Child Abuse: Saddest And Most Tragic Problem Today Essay, Research Paper

Child Abuse: Saddest and Most Tragic Problem Today

Child abuse is one of the saddest and most tragic problems in America

today. Each year an estimated one to two million American children are being

beaten, neglected, or sexually abused by their parents or guardians. Infants

only a few days old as well as teenagers are subject to child abuse. There are

four types of child abuse: physical abuse, physical neglect, sexual abuse, and

emotional abuse. Child abuse is a serious problem that plagues America’s youth

and should be stopped.

Physical abuse is a form of child abuse that should be stopped as soon

as possible. According to social agencies, beatings of children have multiplied

over the past twenty years. Physical abuse is any abuse that is harmful to the

child. This kind of abuse includes the physical discipline which results in

observable injuries on the child. It also includes use of a life-threatening

weapon, like a gun or a knife, against a child and any abuse resulting in death.

Any abuse which results in a sever injury requiring prompt medical attention,

that could be life threatening, that could cause mental and/or physical

impairment, could cause disfigurement, or chronic pain is too classified as

physical child abuse. Another form of physical abuse is any knowing or willful

mistreatment which in the opinion of a licensed medical doctor causes great

bodily harm and/or results in hospitalization for treatment of this injury or

condition; this may include physical injury sustained as a result of abuse or

conditions which result from a parent’s willful failure to act to stop this from

happening to the child.

Physical neglect is defined as failure to provide for a child’s physical

survival needs to the extent that there is harm or risk of harm to the child’s

health and safety. Physical neglect includes these four things: inadequate

food, inadequate shelter, inadequate medical care, and inadequate supervision.

Forty-two percent of all child abuse reports involve allegations of physical

neglect. The inadequate food element includes a child intentionally or

deliberately not getting fed or given water. It also includes a diagnosis by a

physician of failure to thrive because of a parent’s failure to feed the child.

Inadequate shelter includes prolonged and serious illness resulting from

exposure to the elements or to serious dangerous substances as evidenced by

serious injury. Inadequate medical care encompasses the child not receiving

medical treatment for an injury, illness, or disability, and if left

untreated, the condition is life-threatening, or will result in permanent

impairment, or is a serious threat to public health. Inadequate supervision

is dependent upon the child’s age, developmental level, willingness to stay

alone, time of day, awareness of what to do in case of an emergency, whether

the child is responsible for watching younger brothers and/or sisters, whether

the child had any physical or mental limitations that would make it difficult

or impossible for the child to care for himself/herself, and/or any other

applicable circumstances.

Some signs of neglect are obvious in children and others are not. A

sign of neglect is that the child/children have repeated injuries that are not

properly treated or adequately explained. Another sign of neglect is that the

child/children begin acting in unusual ways ranging from disruptive and

aggressive to passive and withdrawn. Their sleep is disturbed (nightmares,

bedwetting, fear of sleeping alone). They lose all of their appetite or they

overeat. There is a sudden drop in school grades or participation in school or

after school activities. They may act in stylized ways, such as sexual behavior

that is not normal for their age group.

Sexual abuse is defined as acts of sexual harassment and sexual

exploitation of minors. Sexual abuse encompasses a broad range of behavior and

may consist of many acts over a long period of time or a single incident. The

nature of sexual abuse, the shame of the child victim, and the possible

involvement of trusted parents, stepparents, or other persons in a caretaker

role make it extremely difficult for children to come forward to report sexual

abuse. Sexual contact is the intentional touching of the victim’s intimate

parts, whether on top of or underneath of the victim’s clothing, if that

intentional touching can be reasonably interpreted as being for the purpose of

sexual arousal or satisfaction. Sexual penetration includes oral sex, anal

intercourse, or any intrusion, no matter how insignificant, of any part of a

person’s body or object into the genital or anal openings of another person’s

body. Sexual abuse may also include child pornography, child prostitution, or

exposure of children to sexual acts or materials depicting sexual acts.

Emotional abuse includes verbal assaults, ignoring and indifference, or

constant family conflict. It also includes punishments like locking the child

in a dark closet. Sometimes such behaviors can cause serious mental disorders.

If a child is degraded enough, the child will begin to live up to the image that

is being communicated by the abusing parent or caretaker. This type of abuse is

the hardest kind to notice because it leaves no bruises. A child who is

emotionally abused may seem withdrawn, or act out frustration by abusing other

children, animals, or belongings.

Child abuse is a serious problem that plagues America’s youth and must

be stopped. Physical abuse and physical neglect can hurt someone to the point

of having to visit the hospital or even death. Sexual abuse can cause injury

and scar someone for life with the memories of the act or acts of sexual abuse

the child had done to him/her. Emotional abuse can also scar someone for life

in the sense that it can change your all around behavior about the world and

everyone in it because of one incident or a series of acts that occurred in your

childhood. Child abuse must be stopped in order to have a normal and prosperous

youth of tomorrow.