Child abuse is an extremely negative experience that affects most parts of the world. The vice interferes with the juvenile’s growth, and it affects the normal development and well-being of the minor (Sidebotham, 2017). As a society, it becomes imperative to understand the well-being of these young individuals. Therefore, the maximalists, also known as alarmists, argue that child abuse is more widespread and severe than people know. Their stance is that the vice is an epidemic and needs to be taken more seriously by communities and institutions.
Maximalists contend that most violent offenses are underreported, and any current figures will be much smaller than predicted. Many victimized children are afraid to admit it, thus, they deny or conceal it deliberately (Dubowitz, 2017). Community care providers have no knowledge of the number of incidents of these mistreatments as per alarmists. These institutions are understaffed, under-resourced, and overstretched with complaints such that they are overwhelmed and cannot do proper investigations.
Consequently, minimalists insist that child oppression is not a crisis. It is not as extreme as the maximalists have suggested. These proponents oppose that most occurrences are minor incidents, and specific physical discipline, such as spanking, should not be described as child abuse. Child molestation should be characterized as circumstances where there are undue force and improper use of the victim (Morton, 2017). Minimalists call for better descriptions and removal of proceedings in official figures where their prosecutions have been rejected or terminated due to lack of evidence.
I, therefore, think it would not be easy to identify with either group, but I would align with the minimalist if I had to pick. I agree that they present a much stronger point concerning child exploitation and aggression because I generally grew up being corrected by being spanked. Thus, discipline cannot be deemed abuse unless a ‘closed fist’ is used. I also embrace the minimalist viewpoint because most baseless reports are documented when they ought not to be due to lack of proof. Hence, there are not usually as many incidents of such maltreatment that are recorded.
References
Dubowitz, H. (2017). Child sexual abuse and exploitation – A global glimpse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 66, 2–8.
Morton, S. (2017). Getting evidence into action to tackle institutional child abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 74, 111–114.
Sidebotham, P. (2017). Working with the victims and perpetrators of child sexual abuse and exploitation. Child Abuse Review, 26(2), 85–90.