Category: Child Abuse

INTRODUCTION

Domestic and child abuse may be a pattern of assaultive and intimidating behaviors, with physical, sexual, and psychological spells, also as economic compulsion, that adults or teenagers use against their near cohorts or child abuse as a nonaccidental damage or pattern of injuries to a toddler. abuse is damage to a child that there’s no ‘rational’ explanation.

Domestic and child abuse may be an extensive problem with long-term penalties to the prey and everyone relations also on the abuser. Recent surveys indicate that domestic and child abuse has become a national widespread. quite a million children are confirmed annually as sufferers of kid abuse and neglect by state sections of kid defensive services. and each day a minimum of three children die as a result. violence within the home has been listed as a serious factor causal to the expansion of reports of kid abuse and neglect.

PROBLEMS OF DOMESTIC AND CHILD ABUSE

Many children unprotected to violence within the home also are victims of physical abuse. Children who observer violence or are victims of abuse themselves are at grave risk for long-term physical and psychological state problems. Children who witness violence between maternities can also be at greater risk of being violent in their future associations. If you’re a parent who is undergoing abuse, it is often difficult to understand the way to protect your child.

Short term effect of domestic and child abuse

Children in family circle where one parent is abused may feel terrible and anxious. they’ll always get on guard, wondering when subsequent violent event will happen. this will cause them to react in several ways, counting on their age:

Children in nursery

Young children who witness friendly partner violence may start doing things they want to do once they were younger, like bed-wetting, thumb-sucking, amplified crying, and whining. they’ll also develop difficulty falling or staying asleep; show signs of terror, like stammering or beating; and show signs of severe departure anxiety.

School-aged children

Children during this age range may feel shamefaced about the abuse and blame themselves for it. violence and abuse hurts children’s self-esteem. they’ll not contribute in class activities or get good grades, have fewer friends than others, and obtain into distress more often. They also may have tons of headaches and indigestions.

Teens

Teens who spectator abuse may act call at negative ways, like fighting with relations or bouncing school. they’ll also involve in risky behaviors, like having defenseless sex and using alcohol or drugs. they’ll have low self-esteem and have trouble making friends. they’ll start fights or bully others and are more expected to urge in trouble with the law. this sort of behavior is more common in teen boys who are abused in childhood than in teen girls. Girls are more likely than boys to be inhibited and to understanding depression.

Long term effects of domestic and child abuse

More than 15 million kids within the us sleep in homes during which violence went on a minimum of once. These children are at greater risk for reiterating the cycle as adults by getting into abusive relationships or becoming abusers themselves. for instance, a boy who sees his mother being abused is 10 times more likely to abuse his female companion as an adult. a woman who grows up during a home where her father abuses her mother is quite six fold as likely to be sexually abused as a woman who raises up during a non-abusive home.

Children who bystander or are victims of demonstrative, physical, or sexual assault are at higher risk for health problems as adults. These can include psychological state conditions, like depression and anxiety. they’ll also include diabetes, obesity, heart condition, poor self-esteem, and other glitches.

DOMESTIC AND CHILD ABUSE SHOULD BE PUNISHED;

We must act to alert victims of abuse that there’s help obtainable. We must work with enforcement and other state and native personnel to know that stay-at-home orders got to be relaxed when the house is unsafe. Schools should still offer simulated counseling or telephone check-ins whenever possible. We proceed toward this endways the idea that reforms are going to be viable within the end of the day as long as they’re the merchandise of a careful lodging of the fragile political considerations at stake in matters of state–family relations and of the medical and social-science indication that clarifies when and the way children suffer harm. Specifically, we propose policy reforms that reservation the normal construction and material of reasonable corporal-punishment exceptions to child-abuse law, both of which are themselves premised on a substantial reading of parental-autonomy norms. We adopt this approach for 2 reasons.

First, it’s the truth on the bottom that parental-autonomy norms interact and even sometimes compete with medical and social-science viewpoints because the line is drawn in individual cases between reasonable punishment and ill-treatment CPS workers who process reports, investigate cases, and choose whether to validate them; and judges who arbitrate claims of extreme punishment .

Second, although legal restructuring is usually warranted within the face of the established order , we don’t believe that such conflict is important here. It is sensible that parental-autonomy norms and knowledge domain should rule the method of arriving at better definitions of reasonable punishment and physical abuse, and of categorization individual events and injuries along the range of nonaccidental physical injuries. This approach best reflects what history and science tells us is sweet for children: a child-rearing model that recognizes and establishes parents.

LEGALIZATION FOR DOMESTIC AND CHILD ABUSE

As the COVID-19 epidemic lasts, people are required to remain home to guard themselves and their groups. However, the house might not be safe for several families who experience violence, which can include both intimate partners and youngsters. COVID-19 has caused major economic devastation, disengaged many from community resources and support systems, and created extensive uncertainty and panic. Such conditions may rouse violence in families where it didn’t exist before and deteriorate situations in homes where mistreatment and violence has been a drag.

The three legal institutions liable for where and the way the states draw the road between reasonable punishment and abuse are the state legislatures, which announce and define allowances and prohibitions within the first instance; CPS agencies and professionals, also referred to as departments of social services or DSS, which administer the legislative mandates and thus most directly involve families and children.

The second involved a sequence of conferences with CPS professionals, including CPS directors, supervisors, and battle zone social workers in counties in several states across the country. Our interviews were designed to determine the degree and nature of the pleasure CPS professionals have as they evaluate cases involving parental claims of reasonable punishment. and it involved a classification and check of all the states’ published judicial opinions in civil suitcases about the definition of kid abuse and therefore the assessment of sensibleness within the corporal-punishment setting.

CONCLUSIONS

Anyhow efforts in some states to narrow their scope, legal definitions of abuse and desertion continue generally to be comprehensive and unclear. Among other things, this suggests that the road between reasonable punishment and abuse itself tends to be imprecise. This nebulousness has been rationalized totally on the bottom that the state needs flexible definitions to make sure that it can act to guard children from abuse in whatever form it’s going to appear.

Although suppleness is certainly a legitimate concern, a crucial auxiliary effect is that this ill-defined normal renounces to the relevant legal actors parents, reporters, CPS professionals, and therefore the courts the job of defining abuse, and thus also the limitations of reasonable punishment . Not astonishingly, each of those definers is unnatural differently, if not by formal rules, then by cultural, political, religious, and professional training. Parents and lay reporters characteristically operate a “know it once you see it” basis, whereas CPS professionals and courts are rather, but not ever completely, constrained during this exercise by the norms of their respective disciplines, welfare work, and law. Thus, current law nose-dives to offer useful guidance to its envisioned spectators, and it provides for inconsistent case outcomes and an intolerable risk of both false-positive and false-negative blunders.

The line between reasonable punishment and abuse will never be exact. But the states can do a way better job of constraining decisionmakers to make sure both that they’re only directing parental behaviors and consequences for the kid that justify intrusions on family privacy. Specifically, it proposes the adoption of a typical for reasonable punishment that needs both an inexpensive punitive motive and reasonable power, and it defines sensibleness consistent with both normative understandings and scientific indication of capacity and useful diminishing.

REFERENCES

1. Goodman, G., and M. Rosenberg. 1987. the kid witness to family violence: Clinical and legal considerations. Domestic violence on trial: Psychological and legal dimensions of family violence. Edited by D. Sorkin. New York: Springer.
2. Douglas, H. 1991. Assessing violent couples. Families in society 72(9): 525-535.
3. Jaffe, P., D. Wolfe, and S. Wilson. 1990. Children of battered women. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications National Violence Hotline Staying Safe During COVID-19 Phone number: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
4. The National Network to Eliminate violence Resources on the Response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19)
5. Department of Justice, Office of Women’s Health Local Resources on violence
6. Prevent abuse America Coronavirus Resources & Tips for folks, Children & Others

Introduction

Children are the backbone and treasure of country. They are the power house of Nation. Today’s children are the men and women of tomorrow who will be the designers and moulders of a Nation. The children have limitless supply of vitality, determination, potential, passion and enthusiasm and have ability to build the destiny of nation. Societal monstrous like beggary, child marriage, child labour, drug addiction, child abuse, etc. cripple the appropriate maturing of nippers.

Child abuse

Child abuse is any behaviour like violence or viciousness caused by a parent or caregiver that harms a child. Sometimes children are maltreated by adults on whom they dependent such as nursery workers, teachers, sports coaches, etc.

1.7 billion children encounter abuse across the world. 3500 death are caused per year on account of child abuse in developed Nations. 75% of all children are subjected to abuse per annum.

Child abuse is not merely physical brutality directed at a little ones. There are numerous forms of child injustice encompasses physical abuse, abandon, sexual abuse, exploitation and emotional abuse.

Types of child abuse

Physical abuse

Physical abuse is a non-accidental physical injury caused by a parent or caregiver to a child. Smacking, striking, thrashing, frightening, nipping, scalding, scraping, strangling or choking a child are all examples of physical abuse.

Sexual abuse

Sexual abuse occurs when the child is used for sexual purposes or involved in sexual acts by adults. It also includes when a child used for sexual gratification or excitement by another child who is older and more powerful.

Emotional abuse

Emotional abuse is when a child’s mental and social development are harmed or causes severe emotional harm by an adult, parent or caregiver. Persecuting, yelling, segregating, lambasting, frightening, ignoring and humiliating are all examples of emotional abuse.

Child neglect

Child neglect is when the care, supervision, affection and support needed for a child’s health, safety and well-being are not given by a parent or caregiver. Child neglect encompasses: physical neglect, inadequate supervision, emotional neglect, medical neglect and educational neglect.

Reasons for child abuse

Some people abuse children for several reasons including a crave to feel dominant, they themselves encounters maltreatment as children, they don’t understand that a child have a right to feel safe, they think it’s right or appropriate.

Effects of child abuse

Child maltreatment and neglect cause permanent or long lasting cicatrix on the child. It is arduous to erase the cicatrix from the child’s memory and as well as from the body.

Child abuse affect the child’s health, relationships, learning and education.

If a child is abused it cause negative effects on a child lead to mortification, self-accusation, anger towards the abuser, fear of getting intimate and believing people, depression, complicated, low self-assurance, reminiscence, ephialtes, reliving the abuse, denial that it happened, difficulty at school with learning new things and socializing with others.

Adults may find it arduous to manage with life’s tension, get a good job or be a good parent when they were maltreated as children. They also have problems like psychological problems, drug or alcohol issues, villainous behaviour or showing signs of deleterious behaviour themselves.

Introduction

Child abuse is doing something or failing to do something that results in harm to the child or puts the child at the risk of doing harm. Child abuse can be physical, sexual or emotional. Neglect or not making provision for the needs of the child is also a form of abuse. In India and in other countries of the world, there has not been any type of understanding of the magnitude or trends of the problem. The increasing complexities of one’s life and the dramatic changes that have been brought about by the socio-economic transitions in India have contributed a major part in increasing the vulnerability of children to newer and various forms of abuse. Child abuse or mistreatment constitutes all forms of physical and emotional mistreatment, sexual abuse, neglect, exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the health of the child, survival, progress or self-esteem in the framework of the relationship of responsibility, trust or power.

Child abuse has severe physical and psychological consequences which unfavourably affects the health and general welfare of the child. Most abused children experience larger emotional than physical harm. An abused child may become miserable, he or she may withdraw from the society, think of committing suicide or become violent. An older child may use drugs or alcohol, try to run away or abuse others. Patterns of abusive behaviour may have an effect upon the child physically and psychologically. Abused children are more likely to practice comprehensive nervousness, apprehension, unhappiness, absence, humiliation, guilt, suicidal and homicidal thoughts or get involved in criminal activities, promiscuity, and substance abuse.

Status of Children in India

In the last six months, i.e. between January 1,2019, and june 30, 2019, 24,212 cases of child abuse have been registered in India, which means 4000 case in each month, 130 in a day and one in every five month, 130 in a day and one in every five minutes. These are just six months given to the supreme court by the high courts.

Child Protection – In the present existence too, there have been practices of female foeticide and female infanticide. On the other hand, children who are born and survive experience from a number of violations. The world’s largest number of working children are in India. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reported 39,827 cases of various crimes against children in 2018. Most subtle forms of violence against children such as, child marriage, economic exploitation, practices like the Devadasi tradition of dedicating young girls to Gods and Goddesses, and so forth are still prevalent and protection needs to be ensured against these practices. Physical and psychological punishments take place in the name of disciplining children and are culturally accepted. Forced evictions, displacement due to development projects, wars and conflicts, communal riots, natural disasters, all of these take their own toll on children. Children are also affected by HIV/AIDS. Even those who have remained within the protective zone, are at the risk of dropping out of it.

Child Participation – Children in most segments of the Indian society are traditionally and conventionally not accessed about the problems and decisions affecting their lives. In the family and household, the neighbourhood and wider community, in school or at the work place, and across the settings of social and cultural life, children’s viewpoints are mainly not given much importance. If they speak, they are usually not heard. The imposition of restrictive norms especially are put into practice for girl children. This restricts the children’s access to information and to choice, and often to the possibility of seeking assistance and support from the external environment.

Need for a Study on Child Abuse

As it has been stated above that India has a large child population and a great percentage of this population is subjected to abuse, exploitation and neglect. The information that is available about child abuse within the country is inadequate. Barring a few sporadic research studies, with limited scope, the attempt to understand different forms and magnitude of child abuse across the country has not been sufficient. The only information available annually is the crime data maintained by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The data that has been maintained by the NCRB shows, there is a record of only those crimes which can be registered under the IPC or other criminal Acts. Corporal punishment, use of children for creation of pornography, exposure and so forth are not reflected in NCRB data as they are not considered as offences under IPC. The study on child abuse is one of the largest studies in India and will be helpful in a number of ways. The study will contribute towards breaking the silence of child abuse within the country. It will inform about the nature and extent of child abuse in different settings and recommend immediate and appropriate responsive actions that can be undertaken by the families, community, government and civil society organisations for care and protection of children. The study will reinforce grounds for a separate legislation on child abuse and will assist in the preparation of suitable procedures, strategies and schemes to deal with the problem of child abuse.

Various forms of Abuse of Children

The various forms of abuse of children have been stated as follows:

• Child Labour – Child labour is referred to the employment of children in any types of manual or hazardous occupations. They usually receive low wages and work for long hours that are most likely to impose detrimental effects upon their health and well-being. The children who are employed are usually deprived from the acquisition of education and any kind of training. Child labour is made to overwork, they are underpaid and exploited. The various areas, where children are employed are, restaurants, they work as vendors, lift luggage on the railway platforms, agricultural sector, factories etc. Child labour is quite high in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Gujarat.
• Physical Abuse – Physical abuse is inflicting any form of injuries on the child. The various forms of physical abuse includes, beating, pushing, shaking or hurting the child with any objects. Physical abuse is usually experienced by the children at home, at the hands of their family members. The families belonging to deprived, marginalized and socio-economically backward sections of the society, usually beat the children and physically abuse them. The factors of being isolated, illiterate and unaware are responsible for imposing this type of behavioural traits upon the children. School going children who account for 42.8 percent are facing corporeal punishment and 15.6 percent of the children experience physical abuse by the people other than family members.
• Emotional Abuse – One out of five children have been experiencing emotional abuse. Emotional abuse is the form of verbal abuse, which psychologically effects the individuals. Whenever a child experiences obscene language, screaming or are humiliated by someone, this is stated to be the forms of emotional abuse. This type of abuse is experienced by the children in schools, at home as well as at work, if the children are engaged in any type of employment opportunities or work as domestic helpers. Emotional abuse causes pain and suffering within the mind-sets of the children. Delhi, Assam and Madhya Pradesh are the states where emotional abuse is high.
• Girl Child Neglect – There are individuals, who in the present existence desire for a male child and do not provide the same attention to the girls as compared to males. In the family, if there are two children, one boy and one girl. In such cases, girls are sometimes neglected and boys are given preference. The parents give more attention to the boys and limited income families are more willing to fulfil the needs and requirements of the male children. They have formed this viewpoint that boys are assets and will generate wealth and reputation for the family. They also believe in making provision of education to the boys. On the other hand, girls are considered as liabilities, they are trained regarding the performance of the household chores and education is low amongst them as compared to boys. Due to these factors, girls form this viewpoint that they are being neglected and it is a form of abuse.
• Sexual Abuse – Sexual abuse is considered as the most unfavourable form of abuse and affects the health as well as the mind-sets of the children. This type of abuse may have long-term affects upon the children. The children who have experienced this form of abuse, usually have problems in walking or sitting, they are not able to participate in any type of physical activities.
• Child Prostitution – Child prostitution is considered as the worst forms of child labour. It means making use of the child in sexual activities for remuneration or any other forms of consideration. However, child prostitution is prohibited, it is considered as equivalent to exploitation and victimization of the child precisely, because it destabilizes the child’s development. It is disadvantageous to the child both physically and emotionally and it violates the child rights. The child prostitutes get infected with diseases like Sexual Transmitted Diseases (STD) and even the HIV infection (AIDS).
• Child Trafficking – The prevalence of the conditions of poverty are stated to be the major causes for child trafficking. The poverty stricken families mainly sell their children into sex trade by the parents either knowingly or unknowingly. When poverty stricken families cannot afford to meet the requirements of the children, they are trafficked and another cause can be when families regard their children as burdens and do not show care for them, they sell them for money. These children are kept as bondage and they are deprived of food, physically abused, beaten, burned and tortured. Child trafficking is the form of abuse, where pain and suffering are imposed upon the children to a great extent.

Causes of Child Abuse

There are numerous causes of child abuse. Characteristics and circumstances of the abuser, the child and the family may be involved or contribute towards this act. The various causes have been stated as follows:

• Poverty – Poverty and scarcity of resources are regarded to be the major problems that leads to abuse of the children. The families, who are in most cases poverty stricken and experience scarcity of resources are normally large. There are usually three to six children in a nuclear family. Poverty stricken families do not find it manageable to make provision of needs and requirements of all family members. It becomes difficult for the individuals to sustain large families, hence, they either abuse one of the children through child trafficking or send one or more children to urban areas in search for jobs.
• Unemployment – In the present existence, individuals from all backgrounds and statuses recognize the significance of education. After attaining education or developing the basic literacy skills of reading, writing and arithmetic, all individuals would like to obtain employment with the main purpose of sustaining their living conditions. Employment opportunities are difficult to acquire. When educated individuals do not have proper jobs, they usually become depressed and frustrated. Out of the feelings of depression and frustration, they impose various forms of abuse upon their family members and children. Children have a number of requirements, they usually make demands from their parents for various things, such as, clothes, playthings, eatables, books, stationary etc..
• Domestic Violence – Domestic violence is the form of violence that takes place within the households. Domestic violence is more prevalent amongst the deprived, marginalized, disadvantaged and socio-economically backward sections of the society. It can be between spouses, siblings, parents and children, helpers and employers, and other family members. In cases of domestic violence, children get subjected to various forms of abuse and mistreatment. Anger, frustration and depression are stated to be the areas that primarily lead to domestic violence. When discussions assume a heated form, then individuals may inflict anger and abuse upon the children as well, without any fault of theirs. When family members are involved in the abuse and mistreatment of the children, then domestic violence is stated as the primary cause.

Prevention of Child Abuse

Public Awareness and Creating Supportive Communities – As it has been stated that there are certain individuals who are not aware and they abuse and harm young children, who are even below five years of age. In most cases, these individuals do not have any specific reasons of harming young children, but they commit this heinous act out of the feelings of animosity and hostility. In order to prevent child abuse, these individuals and the general public should be made aware that children should not be harmed in any manner. There are imposition of severe penalties upon the individuals, who abuse and harm young children. Communities should possess a kind and an amiable attitude towards the children, as when a child causes damage to someone’s property, he is usually abused and conflict takes place. In such cases, he should be explained about the consequences in a polite manner and one should not get angry at children.

Prevention Programs – Standards for the prevention programs need to be understood by all individuals. Research conducted on the works of experts and professionals, and resources on specific types of programs need to be taken into account. Many children experience insecure birth, and many do not survive. Many more struggle through childhoods of deprivation and risk, and are unsuccessful to reach their complete potential. As the poverty stricken immensely out-number the non-poverty stricken, a large majority of these births are amongst the deprived and the underprivileged sections of the population, where the parents cannot provide proper care or adequately sustain the living of their children. The situation of the new-born and the periods of infancy and early childhood are mainly serious and the morbidity and mortality rates continue to remain high.

Conclusion

Child abuse is a state of emotional, physical, economic and sexual maltreatment that is imposed upon an individual, who is below 18 years of age. It is stated as a globally relevant phenomenon. In India, there has not been an understanding of the magnitude of this problem. The various problems that the individuals have been experiencing in their daily lives have led to prevalence of child abuse. Child abuse has serious physical and psychological effects upon the health and mind-sets of the individuals. For the effective development of the country, it is imperative to ensure children are nurtured in a safe environment, they are provided education, proper nourishment and activities leading to their productive growth and development. It is the duty of the Government and community to address the concerns of care and protection to the children.

Several developed countries of the world have powerful child protection systems, predominantly motivated on mandatory reporting, documentation and examinations of affected children, and often taking intimidating actions. The problems of high level statements, reports and investigations are not only within the families, but also within the systems, which are required to increase their resources.

Child abuse and neglect has become more and more common today than it was years ago. Not only is it more common, but the severity of it has grown greatly over the years. The abuse has become worse and worse over time. The sole purpose of this research my paper is to bring awareness to what abuse and neglect is and some possible solutions to fix the issue we are facing.

There are many statistics that come into play when you are looking at child abuse and neglect, not only following the statistics there are different forms of the abuse that many are aware of, but many may not know the signs. To be able to achieve the goal of creating awareness my paper is in two parts, part one will be explaining what child abuse is and the different types of child abuse there is. Along with how they are characterized under federal law. Part two goes into the statistics and factors of abuse, the long and short term effects of abuse and some solutions that we can put in place to try and cut down on child abuse and neglect.

Definition

“At the Federal level, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) has defined child abuse and neglect as ‘any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caregiver that results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or exploitation, or an act or failure to act that presents an imminent risk of serious harm.’ (“Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect.” childwelfare.gov. children’s bureau, 1 Mar. 2019. Web. 22 Nov. 2019.) Child abuse comes in many different forms, making it very difficult to narrow down which one the child may be going through if abuse if suspected. There are six types of abuse in all; physical, emotional, sexual, neglect and other forms include parental substance abuse and abandonment.

Types of abuse

Physical abuse is defined as,”any non-accidental physical injury to the child” (“Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect.” childwelfare.gov. children’s bureau, 1 Mar. 2019. Web. 22 Nov. 2019. .) A few examples of physical child abuse include hitting a child, hitting a child with an object, or tying a child up.

Emotional abuse is defined as, “injury to the psychological capacity or emotional stability of the child as evidenced by an observable or substantial change in behavior, emotional response, or cognition” (“Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect.” childwelfare.gov. children’s bureau, 1 Mar. 2019. Web. 22 Nov. 2019. .) Emotional abuse can include verbal abuse, which can include screaming and yelling vulgar things at a child.

Sexual abuse depends on the state, some just use the general term,”sexual abuse” or others go further into detail including sexual exploitation which includes pornography, prostitution, or trafficking.

Neglect is characterized as “the failure of a parent or other person with responsibility for the child to provide needed food, clothing, shelter, medical care, or supervision to the degree that the child’s health, safety, and well-being are threatened with harm.” (“Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect.” childwelfare.gov. children’s bureau, 1 Mar. 2019. Web. 22 Nov. 2019. . )

Abandonment is characterized as the “abandonment of the child when the parent’s identity or whereabouts are unknown, the child has been left by the parent in circumstances in which the child suffers serious harm, or the parent has failed to maintain contact with the child or to provide reasonable support for a specified period of time.” (“Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect.” childwelfare.gov. children’s bureau, 1 Mar. 2019. Web. 22 Nov. 2019. .)

Substance abuse, parental substance abuse is another form in some states. If exposure happens prenatally, or the manufacturing happens in the presence of a child, distribution to children and lastly if the use impairs the parent to give adequate care of the child in the home. (“Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect.” childwelfare.gov. children’s bureau, 1 Mar. 2019. Web. 22 Nov. 2019. .)

Statistics and factors of child abuse

Factors that play into child abuse is the age and special needs. Children younger than four years of age have a higher chance of being abused than someone of an older age due to being unable to defend themselves or even be able to speak up about it. Children with special needs, like disabilities, mental health, or chronic physical illness play into it as well. They create a burden on the parent causing the abuse. Other risk factors can include parents lack of understanding of children’s basic needs, nonbiological caregiver in the home, like the mother’s boyfriend, substance abuse and other factors come into play in child abuse. The most common factor that comes into play is history of child abuse in the parentals history. Generally if a parent was abused when they were growing up they fall into abuse when they have children of their own.

Statistics “in 2017 4.1 million reports of child maltreatment in the United States involving more than 7.5 million children.” (child abuse, page one under section “in 2017” ) That is about 674,000 children involved in maltreatment. “74.9% of children suffered neglect, 18.3 percent suffered from physical abuse, and 8.6% suffered from sexual abuse,” (child abuse, page one under section “in 2017” ) Younger children are the most valnurable out of all the children because they are unable to defend themselves. In 2017, “1,720 children died from abuse and neglect,” (child abuse, page one under section “in 2017” ) 71.8 percent were under three years old. Most people assume that physical abuse causes most of the deaths when it comes to abuse, but according to research neglect is the most common cause of death and they are mostly children under years of age.

Child abuse awareness

To bring to light the severity of child abuse I want to discuss a recent news story about child abuse. In gloucester county, Virginia there was a couple, Brian and Shannon Gore, who had already been charged with homicide in 2008, that had been dropped, of their infant son. Their son was found buried beneath the shed in the backyard by authorities in 2011, that’s also when they found Gore’s daughter locked in a cage, without clothing and extremely underfed. The medical examiner was unable to find a cause of death for the little boy, but he expressed,”This child was not getting enough to eat,”(Wb. “Gloucester Couple Found Guilty of Child Abuse for Second Time.” ) he said this due to how porus his bones were. Conner’s skull was also flattened and deformed due to how often he was lying on his back. Supposedly, in March of 2008, Brian found Conner passed away in his crib with a blanket over his head. He tried CPR that was unsuccessful so after a few days they buried him in the yard wrapped in a blanket.”(Wb. “Gloucester Couple Found Guilty of Child Abuse for Second Time.”) I share this news article to bring awareness to how bad the abuse has become over the years. It’s something we cannot ignore anymore, it is unfair to the children to let this abuse continue.

Symptoms of child abuse each form of abuse has its own individual symptoms, some are worse than others. We will start with the symptoms of child neglect, many neglected children have multiple medical conditions, they don’t thrive like other children around them and they can be severely malnourished. Signs of this form of abuse can be,”….. Is frequently absent, Steals or begs for food or money, lacks needed medical or dental care, immunizations, or glasses. Constantly dirty and has severe body odor, Lacks sufficient clothing for the weather. Abuses alcohol or other drugs or States that there is no one at home to provide care.” (Psychology Today, page 1 under “school personal”) Symptoms of physical abuse are “bruises, like black eyes, lacerations, rope marks. Broken bones, open wounds or cuts that are untreated, lab finding overdoses or underdoses of medication, or sudden change behavior.” (“Types and Signs of Abuse.” DSHS, section “physical abuse”) Sexual abuse symptoms include, “bruises around the breasts or genital area, unexplained venereal disease or genital infections or torn, stained, or bloody underclothing.” (“Types and Signs of Abuse.” DSHS, section “sexual abuse”) Symptoms of emotional abuse include, “being emotionally upset or agitated, being extremely withdrawn and non communicative or non responsive, nervousness around certain people.”(“Types and Signs of Abuse.” DSHS, section “emotional abuse”) Signs of abandonment include, “deserting a vulnerable adult in a public place, deserting a vulnerable adult in his/her own home or living space, and an individual’s report of being abandoned.”(“Types and Signs of Abuse.” DSHS, section “abandonment”)

Long-term effects of child abuse the effects of child abuse can differ from person to person, along with the abuse they suffered. Some may have less effects than others and it can occur immediately or it could take months of years to surface. Child abuse increases the chances of certain long term health issues, such as diabetes, lung disease, malnutrition, functional limitations, or even brain damage. “Child abuse and neglect also has been associated with certain regions of the brain failing to form, function, or grow properly.”(Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2019). Long-term consequences of child abuse and neglect, page 2 ) These spots on the brain are the main parts damaged,”The amygdala, which is key to processing emotions.ƒ The hippocampus, which is central to learning and memory. ƒ The orbitofrontal cortex, which is responsible for reinforcement-based decision-making and emotion regulation.ƒ The cerebellum, which helps coordinate motor behavior and executive functioning andƒ The corpus callosum, which is responsible for left brain/right brain communication and other processes.” (Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2019). Long-term consequences of child abuse and neglect, page 2. ) It also increases the chances for mental issues, it can affect, “working memory, self-control, and cognitive flexibility,” (Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2019). Long-term consequences of child abuse and neglect. ) They have higher chances for depression and anxiety in their lifetime compared to someone who was not abused. An abundance of children will also form PTSD from the abuse that they suffered, PTSD is characterized as,”persistent re-experiencing of the traumatic events related to the abuse; avoiding people, places, and events that are associated with their maltreatment; feeling fear, horror, anger, guilt, or shame; startling easily; and exhibiting hypervigilance, irritability, or other changes in mood,” (Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2019). Long-term consequences of child abuse and neglect, page 3. ) All of these issues caused by abuse can make it very difficult for them to function in a “normal” day to day life compared to someone like you and me.

Solution for child abuse

When it comes to a solution for child there are multiple different routes you can take to try to solve the huge issue that it is. In the example above involving Brian and Shannon Gore, it seemed that the law failed the children involved in that situation. If the charges for the homicide of their son was not dropped then the little girl may not have been involved in what she went through and treated so horribly by her parents. In the state of Virginia the law in place for protecting children from their abusers. Virginia 18.2-371.1, Abuse and neglect of children; penalty; abandoned infant, This states:

“A. Any parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the care of a child under the age of 18 who by willful act or willful omission or refusal to provide any necessary care for the child’s health causes or permits serious injury to the life or health of such child is guilty of a Class 4 felony. For purposes of this subsection, ‘serious injury’ includes but is not limited to (i) disfigurement, (ii) a fracture, (iii) a severe burn or laceration, (iv) mutilation, (v) maiming, (vi) forced ingestion of dangerous substances, and (vii) life-threatening internal injuries. For purposes of this subsection, ‘willful act or willful omission’ includes operating or engaging in the conduct of a child welfare agency as defined in § 63.2-100 without first obtaining a license such person knows is required by Subtitle IV (§ 63.2-1700 et seq.) of Title 63.2 or after such license has been revoked or has expired and not been renewed.

B. 1. Any parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the care of a child under the age of 18 whose willful act or omission in the care of such child was so gross, wanton, and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life is guilty of a Class 6 felony.

2. If a prosecution under this subsection is based solely on the accused parent having left the child at a hospital or emergency medical services agency, it shall be an affirmative defense to prosecution of a parent under this subsection that such parent safely delivered the child to a hospital that provides 24-hour emergency services or to an attended emergency medical services agency that employs emergency medical services personnel, within the first 14 days of the child’s life. In order for an affirmative defense to apply, the child shall be delivered in a manner reasonably calculated to ensure the child’s safety.

C. Any parent, guardian, or other person having care, custody, or control of a minor child who in good faith is under treatment solely by spiritual means through prayer in accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious denomination shall not, for that reason alone, be considered in violation of this section.” (“Virginia Law.” § 63.2-100. (Effective October 1, 2019))

This law is in place to be able to protect children, but the law does not help if someone does not report the abuse. Many times someone will see the signs of the abuse, but chose to ignore them or they are not believed. A lot of times when the abuse is reported, they are ignored and the person that it was reported to whether it’s a police officer or social worker may look into it, but they may not fully investigate it. There are laws put in place that if you suspect or know about abuse you must report it under the child protection laws. There are many penalties and sometimes jail time involved if it is not reported.

One of the biggest solutions for this topic would be for it to be reported, doctors, nurses, teachers, etc. all have a legal protocol to follow in order to report the abuse. It comes in steps, the first step is the most important that most either don’t do or they don’t have the knowledge to be able to do it. The first step is to be able to identify the signs, either people don’t know the signs or they chose to ignore them not to get involved in the situation. If we could get it to where everyone would report the signs in the very beginning or if it’s suspected we could cut down on abuse a lot. The major problem is missing the signs and not reporting it. This is especially important for the children unable to report the abuse, whether they are too young or are disabled and cannot report the issue due to speech impairments or they just aren’t meantally capable of understanding the abuse to report it. More protocols and laws should be put in place to help further protect children from abuse, this could also help narrow down the issue a lot more if the federal government could go into more detail with their laws, to prevent another situation like the Gore’s situation I stated above.

Work cited

1. “Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect.” childwelfare.gov. children’s bureau, 1 Mar. 2019. Web. 22 Nov. 2019. .
2. “Risk and Protective Factors|Child Abuse and Neglect|Violence Prevention|Injury Center|CDC.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 26 Feb. 2019, https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/riskprotectivefactors.htm
3. “Child Abuse and Neglect.” Children’s Rights, https://www.childrensrights.org/newsroom/fact-sheets/child-abuse-and-neglect/.
4. “Child Neglect.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/conditions/child-neglect.
5. Wb. “Gloucester Couple Found Guilty of Child Abuse for Second Time.” WTKR.com, 22 May 2015, https://wtkr.com/2015/05/18/gloucester-couple-serving-30-years-now-on-trial-for-infant-sons-death/.
6. “Types and Signs of Abuse.” DSHS, https://www.dshs.wa.gov/altsa/home-and-community-services/types-and-signs-abuse.
7. “Virginia Law.” § 63.2-100. (Effective October 1, 2019) Definitions, https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/63.2-100/.
8. Ministerie van Algemene Zaken. “Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Protocol.” Domestic Violence | Government.nl, Ministerie Van Algemene Zaken, 5 Oct. 2016, https://www.government.nl/topics/domestic-violence/domestic-violence-and-child-abuse-protocol.
9. Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2019). Long-term consequences of child abuse and neglect. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau. https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubpdfs/long_term_consequences.pdf

Child abuse is an issue we encounter and need to address. It is not only physical but mental as well. Child abuse is a global problem, which we come across in families not only in the United States but overseas also. Imagine coming home to a corrupted household that taunts you with every step you take. Imagine being in fear of those who you love and care about; people who you thought could give you the protection and safekeeping that every child deserves. Parents and guardians, wake up! Take in the fact that the things you’re doing are not only affecting the children but our future, as well. Our kids are our future!

Early childhood experiences affect all of us in many different ways as an adult. Child abuse is one of the reasons why we have many unethical people, such as criminals committing iniquities against our laws and constitution. The American SPCC, American Society For the Positive Care of Children, states that “14% of all men in prison and 36% of women in prison in the USA were abused as children”. They also mention that “Children who are abused and neglected are about 9 times more likely to be involved in criminal activity”. Here we see that child abuse affects children raising them to be criminals as adults.

Physical abuse involves physical harm or injury to the child. Physical abuse has many effects on a child’s both mind and body. Children’s health development is affected by many types of abuse, especially physical. Improper developments such as; impairment in the brain, language, and vision, with the risks for diseases internally and anxiety. In addition, Children can die due to not only because of physical abuse but rather child abuse in general. CDC states that” There were 676,000 victims of child abuse and neglect reported to child protective services in 2016”. Not only that but they also stated that” About 1,720 children died from abuse or neglect in 2017”.

Moreover, mental abuse is a serious matter that can lead to chronic illnesses in the mind and can affect relationships throughout the individual’s life. Mentally abused children can developmental afflictions. This then gives the possibility of making the child an abuser themselves when they grow up. A medical review by Timothy J. Legg, who has a Ph.D., showed that child abuse can be connected to low development with difficulties in keeping strong relationships. This then may lead to school and work problems. In addition to this, the medical review also showed that abuse can lead to criminal behavior.

A good example of a criminal who was abused as a child was John Wayne Gacy. John Wayne Gacy was a serial killer roaming around 1972 through 1978. He committed acts of rape, murder, and torture to at least 33 teenage boys and young men. He was born in March 1942 and died in May 1994 due to being executed by lethal injection. At the young age of four, his father had already started beating him with a belt as a punishment. Even with the protection of his mother, his father continued to both physically and verbally abuse him saying things like “he would grow up as a queer”, “sissy” etc…

Another example of an infamous criminal who experienced abuse in their childhood was Aileen Wuornos. Wuornos started engaging in sexual activity at the age of 11in order to get her hands on food, drugs, and cigarettes. Wuornos claimed that her grandfather, Lauri Wuornos would strip her naked and sexually assault her through beatings and sexual acts. From 1989 through 1990 she murdered seven men in Florida by shooting them at point-blank range. She claimed that the men that she had killed either raped her or attempted to rape her. She then was convicted for about six of those murders and was sentenced to death through lethal injection.

In the “Trials of Gabriel Fernandez”, a little 8-year-old boy was killed by his mother and her current boyfriend at the time. He was tortured, abused, and treated like an animal for eight agonizing months in which his mother and boyfriend would beat him like he was a punching bag. His brother claimed that Gabriel “would sleep bound and gagged inside a small cabinet.” He also said that his” mom and her boyfriend made Gabriel eat spoiled or expired stuff.

Not only this but, it wasn’t only the parents to blame for Gabriel’s death but also the social workers and the police force’s failure to fully analyze the situation even though the situation was reported many times. The law enforcement apparently called many to the house and assess the situation but reported that “no abuse” was going on in the household. Gabriel as an 8-year-old child would often write suicide notes stating how “he wanted to be a good boy” and how “he would kill himself.” Even though these horrific events, Gabriel wrote a letter to his mother literally a couple of days before his death on things that he loved about his mother.

Prosecutors believed that Gabriel’s mother was the one who instigated the abuses. Her family members also claim that” she was uneducated, started using drugs at an early age which stopped brain development, was diagnosed with depression, bipolar disorder, PTSD, suffered from eating disorders, and had abnormalities on her scans. She was also a victim of gang rape and rape by an uncle at an early age.” Even Pearl Fernandez, Gabriel’s mother, was affected by abuse as a child! This, however, is not an excuse for you to tell your boyfriend to beat your own son, your blood, your supposed little soldier all the way to his death before he has even reached his teenhood.

Pearl Fernandez pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison. While her boyfriend Isuaro Aguirre was sentenced to death and is still currently on death row in California’s San Quentin prison.

Around the world in 2014, approximately 1 billion children the age of 2 through 17 experienced physical, sexual, emotional, or multiple types of violence, according to “Releasing Children from Poverty Compassion.” They also stated that” one in every 5 women and one in every 13 men have reported that they have been sexually abused as a child”. The U.S. spends about 7 trillion dollars in order to fight against child abuse each year. Millions of children are suffering and we need to help them as much as possible and as soon as possible.

Every year more and more people have reported child abuse in the United States. Exactly about 3 million reports each year according to ‘Child Help.” About 20.7% of adults report being sexually abused, and 10.6% of adults report being emotionally abused in their childhoods according to the same source. Here are a couple of signs which you should be wary of a child has random injuries which he/she cannot explain, the child is having a school slump, the child’s parents do not acknowledge the child, the child is overly compliant, passive, or withdrawn. These signs are all according to “Child Welfare.”

There are a couple of myths about child abuse. Some of them are “It is only abuse if it’s violent”,” Only bad people abuse their children”, and” Abuse doesn’t happen to good families.” However, these are all false! There are so many parents out there not knowing that what they are doing to their children is going to affect their futures. Though, there are also a lot of parents who know exactly what they are doing but don’t care enough about their children to stop the abuse. These types of parents are just cruel and worse than animals, for even animals know how to care for their young.

Parents who clearly do not want their children to have a lot of options from which they could choose rather than making the child suffer. They could give up the child for adoption, they could give up the child to foster families, or maybe just not have a baby at all! It just doesn’t make sense for people to have children only to abuse them and kill them. These types of people can be likened to demons!

Child abuse is like bullying “If you see something say something, if you hear something say something.” Do not be afraid to call for help! Do not question yourself in these decisions. Do not doubt yourself, for if you do it might already be too late to save the child. The worst situation that can come out from you calling for help is that it was all just a misunderstanding and the child is actually not being abused. Ask yourself though however would you really take that chance!?

There are a couple of ways in which you can prevent child abuse from happening or making it worse. One way is literally to just be a nurturing and caring parent, always watch out for your child’s needs, and discipline only when necessary. Another way is by helping a friend, neighbor, or relative; if you see them struggling to parent their child, ask if you can do anything for them so that they can either rest, do what they need to do, and or just have a little break. This does mean you should fully take over their roles as the parent but just from time to time, it might be a good thing for both you, the parents, and the child. After all who doesn’t deserve a break once in a while

Remember that children are human beings too. They are not toys, punching bags, or stress relievers, they are all human beings! They have feelings, emotions, hopes, and dreams that they will soon aspire to have as they’re growing. If you are not confident and do not feel ready yet to have a child, but will soon have one, due to some circumstances that you went through, you can always go through parental therapies which where can better prepare you to be a parent at least in some way. Please refrain from harming and or endangering the kid’s well-being for who knows maybe the child will someday grow up and find the cure to cancer, or maybe even become the next U.S. president, maybe even explore the depths of the ocean which we haven’t reached. Just imagine the things they can do if we only stop or at the very least lessen the occurrence of which a child is being abused. The possibilities of their futures are endless and all we have to do is nurture and guide them to the right path, which involves no violence, but only love and care.

Overall, some people may not agree and say that “child abuse is not happening, it doesn’t affect the children at all, it gives them discipline…etc.”, but as much as you think it’s not happening it is and thousands maybe even millions of kids are dying due to abuse. Even if it’s not happening as often anymore, would you really be satisfied and be complacent about the fact that you could’ve done something in order to save children who haven’t even reached their teens yet!? So in full support of the ISPCAN, whose goal is to end child abuse. Everyone, not just parents should be wary of what they’re doing to a child. Child abuse is a grave matter which needs to be resolved because not only are we affecting them, but rather the world’s future generations. If you or anyone else does see or hear of child abuse please contact the “Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline” (1-800-4-A-Child;1-800-422-4453). You can make a difference! You can save a life! You can be the bridge to which a child can get their future! Let’s stop the abuse that a child does not deserve! For one day they might be the ones who will change the world and future. It is up to you, their lives are now in your hands, or be forever haunted by the fact that you, yourself could’ve made a difference, but chose to ignore the signs, SAVE THEIR LIVES!

Works Cited

1. “Child Emotion and Psychological abuse.” Legg, Timothy https://www.healthline.com/health/child-neglect-and-psychological-abuse
2. “Child Maltreatment in the U.S.” https://americanspcc.org/child-abuse-statistics/
3. “Child Abuse and Neglect” https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/index.html
4. “Trials of Gabriel Fernandez” Verhoeven, Beatrice https://www.thewrap.com/trials-of-gabriel-fernandez-most-shocking-details/ (Streamed show on Netflix)
5. “John Wayne Gacy” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne_Gacy, https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/john-wayne-gacy
6. “Aileen Wuornos” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aileen_Wuornos, https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/aileen-wuornos
7. “Facts about Child Abuse” https://www.compassion.com/poverty/child-abuse.htm
8. “What is Child Abuse?” https://www.childhelp.org/child-abuse/
9. “Child Abuse Signs” https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/whatiscan.pdf#page=4&view=Recognizing%20signs%20of%20abuse%20and%20neglect%20and%20when%20to%20report
10. “Facts and Myths of Child Abuse” Smith, Melinda https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/whatiscan.pdf#page=4&view=Recognizing%20signs%20of%20abuse%20and%20neglect%20and%20when%20to%20report
11. “Ten Ways to Prevent Child Abuse” https://preventchildabuse.org/resource/ten-ways-to-help-prevent-child-abuse/

One day, Rayne Perrywinkle and her three daughters went on a little shopping trip to a discount store. Perrywinkle’s daughters needed more clothes but she was having a hard time figuring out how she was going to pay for them. After exiting the discount store 61-year-old Donald Smith was standing outside waiting to speak to the four women. He had been standing around them in the discount store and noticed the mother struggling to afford the clothes. Smith offered to take them to Walmart and make some purchases for them. Rayne was not quite sure about accepting the offer, but Smith told her that his wife would meet them at the nearby Walmart. Rayne gave in because she was convinced that he was just being a good Samaritan that wanted to help her family out. After realizing the wife had never shown up, Rayne stated that her daughters were getting restless because of how late it was, and they had no dinner. Smith offered to buy them McDonald’s, which was located inside the Walmart. Rayne’s 8-year-old daughter Cherish Perrywinkle followed Smith to the McDonald’s and twenty minutes later she realized McDonald’s was closed and her daughter was missing. Cameras caught the man and little girl exiting the building but Cherish was later found mutilated in a creek.

Not having children of your own nor personally experiencing a child abduction situation I could not imagine how Rayne Perrywinkle was feeling sitting face to face in a courtroom with the killer of her daughter. In the United States, there are approximately 460,000 children that are reported missing every year (International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children, 2019). The eye-opening thing about Cherish’s story is the fact the worthless old man more than likely bribed her out of the building due to the fact she was skipping out behind him. According to Attorney Melissa Nelson, “No one noticed. It looked like a grandfather and a granddaughter” (Dearen, 2018). Unfortunately, that is how this old man got away with the terrible thing that he did. No one would ever wish this upon someone else and you never realize the damage that it can do until it is done to your family. Although, Rayne thought Smith was just being a “good Samaritan”, we all must grasp the fact there are so many cruel individuals in the world today. In my opinion, there were warning signs written all over this man, but you can get so caught up in the moment and all she was doing was trying to do what was right for her children.

Nowadays parents cannot take their eyes off their children because it only takes one second for them to get snatched up and taken. Teenagers constantly need to watch their backs anywhere they go because people like Smith are always watching and taking notes. In Cherish Perrywinkle’s case, her tragedy could have easily been prevented. It is hard to blame the mom because she was doing what was best for her babies, but it is hard not to blame her due to the fact she was wary about the offer but took it anyways. The main thing that would have saved Cherish’s life is the number one rule when in public with your children; never let them out of your sight.

One way the abduction could have been prevented is Rayne weighing all the options before getting into the white van and putting her children in danger. Smith easily could have approached the family inside the discount store where he first noticed the mother was struggling to afford the clothes, rather than waiting for them outside. Another way it could have been prevented is when the wife has never shown up at Walmart as Smith assured would happen, Rayne should have taken her children and left. The article does not specify if Cherish voluntarily followed the man to McDonald’s or if Rayne allowed it to begin with. If they all would have went together, then she would have seen it was closed and Cherish might be alive today. You never send your child off with a stranger no matter the situation. Also, it should not have taken Rayne 20 minutes to realize the McDonald’s inside the store was closed and her daughter was missing from her side.

Reporting the incident is the first thing that anyone should do when they witness or have reason to believe there is some sort of child abuse happening. Teachers, principals, doctors, and nurses are mandated reporters (Child Abuse-Reporting Procedures, 2018). For us nurses, this means we are responsible for making a report when we have reasonable cause to suspect that a child has been abused. Collect as much information about the incident as possible and if it is an emergency then calling 911 would be the first step. You would contact the local child protective services agency if there was not an emergency, but a suspicion of some form of child abuse. When calling, the person on the other line will ask questions such as details about the suspicion, the reason for reporting, whereabouts of the child, indicators of harm, etc. Even if you do not know all the information a report should still be made. After making a report, there will be ongoing responsibilities, such as: participating in conferences or planning meetings that pertain to the case, being a support person for the child, and providing written reports for future court proceedings. Never hesitate to call or contact your local police department because it might just save that child’s life.

There can be physical, sexual, behavioral, and emotional signs of abuse or disclosure where the child comes straight out and says they have been abused. We all hope that a child would come out and tell someone but, they are beyond terrified, therefore, you must look for other indicators. Some specific things dealing with the physical approach can be bruises, broken bones, and burns to the body, especially if the child is not able to provide an explanation for the injury. Some behavioral indicators can be wearing long pants or long sleeves when it is hot outside, not showing any emotion when getting hurt, or showing alcohol and drug misuse. Emotional signs are having constant worry about doing something wrong, not showing any interest in having friends, showing depression, and having low self-esteem. Some children may try to avoid going home or show fear of going home and that itself is a red flag.

Although talking to a child that is four years old versus talking to a teenager that is a victim of child abuse is different, your honesty and communication skills should be the same. For instance, from the ages of 2 up to 18 the main priority when communicating with these victims should be gaining their honesty, that way they are more comfortable with you. Being asked tons of questions and surrounded by many unfamiliar faces can be quite terrifying, no matter the child’s age, so therefore honesty and respect are key. You want to let the child know that they are no longer in danger and it is okay to feel hurt, scared, confused, or angry. Using terms and language the child can understand is important because if you’re using big professional words then that could possibly frighten the victim even more and you might not get the information needed.

Most cases dealing with child abuse involve someone that the child either loves or trusts a lot. Therefore, the main reason most incidents go unreported is due to the fact the child is scared to tell anyone because they fear getting someone else in trouble or being punished for it. One important thing to always remember when talking to child abuse victims is the amount of courage it takes to speak openly about the situation. Talking to them in the appropriate manner is vital because that can alter the way you can help the child. Usually, children only talk to people they trust about situations like these, so you do not want to react or talk in a way that is going to scare them. The one thing you never want to do is force the victim to talk because this could only make things worse, patience and understanding is important.

Communicating with family members that are not suspected of committing child abuse can be difficult because they have millions of thoughts running through their heads and their emotions are all over the place. The family is more than likely having a hard time coping with the situation just as well as the victim, therefore, it is important to give them tips and ideas on what to say to the victim and how to reassure them. According to “Help for Parents of Children”, you should remind the family that repeating I love you, what happened is not your fault, and I will do everything I can to keep you safe is very reassuring (2019). It is also important to talk to the family about how to react to the situation. Reacting with anger, anxiety, fear, sadness, and shock is not the way to go, you want to tell them that approaching in a way that can help the victim and family sort through the issues is best.

Communicating with family members that are suspected of child abuse can be difficult as well because at this point the person doing the talking has to keep their composure and professionalism together. You never want to talk to a family together, because you will never hear the true side of the story. Talking to each individual person in the family that is suspected of doing the abuse and talking to the victim separately is the correct thing to do. Pulling them aside into a quiet room where there are no distractions is the way to get the best feedback. There are usually investigators or people higher up in the food chain who come in and talk to the individuals suspected of doing the abuse. They are trained and know exactly how to pry the information out of individuals.

There are a lot of times when dealing with child abuse cases where the abuser shows absolutely no signs of being an abuser. Sometimes you need to dig super deep and way back into someone’s past to get down to the information that is needed. One way to tell if someone is a child abuser or not is by determining if they were abused as a child. A lot of times those who were abused are the individuals who are doing the abusing today. If you pay close attention sometimes the words someone says, or their actions can throw a red flag too. Sometimes a parent’s demeanor or behavior sends red flags about child abuse, such as showing little concern for the child, blaming the child for their problems, using harsh physical discipline, and severely limiting the child’s contact with others (Child Abuse, 2019).

In all areas of the United States, it is the nurse’s responsibility to report any possible child abuse incidents. In the state of Alabama, the nurse should immediately contact the Department of Human Resources office and tell them what was seen, if failure to do so is a misdemeanor they can be sentenced to up to 6 months in jail or a fine up to $500 (Alabama Child Abuse Laws, 2019). For the state of Florida, anyone who knows or has reasonable cause to suspect child abuse must immediately report to the Department of Children and Family Services, failure to report is a misdemeanor in 1st degree and false reporting is a felony in 3rd degree (Florida Child Abuse Laws, 2019). When reporting, the nurse needs to be prepared to provide information such as their name, the victim’s name, an address if possible, telephone numbers, dates of birth, a brief description of the abuse, any names of others that have a relationship with the victim, and the relationship the abuser may have with the victim.

Child abuse is so common today and it is sad to think most of the people doing the abuse are parents. There will never be a time when child abuse does not occur because there is no possible way of bringing it to an end. Anyone’s best bet in saving a child’s life is reporting any suspicions of child abuse or knowing for a fact a child is in danger.

References

1. Alabama Child Abuse Laws – FindLaw. (2019). Retrieved from https://statelaws.findlaw.com/alabama-law/alabama-child-abuse-laws.html
2. Child abuse – reporting procedures. (2014). Retrieved from https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/child-abuse-reporting-procedures
3. Child abuse – Symptoms and causes. (2018, October 5). Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/child-abuse/symptoms-causes/syc-20370864
4. Dearen, J. (2018, February 13). Tearful Mother Testifies About 8-Year-Old’s Abduction. Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/florida/articles/2018-02-12/tearful-mother-testifies-about-8-year-olds-abduction
5. Florida Child Abuse Laws – FindLaw. (2019). Retrieved from https://statelaws.findlaw.com/florida-law/florida-child-abuse-laws.html
6. Help for Parents of Children Who Have Been Sexually Abused by Family Members | RAINN. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.rainn.org/articles/help-parents-children-who-have-been-sexually-abused-family-members
7. Missing Children’s Statistics. (2019). Retrieved from https://globalmissingkids.org/awareness/missing-children-statistics/
8. Possible Signs of Child Abuse. (2017, June 16). Retrieved from https://www.webmd.com/children/child-abuse-signs#2
9. Reporting Child Abuse or Neglect | The Florida Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.fncac.org/reporting-child-abuse-or-neglect

Child abuse is not a new phenomenon in the history of man. Child abuse is not a new thing in the world. Child abuse has become an alarming issue in Nigeria. Recent reports have proven that child abuse varies from one region to another. Child abuse can be found in almost every work activity and organization worldwide. In the context of work activities street hawking, child trafficking, street begging, agriculture and mines among others can be covered. Owolabi (2012) and Okafor (2010), both highlighted in their research that child abuse is very dominant in the urban areas of Nigeria while Ojo (2013) noted that the reason for such is total bent on the psychological aspect of survival and material gain in the urban areas.

The increasing cases of child abuse in Nigeria can be rooted in the promotion of human trafficking among the rural dwellers (UNESCO, 2006) which has drastically impacted the livelihood of urban residents leading to a reduction in the value of labor and increased crime rates along with other forms of child abuse.

The term child abuse is seen as the process by which children are exposed to maltreatment by parents or guardians (Apebende, Umoren, Ukpepi, and Ndifon, 2010). Axmaher (2010) defined child abuse as any mistreatment or neglect of the child that results in non-accidental harm or injury and which cannot be reasonably explained. Obekpa (2011) view child abuse as any condition injurious to physical or emotional health that has been inflicted by parents, guardian, or other caretakers. Igbo and Ekoja (2013) define it as a non-accidental injury inflicted on a child by a parent or guardian.

Abuse according to Isanghedehi (2004) could be seen in three perspectives physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. To Oniyama, Oniyama, and Asamaigbo (2004), child abuse manifests in four main categories viz; physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect.

Physical abuse refers to any contact with the body of the child, which may result in an injury. Such contact may involve beating, hitting, kicking, shaking, punching, biting, or any act or omission that is not an accident but that which brings some injuries to the child’s body.

Emotional abuse is any act on the part of a parent or caregiver that has the potential for or has actually caused serious emotional cognitive, mental, or behavioral disorders. Emotional abuse is evident when a parent or caregiver uses abusive words such as blockhead, good for nothing, or a mistake, on the child or when the child is locked up in a room, tired both hands and feet, or not allowed to make friends. Mba (2013) maintained that emotional abuse implies constantly blaming the child, belittling and or berating the child, being unconcerned about the child’s welfare, and overtly rejecting the child by parents or caretakers, or caregivers.

Sexual abuse occurs when a parent or caregiver engages in inappropriate sexual behaviors with the child. This may take the form of actual sexual intercourse, kissing, fondling, or genitals or either the abuser or the abused. According to Uzoezie (2004), sexual abuse occurs when an adult or older person uses his or her power over a child. The abuse may trick, bribe, threaten and if possible force a child to take part in sexual activity.

Neglect according to Okpara (2001) includes inadequate feeding, shelter and lack of supervision, inadequate body care, poor clothing, poor and denial of medicinal attention, and inadequate provision of educational materials and supervision. Other aspects of neglect may include letting the child live in a filthy environment and non-provision of proper nourishment.

Other aspects of child abuse may include child exploitation, slavery, trafficking, and abandonment. The different forms of abuse affect the child in all spheres of life including academic attainment.

Conversely, a child is said to be abused when the parents, caregivers, or any human action leads to physical, emotional, and sexual abuse of the child. It also involves the failure of the parents to provide the necessary love and care for the child.

The definition of Child cannot be pinned onto just a single idea or word from a particular scholar or expert, according to Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary a child is a boy or girl from the time of birth until he or she is an adult or a son or daughter of any age. Owolabi (2012) in his words stated that a Child refers to any individual lesser than the age of majority. In the Nigerian Labour Act of 1990, a child is a young person under the age of 12 years (section 91-1).

Following the uncertainty in the confusing definitions given to the term “child” by earlier legal and customary laws, the Child’s Rights Act (2003) in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1990) defines a child as a person who has not attained the age of 18 years. To serve the best interest of the child in all matters concerning higher as stipulated in the CRC, ACRWC, and CRA, this study, therefore, adopts the definition enshrined in the Child’s Rights Act (2003).

Speaking to the definition of child abuse, Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines child abuse as when adults intentionally treat children in a cruel or violent way. African Network for Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN) defines child abuse as “the intentional, unintentional or well intentional acts which endanger the physical health, emotional, moral and the educational welfare of children. Based on this definition Umobong (2010) noted that Child abuse is generally anything that might endanger the child’s physical, psychological, or emotional health and development”.

There are various forms of child abuse as identified by numerous scholars but Umobong (2010) summarized the different forms of child abuse into 5 subheadings which are: physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and child exploitation.

Physical abuse: According to Owolabi (2012) who said that Physical abuse may be seen as the inflicting of a non-accidental bodily injury on a child. The injury may not have been intended by the parent or caretaker and is not an accident but may be due to over-discipline or corporal punishment that may not be appropriate or is unjustifiable for the child at that age. According to the above definition, physical abuse may take the form of severe beating in the name of chastisement and correction or subjecting the child to degrading and inhuman conditions or lack of proper care and maintenance or abandonment. Flogging, kneeling, frog jumping and tough physical drill are frequent forms of physical abuse in juvenile homes (Alemika et al., 2005).

Emotional abuse: Emotional abuse is also known as verbal abuse, mental abuse, or psychological maltreatment. The National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information (2006) defines emotional abuse as “acts or omissions by the parents or guidance that are reliable to cause serious behavioral, cognitive, emotional or mental disorders”. Emotional abuse can thus be seen as an attitude, behavior, or failure to act on the part of a caregiver which interferes with a child’s mental health, social development, or sense of self-worth. It is probably the least understood, yet the most prevalent, cruelest, and destructive type of abuse. It attacks the child’s self-concept making the child see herself as unworthy, worthless, and incapable. When a child is constantly humiliated, shamed, terrorized, or rejected the child suffers more than if heshe had been physically maltreated. The resulting effect is that most children often withdraw to themselves leading to depression and lack of concentration in school (Khartri, 2004). According to Umobong (2010), bullying is another form of emotional abuse that takes place in schools and at homes by senior or older children.

Sexual abuse: Sexual abuse is defined by CAPTA (Khartri, 2004) as the employment, use of persuasion, inducement, enticement, or coercion of any child to engage in, or assist any other person to engage in, any sexual conduct so as to produce a representation of such conduct. It is rape, and in cases of the caretaker or interfamilial relationships, statutory rape, molestation, prostitution, or other forms of sexual exploitation of children or incest with children. As a result of the secrecy that characterizes these cases; sexual abuse is the most often underreported form of child maltreatment. Sexually abused children experience emotional problems from a feeling of guilt and shame (Corwin and Olafson, 1997). Owolabi (2012) defined child sexual abuse as the involvement of a child in sexual activities that heshe does not fully comprehend and is unable to give informed consent. It constitutes a serious infringement of a child’s right to health and protection.

Neglect: This is a failure to provide basic needed care for the child such as shelter, food, clothing, education, supervision, medical care, and other basic necessities needed for the child’s physical, intellectual, and emotional development (Umobong, 2010). It is a situation where the guardians or parents fail to perform tasks that are necessary for the well-being of the child which invariably can lead to the child’s health and safety being endangered. As cited by Owolabi (2012), the Criminal Code (1990: section 301) provides that failure to supply the necessities of life without lawful excuse for those to whom one owes such a duty is a felony punishable with a term of imprisonment where the life of that other is thus endangered. Child in thuggery, a child in crime, and child labor were all categorized by Adimula (2005) to be the products of child neglect

Child Exploitation: Child exploitation often referred to as child labor or child trafficking involves the use of a child in work or other activities for the benefit of others. Child exploitation is a systematic process of using children to work with little or no compensation and consideration for their health and safety (Newton, 2001). These children are used to doing hard work on farms that are above their ages and some are made to hawk wares for long hours without food. Such children rarely benefit from education and will eventually drop out of school. By the time these children reach adulthood, they are physically, emotionally, morally, and intellectually damaged.

Research Topic: Child Abuse in Pakistan

Abstract:

The World Health Organization has recognized brutality against kids as a developing general medical condition. This article utilizes viciousness against kids as a test in the creating scene, utilizing Pakistan as a contextual investigation. The extent of the test and its effect on the approach were evaluated after an efficient survey of ebb and flow examination and writing on viciousness against youngsters. A significant part of the exploration led in Pakistan is on observational, spellbinding, and topic, including study strategies.

Introduction:

Unfortunately, child abuse is a common occurrence in Pakistan, which seeks to disguise itself under the guise of religion but it is sad and unfortunate that child abuse is taking place in Pakistan society. Violence against children occurs in different forms (physical, sexual, neglect, emotional, and psychological) and at multiple levels (individual, Household, institutional, and societal).

His article examines the situation of violence against children in Pakistan. Its overall purpose is to review the present state of knowledge violence against children in the country. From this issue, assess the severity of violence against children in Pakistan as a public health issue, and explain the key gaps in it. Current knowledge of public health research and policy.

Problem statement:

Child abuse in Pakistan is a very common and simple thing. Different types of child abuse like education, health, and sexual base.

I belong to southern Punjab Pakistan. I saw that the school environment is not good. Government and school organizations are not providing basic facilities for students to have a comfortable environment in school.

Polio is a very deep problem in Pakistan very long time. At that time the parent neglected the polio vaccine in his child. This is a very big abuse of the parent to his children. The result is that the child of Pakistan is born in disable.

Child Abuse in Sexual Base:

It isn’t been long that the situation of Zainab from Qasur a city in Pakistan made featured in the media. Rate instances of sexual maltreatment of more than 200 kids from a similar city in the country. In the previous few years, the instance of kids misusing sexual is rise. That each sort of issue of kid misuse is resolved. Its answer is vital to Pakistan’s climate.

Aims and Objectives:

This is very important to solve the problem. The government should be interested to solve the problem. The government should increase the budget of the education and health program and definitely check its balance. Every facility will be provided to the student because the student will be a bright future in his country.

Regarding sexual abuse, exploitation, and trafficking of children:

Urge the Pakistani Government to:

• Take the important measures to adequately actualize the National Plan of Action against youngster sexual maltreatment.
• Harmonize its legal provisions on the basis of the Convention, ensuring equal legal treatment for girls and boys, and provide stricter punishments in case of sexual abuse and exploitation of children.
• Provide information on the concrete measures that the Government has adopted to tackle child trafficking.

The situation of discrimination against children:

• Provide data about legitimate systems appropriate to female kids between ages 11 and 12 and age 18.
• Undertake necessary measures to immediately halt discriminatory practices such as honor killings and child marriages.
• Provide data about the circumstance of kids having a place with strict minorities and attempt essential measures to ensure that these youngsters completely make the most of their privileges to well-being, endurance, and life.

Review of literature:

The systematic review of literature on violence against children in Pakistan identified 15 published papers—three editorials, 10 original research papers, and two review papers—written between 1984 and 2003.

The accompanying primary topics prevailed the writing on savagery against youngsters. Kid work, sexual maltreatment, and kid disregard, as shown as the absence of schooling, sex, segregation, and lack of healthy sustenance, especially for the young lady kid adolescent law and effect of political or road savagery on kids. Most distributed investigations were from public clinical diaries, had a metropolitan predisposition towards bigger urban areas of Pakistan, and the populaces contemplated were little, aside from one examination from Karachi city that screened 112,029 youngsters. The presence of test work in distributed writing mirrors some examinations on savagery against youngsters in the country, while audits and situational investigations overwhelm unpublished writing.

Conclusion:

Pakistan actually does not have a legitimate meaning of kid misuse, disregard, or brutality. In the greater part of the occasions, a definition set forward by the World Wellbeing Association is being followed. There exists no authority wellspring of information on cases of child abuse.

In this assignment, I am going to explain the long-term and short-term effects of child abuse. A child’s reaction to abuse and neglect can last a lifetime affecting them in many ways, such as physical, mental, psychological, and behavioral problems, and many more. These problems vary depending on the child and how severe the abuse is. In this assignment, I am going to mainly focus on the psychological and behavioral consequences of child abuse. Child maltreatment is categorized into 4 types: physical, emotional or psychological, sexual abuse, and neglect.

There are many short-term social effects of abuse on children such as lack of interactions which could result in the child struggling at school, very few friends due to the difficulty in establishing friendships, and poor social understanding. Due to a lack of social interactions, the child could begin to feel withdrawn from society, have low self-esteem, and require further educational support as a result of poor school performance. Secondly, abuse can affect the child’s ability to socialize, learn and play alongside other children competently. The child may lack confidence and trust in their friends and may also display behaviors that are socially abnormal.

Short-term physical side effects of child abuse include Bruises, cuts, grazes, broken bones, fractures, burns, scalds, and bite marks. Despite this, children have accidents, fall over, and have trips therefore a few bruises and bumps don’t necessarily mean they are being physically abused. Physical abuse can result in health problems such as vomiting, seizures, and drowsiness as a side effect. If the child is poisoned, drowned, or suffocated they will suffer from breathing problems which may be short term but may also be long term. If a baby is suffering from physical abuse then they may suffer from serve head injuries which result in short-term effects, such as swelling, bruising, head fractures, seizures, and breathing problems.

Head injuries can affect the child’s behavior leading them to become irritable, sleepy, have abnormal breathing, and have unconsciousness. Whereas on the other hand, long-term effects of physical abuse include anxiety, behavioral issues, criminal behavior, depression and eating disorders, obesity, drug and alcohol problems and they may suffer from suicidal thoughts. A child is more likely to suffer from abuse if they are living in poor housing and poverty if their parents are drug and alcohol users, their parents have lifetime effects of childhood obesity themselves and may suffer from domestic abuse.

Due to childhood abuse, a long-term effect could be ADHD. This stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Children who are always on guard may have trouble concentrating. Having a traumatic experience as a child in which reveals real problems and symptoms that need to be faced and can be resembled those suffering from ADHD. Problems faced from a child with ADHD include disruptive behaviour, learning delay, poor social skills, challenging behaviour’s, criminal behaviour, complex learning difficulties and many more. They may also experience visit tension and be overpowered with feelings. Kids who have encountered injury may experience difficulty with the unforeseen. Their requirement for control might be viewed as ‘manipulative’ or as continually needing things done in their direction. Moving between different activities might be hard. (Thomas, 2013) 11/21/2015 Parenting After Trauma: Understanding Your Child’s Needs (© 2013 American Academy of Paediatrics and Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption)

Children who have experienced childhood neglect or emotional abuse can often display similar sets of behaviors and cognitive deficits that are also associated with ADHD. During the process of brain development, there are several parts within the brain that are affected by both ADHD and childhood trauma. The brain areas that are affected control and regulate emotions, decision-making, and social processing (Nakamura et al., 2001; Onitsuka et al., 2004; Snowden, Thompson, and Neary, 2004). Children who have suffered from different types of maltreatment may experience the challenge to maintain attention and concentration and struggle to process information, manage emotions and concentrate. All these effects are similar if not identical to the symptoms and behavioral traits associated with ADHD.

Childhood abuse can also lead to depression in later life. Scientists believe that a child who experiences any kind of abuse or neglect is at risk of depression. This is due to the change in structure and chemistry in the brain. Children who have been abused become more responsive or in some cases responsive to the environmental factors which affect their emotions. The hormones within the brain begin to recognize different degrees of stress which leads to abnormal behavior changes, such as depression. Symptoms of depression involve emptiness, sadness, upset, cognitive dullness, loss of pleasure in activities that were once enjoyed, sleep disturbances, suicidal thoughts, etc. The child will be fearful and will suffer from constant negative emotions. ‘The intergenerational transmission of abuse is invariably associated with the symptoms of depression. Abuse brings with it the vulnerability to depression.’ (Ellen McGrath, June 9, 2016) Childhood trauma can lead to PTSD. Children with PTSD may re-experience the trauma in their minds over and over again. They may also avoid anything that reminds them of the trauma or they may re-enact their trauma in their play (American Academy of Paediatrics. Parenting After Trauma: Understanding Your Child’s Needs. Updated November 2015)

Child abuse and neglect can lead to many different attachment disorders during childhood and later life. There are four main types of attachments: secure attachment, ambivalent attachment, avoidant and disorganized attachment. This relates to the attachment theory by Bowlby & Ainsworth. He believed that the earliest bonds formed between the baby and caregiver were the most important and that children are born with an innate drive to form attachments with caregivers. ‘children who are securely attached as infants tend to develop stronger self-esteem and better self-reliance as they grow older. These children also tend to be more independent, perform better in school, have successful social relationships, and experience less depression and anxiety.’ (Cherry, 2019)

An example is Reactive Attachment Disorder. A child with reactive attachment disorder would have been subject to some kind of abuse or neglect. This negatively impacts the child and results in them failing to build up a healthy strong bond with their parents, primary caregiver, or parental figures. This leads to abnormal behavior, resulting in bitterness, irritability, sadness, frightfulness, and trouble communicating with grown-ups or peers. children who have encountered disregard in caregiving may encounter developmental delays in physical development. Older children may be in danger of dietary issues, anger issues, wretchedness, tension, challenges in school, and drug and alcohol abuse. (reactive attachment disorder, 2019)

Child ill-treatment is a ruinous social issue globally. It is due to frustrations and anger in the members of the family or society who are not happy with their lifestyle or financial status. Child abuse can occur at home, academic institutions, or any place like dance classes, music classes, gymnasiums, or play areas wherever the child visits.

To commence with, child abuse can be investigated by paying attention to behavioral clues of the child suffering from it. Children who were earlier vivacious, outgoing, and sociable suddenly behave differently staying aloof, quiet, scared, ashamed, guilty, underconfident, frequently absent from school, trying to harm themselves, proving that they are suffering and are a target of child abuse. What mistreatment is harming the inner soul of a child could be because of physical abuse, sexual harassment, and psychological torture. Child abuse can be detected at an early level by evaluating the indication of abuse like the behavioral changes in them or screening tests conducted by doctors in the form of physical examination, medical checkups, etc.

Children can be protected through education. The school could have a class discussing that certain behavior is unacceptable to elders for children. Children must know what child abuse means in order to be able to analyze if they are a target. Parents back home must encourage children to express their feelings without any hesitation or fear. The Government should start awareness programs in tier one, and tier two cities and villages which would not only help parents to learn to parent and understand the behavior of their children but also teach children to defend themselves if they are facing any mistreatment from elders. Children should be encouraged to share their problems with their friends and near and dear ones as they have an emotional bonding and understanding with them and peer groups interact best with each other.

Furthermore, neighbors and residents play a crucial role in detecting child abuse as they watch the daily activities of the child and his family on their own. If they find any changes in the child’s behavior, they can verify the problem and should intimate local police authorities immediately. They are part of society so it becomes the duty of every single individual to interfere in all types of evil and child maltreatment activities.

To conclude, offenders who are found guilty should be heavily fined and should be given corporal punishment because the future of the world lies in the hands of the future generation that are the children of today. Child abuse is one of the burning problems of our society and so should be uprooted. Strict laws fear in the mind of criminals, and support systems from educational institutes, parents, family members, and society can decrease child ill-treatment and put an end to it. Only then a day will come when we would see a morning which would be free of cruelty and molestation of children.