Child Abuse

Chapter 5 Child Abuse and Preventing and Responding to Domestic Violence

Child Fatalities
This graph shows the shocking truth that child maltreatment is a serious problem

I was interested in glancing over child abuse because I believe it is a topic that everybody needs to be aware of. Also, abuse is a huge crime committed in families. Hundreds of children are being abused daily and people may never know until it is too late. In this post I am only going to share the four main types of abuse and some of the ways you can tell if a child is being abused.

In Melinda Smith and Jeanne Segal's article "Child Abuse and Neglect: Recognizing, Preventing, and Reporting Child Abuse," they describe abuse as "more than bruises or broken bones... Ignoring children's needs, putting them in unsupervised, dangerous situations, or making a child feel worthless or stupid are also child abuse." Child abuse is not always easy to spot.

Physical Abuse
For most people when they think of abuse they first think of physical abuse. According to Childhelp, of all abuse cases in 2011, 17.6% were physical abuse cases.
From Smith and Segal's article, some of the red flags of physical abuse are:

• Frequent and unexplained bruises, cuts, and other injuries
• Acts as if something bad is about to happen, alert
• Recognizable patterning of bruises, like hand or belt
• Does not like to be touched
• Fears going home
• Dresses to hide injuries, like long sleeve shirts during the summer

Sexual Abuse
According to Childhelp, of all abuse cases in 2011, 9.1% were sexual abuse cases.
From Smith and Segal's article, some of the red flags of sexual abuse are:

• Struggles to sit or walk
• Has higher knowledge and interest in sexual behavior for their age
• Shy to change clothing or engage in physical activities
• Has an STD or even pregnant at a young age
• Avoids home or a certain person, or runs away from home

Emotional Abuse
As Melinda Smith and Jeanne Segal describe, by being emotionally abused it can cause a child's mental health and social development to be critically damaged. Emotional Abuse, sometimes also referred to as Verbal Abuse, is when somebody is constantly made fun of or belittled. Also it is when they are threatened or rejected. According to Childhelp, of all abuse cases in 2011, 9.0% were emotional/ psychological maltreatment.
From Smith and Segal's article, some of the red flags of emotional abuse are:

• Withdrawn, anxious, or fearful about messing up
• Extreme behavior
• Acts unattached around parent or guardian
• Acts unlike rest of children, "either inappropriately adult or inappropriately infantile"

Neglect
Neglect is the most common type of abuse. According to Childhelp, of all abuse cases in 2011, 78.5% were neglect cases.
From Smith and Segal's article, some of the red flags of neglect are:

• Clothing continuously does not fit, is not clean, or not proper for weather
• Continuous lack of hygiene
• Lack of medical attention
• Frequently unsupervised or in unsafe environments and situation
• Frequently tardy or truant from school or other activities 

Learn more about Child Abuse by following the links and watching the videos below.
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/child_abuse_physical_emotional_sexual_neglect.htm
http://www.childhelp-usa.com/pages/statistics

Child Abuse Awareness

This video covers some facts about child abuse. It is devastating how many children are being maltreated.

Kelsey's Story

The life of Kelsey was too short. This is one heart breaking story about how she was abused from her step-father and the government ended up putting her back in his home.