Have you ever been helpless in your life? Faced with someone who has power over you and is willing to use it, while you can do nothing in return? When the abuser in question is the person your livelihood depends on? Take a moment to answer these questions for yourselves. Most of us can remember such situations. For most of us, they happened in childhood.
Child abuse is a problem that permeates our society. In the US, this crime occurs every 47 seconds (Swedo et al. 1841). Three million children a year get abused at least once. More than 700,000 children are abused regularly (Swedo et al. 1841). These are just the official statistics. Real numbers have to be much higher. Many cases go underreported – a child cannot drive a car to the nearest police station. Some of them do not own a phone (Hattery and Smith 143). Many do not know their rights, or what could be done to help them. Even more, are simply afraid of consequences.
There are different types of child abuse. Only half of all cases are associated with physical violence. Neglect, beatings, and rape are the most common types of physical abuse (Robinson and Petherick 19). Emotional damage, on the other hand, is just as harmful, if not more so, in the long run. It sets up children on a destructive path, making them engage in unhealthy practices and risky behaviors. Smoking, drug abuse, sexual deviances, and depression are some of the examples (Berzenski et al. 78). Worse, children who have been abused may grow up to become abusers themselves, perpetrating a circle of violence. In 2019, over 700,000 perpetrators arrested were under the age of 18 (Kratcoski et al. 32). Black and Hispanic communities are disproportionally affected by child abuse and the consequences stemming from them.
So, what can be done? The first step is, as always, awareness. Often, adults pass abused children by without noticing any signs of abuse. In many cases, children do not even know they are abused (Van Ijzendoorn 274). They simply consider it normal, because they did not know better. Some of the more obvious signs of child abuse include injuries, bruises, cuts, and other signs of physical damage (Beverly et al. 223). Sometimes, these are hidden under clothes that seek to cover the whole body, even when it is hot outside. These are relatively easy to spot. However, there are more subtle clues to pick up on. If a child suddenly and inexplicably becomes sullen and withdrawn, anxious, or aggressive – means something might be wrong. Isolation from peers, poor social skills, and poor parental bonds may also indicate abuse or neglect (Liu and Vaughn 223). Poor school attendance, running away, or going missing shows a desire to escape or avoid someone. Adults, especially teachers, have to be watching for these.
Second, children themselves need to be educated to recognize abuse. They need to know that any kind of violence against them is a crime, that leaving them unattended for long periods is not permitted, and that adults may not touch them in intimate areas (Tutty and Velasquez 16). They need to know their rights, and have people to listen should abuse occur, whether in school, on the telephone, or online. They also need to be educated on the matters of personal safety when interacting with strangers. Not all abuse happens at home.
Finally, the government has to take a much more active role in protecting children. Implementing harsher laws, putting more effort into prevention efforts, and spending more on welfare and social programs as a means of reducing neglect and improving the standards of living are all viable strategies (Robinson and Petherick 79). We can make it happen with our votes and our activism. Whatever course of action you choose to take, I urge you not to be silent. Educate yourself: find out what you can do to help out. Take action. Thank you for your time.
Works Cited
Berzenski, Sara R., et al. “Childhood Emotional Abuse Characteristics Moderate Associations with Adult Psychopathology and Caregiving.” Child Abuse & Neglect, vol. 97, 2019, pp. 77-87.
Hattery, Angela J., and Earl Smith. The Social Dynamics of Family Violence. Routledge, 2019.
Robinson, Yolande, and Wayne Petherick, eds. Child Abuse and Neglect: Forensic Issues in Evidence, Impact and Management. Academic Press, 2019.
Kratcoski, Peter C., Lucille Dunn Kratcoski, and Peter Christopher Kratcoski. Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Research, and the Juvenile Justice Process. Springer Nature, 2019.
Liu, Beverly et al. “Legal and Policy Issues from the United States and Internationally About Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse.” International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, vol. 64, 2019, pp. 219-229.
Swedo, Elizabeth, et al. “Trends in US Emergency Department Visits Related to Suspected or Confirmed Child Abuse and Neglect Among Children and Adolescents Aged< 18 Years Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic—United States, January 2019–September 2020.” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, vol. 69, no. 49, 2020, pp. 1841-1847.
Tutty, Leslie M., et al. “The “Who Do You Tell?” Child Sexual Abuse Education Program: Eight Years of Monitoring.” Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, vol. 29, no. 1, 2020, pp. 2-21.
Van Ijzendoorn, Marinus H., et al. “Annual Research Review: Umbrella Synthesis Of Meta‐Analyses on Child Maltreatment Antecedents and Interventions: Differential Susceptibility Perspective on Risk And Resilience.” Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, vol. 61, no. 3, 2020, pp. 272-290.