Child maltreatment refers to the physical, emotional, and sexual abuse and neglect of a child who is below 18 years of age by the caregiver, guardian, parent or any individual in custodial roles (Charlesworth, 2007). Child abuse includes physical abuse which is the non-accidental exposure if a minor to physical force. Physical abuse may include hitting, shaking and burning. There is sexual abuse which entails engaging a child in sexual acts with an adult. Emotional abuse refers to a pattern of behavior that attacks the emotional development of a child. It is reported to have the longest lasting effects on the child. Neglect is the failure, refusal or inability to meet the needs of the child, either physical or emotional; to the extent, it has an impact on the child. Statistics indicate that child abuse is more prevalent than people assume. This paper explores the topic of child maltreatment in detail; the facts and figures of child abuse, statistics with regard to child abuse, examples, causes, effects, treatment and prevention of child abuse.
Over 3 million incidents of child abuse are recorded per annum whereas more than 1000 children die from child abuse at the same time too in the United States. Child statistics show that 75% of fatal child abuse victims fall under the age of 3, most of who are harmed by a parent (Abbasi et al., 2014). The parent or custodian of the child poses the highest threat to the child as compared to strangers and temporary caregivers. There are many more victims of child neglect as compared to any other type of child abuse. Many of the cases go unreported whereas many are underreported. It is essential to note that anyone can report incidences of child abuse provided they suspect or know that a child is being abused. The law enforcement, as well as Child Protective Services, are well equipped to be able to investigate and take care of the children who are reported to be abused. The statistics presented are likely to be an underestimate because child victims are often reluctant to disclose their experiences because of fear and sometimes because they do not understand what is happening around them. Some cases, on the other hand, lack substantial evidence for action to be taken but this does not necessarily translate into the absence of abuse. Sometimes, it is such cases that present the harshest forms of abuse. Recently, the number of incidents of child abuse presented to the authorities has decreased. This might be an indication that the societal efforts to reduce and prevent child abuse are working.
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Many adults report being abused as children. Before the age of 18, it is construed that one in every four girls as well as one in every eight boys have been abused. Trends in child abuse show that between 1990 and 1994, the rate of child abuse rose to a rate of 15.2 per a thousand children. The trend was reversed in the subsequent years, 1994 to 1999 whereby there was a recorded decrease to a rate of 11.8 per a thousand children. This rate remained fairly constant up to 2006. The rate of child maltreatment declined until 2012 when there was a recorded increase in the number of cases reported. Child abuse cuts across all ethnicities, races, countries and backgrounds. Minority races have higher incidences of child abuse as compared to the majority races. Black, as well as Alaskan Native/ American Indian kids reported a large volume of maltreatment cases as compared to other kids. Children below the age of three years old were reported to undergo the most abuse, followed by those aged 4 to 7.
It is not an easy task identifying that a child has been abused. Many of these children are able to conceal the evidence of abuse. Some are often unaware that what they are going through is abuse. Some are protecting the abuser because he or she may be someone they love dearly or the only person they know. Any report of actual or suspected child abuse warrants a medical check-up by a trained professional. According to facts and figures recorded on child maltreatment, 60% of all the cases of child maltreatment show evidence of neglect, trailed by physical abuse 18%, sexual abuse 10% and emotional abuse 7%. Neglect is an act of omission whereby the custodian fails to meet the kid’s needs (Rebbe, 2018). Neglect may come as a result of poverty at times. When basic necessities like food, shelter, safety and security, medical attention and emotional support are not provided, this amounts to neglect. Another example of neglect is nonorganic failure to thrive, which entails the loss of weight and stopped growth for a child who is under the care of parents.
There are federal and state laws that prohibit sexual relations with a child. Having a child engage in any sexual relations of any kind by force or through coercion is a sexual offence while it is a case of child maltreatment at the same time. A child is any individual who is under the age of 18 years old. Children may be forced or lured into such activities. Child sexual abuse entails illegal acts of inappropriate touching, fondling, penetration or unnecessary physical contact. The scope of physical abuse is more difficult to define even though parents and caregivers are the biggest perpetrators of this type of abuse. The society sanctions all manner of punishment applied to children, especially mild and moderate punishment. Corporal punishment is rebuked and described as physical abuse. Most of the severe cases of physical child abuse arise from escalated corporal punishment. Medical examination I used to reveal the presence of bruises, broken bones, bites and burns which are physical symptoms of child abuse.
The American Psychological Association terms psychological or emotional abuse as ’intentional or non-accidental verbal or symbolic acts by a parent or custodian that have reasonable potential to result in significant psychological harm to the child.’ Emotional abuse is the most damaging form of abuse to a child because it impacts on their emotional development, spirit and self-concept. Emotional abuse entails making children feel unloved and unwanted. Making children feel worthless causes emotional damage. Other forms of child abuse often contribute towards emotional abuse. Neglect, physical and sexual abuse tampers with a child's emotional self. Acts of emotional abuse include belittling the child, constant criticism, rejection, withholding love and manipulation. Emotional or psychological abuse often accompanies other forms of abuse, even though it can take place on its own. It is much harder to determine when a child is going through this form of abuse. Victims of psychological abuse sometimes respond to the abuse by distancing themselves from their abuser, resist by engaging the abuser through physical fights or through insults and also internalizing acts of abuse (Stroud, 2012). Apart from the personal development of the child, psychological abuse may result in disrupted attachment development and learned helplessness.
There are several risk factors that contribute to the occurrence of child maltreatment. Some risk factors include the age of the child, physical state of the child, past history and background of the parent, use and abuse of drugs, financial situation of the family, level of education, relations in the family, social or community tolerance towards child abuse, policies and programs and the norms in the community (Crosson-Tower, 1989). The ag of the child, its sex and whether or not the child has special needs or abnormal physical features may increase the chances of a child being abused. It is important to note that children are not always to blame for what happens to them but rather they are the victims. The risk factors associated with the parents include the use and abuse of drugs and experiencing financial difficulties. These make a parent prone to becoming violent and most of the times children are the victims. Some parents have difficulty bonding with their children whereas some have unrealistic expectations for their children thus fail to achieve these expectations make the parent abuse the child. Some parents were maltreated while they were children and therefore they project their past on the children. Parents or caregivers who have been or are involved in criminal activities are more likely to abuse their children. Risk factors related to the family are embedded in the relations of the family. Some families are broken or experience high levels of violence among the members. There are other families which have been isolated in the community hence the lack of social support from the community makes the children at risk of maltreatment. Apart from the child having special needs as a risk factor, the parent, guardian or family member might be having physical, mental or developmental problems. At the community level, the risk factors include; gender and social inequality, the ease of availability of drugs, lack of efficient programs and policies to prevent child abuse or child labor, social norms that exalt violence towards other people, high levels of employment or poverty and also the lack of support institutions and families.
Parents who do not have adequate knowledge about child development may have unreasonable projections for their children from which the result shall be a shaky bond between the parent and the child. The level of education that a parent has may contribute towards the likelihood of abusive behaviors. Cases of unplanned pregnancy and lack of empathy for children may double the likelihood of abusive behavior towards children (Ney, Fung & Wickett, 1992). The presence of these factors may not necessarily indicate abuse but rather they may contribute towards the occurrence of child abuse. It is important to remember that there are parents with much worse situations who do not abuse their children. The level of tolerance that a community shows towards the occurrence of abuse matters a lot. There should be stringent measures that are put in place legally and also within the norms of the society that condemn and punish child abuse.
There are many negative consequences that come as a result of child maltreatment. The physical effects of child abuse are often evident on the child. The children may be reported to have broken bones, sexually transmitted infections, ill physical health, bruises, weakened brain development, challenge in walking, sitting, talking or going about their daily activities, bleeding, head trauma and burn marks. The consequences of neglect may be poor hygiene, poor physical health, inappropriate dressing and weakened development of brain and body. There are psychological and mental effects of child abuse. The children may lose trust in the home environment. Children abused by parents or guardians may have a reactive attachment disorder. Loss of self-esteem, poor self-image, hypervigilance, withdrawal, persistent fear, depression, anxiety and difficulty maintaining relationships are some of the problems that come about when children are mistreated.
Child maltreatment also has effects on the behavior of the child. Children who are abused are most likely to become delinquents in the future. Such children may use and abuse drugs. These children may also be truant and as such their school grades shall be affected. Abused children often exhibit poor performances in school. These children are often withdrawn and do not connect well with other children. Abused children have trouble sleeping and are uncomfortable with physical contact with the people around them (Al Odhayani, Watson & Watson, 2013). Tendencies towards self-harm or self-destructive behavior and criminal activities are evident. Children who are neglected may have eating disorders. Other behavioral symptoms that may come about when a child is abused include failure to thrive, clinginess to strange adults, no reaction to painful treatments and manipulative behavior to get attention.
Society pays the price of child abuse and neglect. The lifetime cost of maltreatment and related fatalities totals up to 124 billion dollars in one year as reported by the CDC (Fang, Brown, Florence & Mercy, 2012). The monetary cost is the direct cost that the society pays for child abuse. It has been reported that prevention of child maltreatment strategies are cost-effective. The indirect costs of child maltreatment are long-term economic costs that the society incurs when there is increased use of the health care system, increased criminal activity and the use and abuse of drugs. Also, when children become delinquents, the society pays a higher cost. Strategies that are employed to prevent neglect and child abuse may end up saving the taxpayer a lot of money.
Communities are expected to break the cycle of maltreatment and to secure the well-being and future of children at all costs. This can be done by adopting a multisectoral approach to the prevention and treatment of child abuse. It is necessary to create a support group structure whereby programs are put in place that can support parents while teaching parenting skills at the same time (WHO, 2016). There should be home visits by nurses and social workers so as to provide support, education and information to the parents so as to enhance child-rearing abilities and improve the knowledge on child development. Also, there should be programs to prevent child sex abuse that are taught in schools and to the community. Children should be taught how to recognize abusive situations, disclose abuse to trusted adults, differentiate between appropriate and inappropriate touch and to say no. These interventions can yield a lot of benefits when they are introduced early into children’s lives. Such programs can help the family to recognize signs of abuse early and help to reduce the occurrence of maltreatment. These preventive strategies not help to prevent the occurrence but also to lessen the consequences.
Treatment of child maltreatment takes place in four stages. There is the treatment of injuries, creation of a safety plan, family counselling and support and removal from the home (WHO, 2006). The immediate safety of the child is a priority. In the event of a report, the professional at the child protection agency informs the parent or custodian of the filed report and an impending visit. If such information can jeopardize the well-being of the child further, the professional has the mandate to withhold such information. There is protective hospitalization, placement in temporary housing, temporary foster care or going home with the medic or social service follow up. There are follow up investigations that take place. In extreme cases, the child is removed permanently from the home.
In conclusion, child abuse or child maltreatment entails acts of omission that may bring harm to a child emotionally, physically and sexually. Neglect is the most prevalent kind of child maltreatment. There are many children being subjected to maltreatment in the globe thus there is a lot of effort needed to be put into helping these children and securing their future.
References
Abbasi et al. (2012). Child Maltreatment in the Worldwide: A Review Article. International Journal of Pediatrics 3(1): 353-365.
Al Odhayani, A., Watson, W.J. & Watson, L. (2013). Behavioral consequences of child abuse. Canadian Family Physician 59(8): 831-836.
Charlesworth, L.W.(2007). Child Maltreatment. Challenges of Living . Retrieved from https://us.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/14894_Chapter5.pdf
Crosson-Tower, C. (1989). Understanding Child Abuse and Neglect . London, UK: Pearson.
Fang, X., Brown, D.S., Florence, C.S. & Mercy, J. A. (2012). The economic burden of child maltreatment in the United States and implications for prevention. Child Abuse and Neglect 36(2): 156-165.
Ney, P.G., Fung, T. & Wickett, A.R. (1992). Causes of Child Abuse and Neglect. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 37(6):401-405.
Rebbe, R. (2018). What Is Neglect? State Legal Definitions in the United States. Child Maltreatment . Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/1077559518767337
Stroud, C. (2012). Child Maltreatment Research, Policy, and Practice for the Next Decade: Workshop Summary . Washington, DC: National Academic Press.
World Health Organization. (2006). Preventing Child Maltreatment: A Guide to Taking Action and Generating Evidence . Retrieved from http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/43499/9241594365_eng.pdf;jsessionid=8B974BFC14DAAAE8197D119B80914A51?sequence=1
World Health Organization. (2016). Child Maltreatment . Retrieved from http://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/child-maltreatment
