law, or they allow their children to be
chronically truant from classes. (Gelles 21).
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Another form of neglect is emotional neglect, which occurs when parents or guardians
behave "in a way that deeply disturbs a young child." (Sargo 15) Some examples of
emotional abuse occur when parents fight or beat each other in front of a child, when
they give a child permission to use drugs or alcohol or when the parents themselves are
under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Then there is moral neglect, when parents let
their children run loose in the streets at all hours so he or she risks getting in
trouble with the law. Moral neglect also occurs when the parents allow or encourage the
child to perform criminal acts. Of the various types of neglect, physical is said to be
the most common. The DHHS study reports that some 571,600 
American children suffer from physical neglect . Educational neglect is next at just over
292,000 children. Emotional neglect is third with 223,000 victims. (Child 11)
Sexual abuse, which is also known as sexual molestation, is defined as the exploitation
of a minor for the sexual gratification of an adult. Sexual abuse involves forcing,
tricking, bribing, threatening or pressuring a child into sexual awareness or activity.
Sexual abuse is an abuse of power over a child and a violation of a child's right of
normal, healthy, trusting relationship. Sexual abuse occurs when an older child or more
knowledgeable child or an adult uses a child for sexual pleasure. The abuse often begins
gradually and increases over time. Its victims range in age from infants to young people
well into their teens. Sexual abuse has many different forms. One form is 
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exhibitionism. This occurs when a person exposes his or herself to a child. Another form
of sexual abuse is when an adult forces a child to perform a sexual act. The American
Humane Association studied reports from child protection agencies across America in 1994
and concluded that some 100,000 American children were abused that year. Sexual abuse is
the least frequently reported type of child abuse. (Faulkner 4)
Sex offenders very cunningly weave the web of abuse and secrecy. The snare is cast ever
so slowly under the guise of a loving relationship. By the time many children realize
something is wrong, the violation has begun, and the stench of the self-deprecation
feelings has already emerged into their terrified reality. The adult who presumes sex on
a child is "deceiving" the child into trusting that it is a okay, "tricking" the child
into trusting that it's a love relationship, and engaging in "illegal criminal" behavior.
Children don't always know when they are being abused; they sometimes don't know what to
call it. To add to their confusion, inconsistent parents we keep sending them more and
more conflicting messages. (Faulkner 3-5) 
Another form of child abuse is incest. Incest can be described as sexual acts between two
people who are so closely related that the law forbids them to marry. The Child Sexual
Abuse Treatment Program reported that they handle about five hundred cases of incest a
year. In a great majority of incest cases, the victim is a female. Her assailant is
usually a male adult, uncle, cousin, or brother. Most often, however, he is the 
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child's fathers or guardian. Some studies have shown that 40 percent of all women who use
drugs have incest in their past. (American 1)
Another form of abuse is child pornography. Child pornography by definition is the sexual
exploitation of children. The concern is greater than the distribution of offensive
images. The real fear is that pedophiles who trade child pornography will, sooner or
later, commit sexual crimes in their neighborhood. Child pornography is nothing new. It
has been around for centuries. This form of child abuse first began in foreign countries.
In the 1970's, sales of child pornography boomed. Most of the children in child
pornographies are runaways who find themselves broke. The acts of child pornography that
are vicious and the damage to the children is tremendous. There is also great possibility
that, raised in sexual cruelty, they themselves will become sexually abusive parents.
Thus, a terrible tradition has been started. (The-Sexual 23)
Who is a child abuser? Abused children are found in all types of homes - in the poorest
neighborhoods, in middle class and wealthy neighborhoods in all parts of the country. No
one can define one group of people to be child abusers. However, the "greatest numbers of
cases of mistreatment are seen in families with annual incomes of about $15,000." (Child
9) The rate of mistreatment is five times higher than in higher income families. Reports
have also shown that the rate of physical abuse and neglect is higher in families with
four or more children. 
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By far the greatest number of beatings come from parents who have trouble handling the
problems in their lives. " About 80 percent of all abusive mothers were at one point and
time abused children." (Child 13) For this reason, people can expect most of today's
abused children. (Child 9-13) 
Abuse survivors tell us that one of the problems that lingers into adult hood and that
keeps the secret intact for years, is the child's feelings that they are somehow to blame
and as a result, they are "dirty" or soiled." Sex offenders are smart. They know about
the "pleasure quilt" and may even emphasize it to keep the sordid secret, - "If you tell
anyone about this, they will think you're bad." (Faulkner 3)
Abuse does not just mean that the child is likely to become an abusive parent. There is
another great danger. Studies show that abused children have a habit of getting into
trouble with the law. There are no statutes that clearly distinct between what is and
what is not considered to be child abuse and neglect. Therefore, police and other public
officials must take each case separately into consideration. All states have three sets
of laws relating to child abuse and neglect. One law requires all physicians and other
public officials to report to the local police any situation in which they suspect a
child has been intentionally abused or neglected. The other two laws deal with the
criminal code by which an accused child abuser is punished. Child abuse is considered a
felony, but by the time most families in trouble come in contact with the law it is much
too late to help. 
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Some people believe it is better for an abused child to be placed in foster care. Yet,
foster care, in some cases, may be more harmful to the child's health. Despite a
department policy that says children should not be put in homes with more than six
children, sixteen percent are. One fourth of all abused children in foster care return to
their parents. It has been estimated that some ten thousand children are severely
battered every year, fifty to seventy-five thousand are sexually abused, one hundred
thousand are emotionally neglected, and another one hundred thousand are physically,
morally, or educationally neglected. (Innocents)
"It only takes a quick scan of the headlines to see that sex offenders come in a variety
of shapes and sizes - principals, teachers, coaches, doctors, lawyers, scout leaders,
ministers, priests, neighbors, relatives - the butcher, the banker, and the candlestick
maker." (Faulkner 6)
Every child is vulnerable to abuse. Today's parents must face the possibility that
someone may hurt or take advantage of their child. Research indicates that as many as one
out of every four children will be the victim of some type of abuse. Very young children
as well as older teenagers are victimized. Almost all of these children will be abused by
someone they know and trust. (Faulkner 1)
There are many organizations that were formed for the sole purpose of helping to prevent
child abuse, such as the Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse, Societies 
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for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America. There
are also thousands of thoughtful and concerned Americans working to halt the spread of
child abuse. There are many things people can do to help this cause, so one day there may
be a conclusion to a horrible problem that haunts many American children. One way for
someone to help children is to speak out. Silence enables the abuse to continue. Silence
protects the offenders and hurts children who are being abused. Abuse is an extremely
difficult and damaging experience.
Bibliography
Outline
Thesis: What is Child Abuse and what are it's effects on the child and his/her family?
I. Introduction
II. Different types of child abuse
A. Physical Abuse
B. Sexual Abuse
C. Incest
D. Exploitation
III. Neglect
A. Physical Neglect
B. Educational Neglect
C. Emotional Neglect
D. Moral Neglect
IV. Sexual Abuse
A. Exhibitionism
B. Sexual Acts
V. Incest
A. Sexual acts between relatives
B. Victim statistics
VI. Child Pornography
A. Boomed in the 70's
B. Abused passed on through generations
VII. Where abused children are found
A. All neighborhoods
B. Low income families
IX. Abuse Laws
A. Laws in all states
B. Abuse statistics
X. Conclusion