Child Abuse Paper Written For A Philosophy Class Essay, Research Paper

In Today?s American society we fail to address several issues that need to be solved. Unfortunately, child abuse is one of the major issues that our country is plagued with, yet we neglect to bring this to the attention of the entire nation. It is often over looked because everyone has a different view of what exactly defines child abuse. To set the record straight there are four basic forms of child abuse: emotional abuse, neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse (ICAN).

Emotional Abuse (also known as: Verbal abuse, mental abuse, and psychological maltreatment), includes acts or the failures to act by parents or caretakers that have caused or could cause, serious behavioral, cognitive, emotional or mental disorders. This can include parents/caretakers using extreme and/or bizarre forms of punishment, such as confinement in a closet or dark room or being tied to a chair for long periods of time or threatening or terrorizing a child. Less severe acts, but no less damaging are belittling or rejecting treatment, using derogatory terms to describe the child, habitual scape goating or blaming, the child (ICAN).

Neglect, which is the failure to provide for the child?s basic needs. Neglect can be physical, educational, or emotional. Physical neglect can include not providing adequate food or clothing appropriates medical care, supervision, or proper weather protection (heating or coats), to the child. Educational neglect can include failure to provide appropriate schooling or special educational needs, allowing excessive truancies, to the child. Psychological neglect is the lack of any emotional support and love, never attending to the child, spousal abuse, drug and alcohol abuse including allowing the child to participate in drug and alcohol use (ICAN).

Physical Abuse, is the inflicting of physical injury upon the child. This may include, burning, hitting, punching shaking, kicking beating, or otherwise harming a child. The parent or caretaker may not have intended to hurt the child, the injury is not an accident. It may however, been the result of over-disciplines or physical punishment that is inappropriate to the child?s ages (ICAN).

Sexual Abuse is the inappropriate sexual behavior with an adult to a child. It includes fondling a child?s genitals, making the child fondle the adult?s genitals, intercourse incest, rape, sodomy, and sexual exploitation. To be considered child abuse these acts have to be committed by a person responsible for the care of a child (for example a baby-sitter, a parent, or a day care provider) our related to the child. If a stranger commits these acts, it would be considered sexual assault and handled solely by the police and criminal courts (ICAN).

Children are affected horribly by child abuse. It ruins their lives. Child abuse is on a steady rise in the United States. Between the year 1986 and 1993 the number of reported child abuse incidents doubled for 1.4 million to 2.8 million (Mill, 12). In 1994, over 3 million children were reported for child abuse and neglect to child protective service agencies in the United Sates (AAPC).

According to a 1994 survey, physical abuse represented 21% of confirmed cases, sexual abuse 11%, neglect 49% and emotional maltreatment 3% (AAPC). Only half of these incidents are reported to law officials.

This issue is very important to our society today. In a persons lifetime he/she will more than likely know someone who has been abused. Many child abuse incidents occur, but often times they are not reported by the child. Some may think that it would be easy for a child to report that a loved one is abusing them, but actually the child is afraid of disappointing their parent. Even when a child does decide to report and abusive parent, there is no guarantee that they will receive any punishment for the judicial system. Over 90%j of child sexual abuse cases present to prosecutors do not go to trial (Mill, 12) Over half are not charged or eventually has the charges dropped. When charges are dismissd the child begins to fell that what the parent did to them is right.Step Two: Analyze the Problem

Child abuse has been around in our society for as long as any one can remember. The link between substance abuse and child abuses has strengthened over the years. It is estimated that substance-abusing parents directly affect nine to ten million children under the age of eighteen (Ogintz). In 1994, eleven states had average of 35% of their substantiated cases involve substance abuse, with the percentage ranging from % to 65% (Wiese and Daro).

This problem is very serious. It not only messes up the child?s life, but as well as the offender. The child will have to live with this guilt for the rest of his/her Leif. Also to violator will have to deal with this too.Step Three: Determine Criteria

Some solutions to this problem are getting involved in a child?s life. Another good possible solution would be to get involved in one?s religion. There are some religions that believe tin spanking a child as a form of punishment. Although it is against the law, to spank a child, and parents have lived by the law that spanking is not legal. The downside of this form of religion is that The punishment is often times a taken too far. This will eventually lead to some form of abuse.

If someone is abusing their child the time it takes for both the child and the abuser it recover may tae a long time. In the long run thorough it will all pay off.

1966

American Association for Protecting Children (AAPC). 1998. Denver, CO: American

Humane Association.

Daaro David, and Daniel Wiese. Current Trends in Child Abuse Reporting and Fatalities: The Results of the 1994 Annual Fifty State Survey. Chicago, IL.

International Child abuse Network-Yes/Can (ICAN), Working to Break the Cycle of Child Abuse. Web Page. October 1996.

Mill, David. Research on Children of Alcoholics: Past and Future. British Journal of Addiction pages 1-83.

Ogintz, E. The Littlest Victim. Chicago Tribune, Thursday, October 6,1998.

Josette Nehmelman

Mr. Modaff

Intro. to Critical Thinking

06 December 2000Child Abuse

Part TwoStep Four: Purpose possible solution

Child abuse does not only live scars physically and mentally it can also be deadly. The crisis of avoidable child abuse or morality can not be over looked (CHRP). This problem needs to stop.

Most abused and neglected children never come to the attention of the authorities. All through there may be no physical signs of harem, there is always intense shame, and secrecy is often maintained, even by adults who know of the abuse, for fear of destroying a family (Hopper). Due to these two statements we need some surefire solutions for this ever-growing problem. The possible solutions are a very accessible 1-800 number, teacher loyalty to their students, a set long jail time for offenders, and educating grades first through fifth on the problem.

First off the 1-800 number would air Monday through Friday at 3pm and 4pm and on Saturday mornings around ten. The channel would be a basic children?s channel (a channel that every household has access to). It would be on at these times because this is when most children are watching television. The commercial would be very plain. Saying that any child who is abused or knowing some one who is abused can call. The call would be free and confidential.

The next solution is stronger teacher loyalty. This meaning if a teacher even suspects a child is being abused in any form, he/she must report to the proper authorities. If this were not done the teacher would then lose their job. The teacher would lose their job on the spot, no questions asked.

The next solution would be setting a set jail time that is a good deal of time. For example: Any child abuse offender found guilty in the court of law no matter how small or large the crime is have a minimum of ten years jail time.

Last but not least would all elementary schools have to teach one class per year about child abuse to grades first through fifth. The class would teach what abuse is, including all the forms, how to prevent abuse, and how to report abuse. This would be done so that they can establish right from wrong. A study by Jim Hopper has concluded that, approximately one in six boys are sexually abused before age 16 (Hopper). ?Also, a study on college women show that, one in four women have experienced rape or attempted rape since age fourteen (Koss).?

The 1-800 numbers have been attempted. There are numbers such as the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, which is also called RAINN (Hopper). Not many children know of this network through. They are not very out in the open. If a child wants to find a number they have to make an effort to find it. They have to look it up their self in the phone book or ask someone what the number is. Which may be embarrassing.

The teacher laws are in affect right now. They are not as strong as they should be through.

There is jail time now for offenders. The time through is not long enough. If it was there would not be as many offenders that there are now.Step Five: Select your best possible Solution

Possible SolutionEffects on ChildEffects on the abuser Not wanting to abuseTotal

More accessible 1-800 number10616

Stronger teacher laws8715

Stricter jail time51015

Education of grades

1-59817The best possible solution out of these four choices would be the education of grades first through second.Step Six: Discuss how the solution can be implemented

The new formats that would have to come about with requiring schools to educated children in the grad first through the fifth would be the school pushing aside an unnecessary class that is taking place, so the abuse class could take over.Bibliography

American Association for Protecting Children (AAPC). 1998. Denver, CO: American

Humane Association.

CHILDREN?S HUMAN RIGHTS PROGRAM (CHRP), Global Child Survival: A Human Rights Priority V. Case Study: United States of America.

Hopper Jim, Child Abuse: Statistics, Research, and Resources, July 24, 1998, Web Page.

Koss M. the Scope of Rape: Incidence and Prevalence of Sexual Aggression and victimization in a National Sample of higher Education Students. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 162-170.

Daaro David, and Daniel Wiese. Current Trends in Child Abuse Reporting and Fatalities: The Results of the 1994 Annual Fifty State Survey. Chicago, IL.

International Child abuse Network-Yes/Can (ICAN), Working to Break the Cycle of Child Abuse. Web Page. October 1996.

Mill, David. Research on Children of Alcoholics: Past and Future. British Journal of Addiction pages 1-83.

Ogintz, E. The Littlest Victim. Chicago Tribune, Thursday, October 6,1998.