Problems of Children Being Abused

Unfortunately child abuse happens to be very common throughout the world. There are many different types of child abuse, and many different reasons for the ongoing abuse. “Since 1999, the majority of children confirmed to be victims of child maltreatment experienced neglect being at 62.8%, Physical abuse 16.6%, Sexual abuse 9.3%, Emotional/psychological abuse 7.1% , Medical neglect 2.0%, and Other at 14.3%” ("Child Abuse and Neglect Statistics"). Whether the abuse is mild or severe, it is all abuse and can affect how a person thinks and feels.

Many people looks at a family and assume since the family looks kind and put-together, no abuse happens in it. This is very stereotypical. Child abuse can happen in family, whether they look like a “perfect” family or not. A perfect family is typically looked at a lot differently than a “bad” family. People associate poor, non-wealthy neighborhoods with crime and child abuse. Well unfortunately, Child abuse is all over the country and not just in poor neighborhoods and families. It is not only based on the particular race, cultural or economic group. Many families hide what is really going on and try to appear as normal as possible. Embarrassment, shame, and pity are very fearful and are commonly used.. Many mistake child abuse as only kidnapping and strangers. In reality, anyone can be a child abuser: Strangers, family, caregivers, family friends, babysitters, etc. Abusers are commonly thought of having been abused during their childhood as well. which can potentially influence them to become abusers when they have children. However there are many adult survivors that want to change and stand for what has happened to them by using a child who is being abused by protecting them. They know what it is like to have gone through the abuse at such a young age and they sympathize with them. They are usually motivated to help them and typically go into a career path doing so, whether its teaching, therapist, doctors, etc. There is not one single age, race, or gender that associates abuse. “The victimization rate for girls was 9.7 per 1,000 girls younger than age 18, and the rate for boys was 8.7 per 1,000 boys younger than age 18.” According to the same source, “In 2010, most victims of child maltreatment were white (44.8%), followed by black (21.9%) and Hispanic (21.4%). Children of multiple races (3.5%), American Indian/Alaska Natives (1.1%), and Asian/Pacific Islanders (1.1%) accounted for a substantially smaller proportion of victims” ("Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2014 National Report"). This shows that child abuse is never targeted, sexist, or consistent, it is completely random and can happen to anyone.

Child abuse is a continuing problem and is impossible to stop throughout the all of the countries. Child abuse comes in many forms; physical maltreatment, sexual molestation or mental abuse. Physical child abuse is a form of non-accidental trauma caused by the perpetrator. Some traumas include, “punching, beating, kicking, biting, burning or otherwise harming a child” ("Child Physical Abuse"). This type of maltreatment is the most noticeable form, unlike children being sexually abused. Sexual child abuse may not be as detectable as physical child abuse. When a child is being abused sexually, it is when the abuser touches the children in their private places . Children look up to their adult figures to be trustworthy and role models; this is why kids usually end up following through with the abuse. Another form of child abuse that isn't easily detectable to emotional child abuse. “Child emotional/psychological abuse is defined as behaviors, speech, and actions of parents or other caregivers that have a negative mental impact on children” ("Child Emotional/Psychological Abuse"). You never know what is being said behind closed doors. Child abuse is not just about the broken bones, bruises, cuts, or the physical appearance that is made. Being emotionally abused and neglected is just as dangerous and harmful. It scars the children, but in an abstract way instead of a concrete way. “The U.S. has one of the worst records among industrialized nations, losing on average between four and seven children every day to child abuse and neglect”("Child Abuse, Domestic Violence Month noted"). Emotional abuse is very deep and may affect a child more in the long run, maybe becoming depressed, anti-social, or losing trust in everyone.Mentally and emotionally abused children take a lot of time and help to recover, depending on the degree of abuse they’ve gone through and who that person is individually. “More than three million reports of child abuse are made in the United States that involve over six million children a year. Nearly 70% of children who die from the abuse are four year or younger. More than 90% of the juvenile sexual victims know their perpetrator in some way”("Child Abuse Statistics"). Children who experience child abuse and neglect are more likely to become violent and interact with criminal activities.

Child abuse happens because people often tend to believe that abuse is only physically leaving marks, scars, or “proof” of physical abuse left behind. People are less likely to intervene in more subtle child abuse cases because no physical mark is left. Often more than not, people classify abusers as bad people. Therefore “only bad people abuse their children”, but that is not always the case. Some abusers are not intentionally harming their children. Some abusers sometimes may think that what they are doing right, because that is the way they were taught, raised how to be and act properly. That is all they know about parenting, because that i what happened to them. Some may just have some mental issues, causing problems for them to be coherent, and initiating a lack of knowledge for parenting. Substance using people can be a problem of causing each form of child abuse. People are taught how to be parents, how to raise a child and how like a role model for them. Everyone was taught, raised, and have learned differently. Learning how to take care of a child and provide for one is more tedious than learning how to do a household chore such as cleaning the dishes. Child abuse investigations, each year are reported to the Child Abuse Central Index, also known as CACl. These reports are submitted by county welfare and probation departments. The CACI was created by the Legislature in 1965. This was to protect the health and safety of children, mainly for california.

Child abuse has many causes including, as a childhood symptom of mental illness in parents, as the culmination of a lifelong experience of violation towards the caregiver, of environmental and social stresses on the family, and the society’s acceptance and promotion of physical violence. In order to select which factors to study, researchers must exclude other factors. Clinicians, facing a variety of distinctive life events, personal characteristics, and unique circumstances of the families and children they serve, not always content with the explanations of the origin or child abuse found in the research literature. Child abuse and child neglect involve a variety of childhood injuries that are believed to be derived from parental acts of omission or commision. Although the prevalence of child abuse is unknown, the concern regarding the consequences of abuse is, for individual and for our society, is universal.