Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Velita Sanders
Mrs. Kenly
British Literature
23 March 2018
Child Abuse
Child abuse isn’t just about black eyes. While physical abuse is shocking due to the marks it
leaves, not all child abuse is as obvious. Ignoring children’s needs, putting them in unsupervised,
dangerous situations, exposing them to sexual situations, or making them feel worthless or stupid
are also forms of child abuse and neglect. Regardless of the type of abuse, the result is serious
emotional harm. But there is help available. If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected,
it’s important to speak out. By catching the problem as early as possible, both the child and the
Child abuse is one of the five leading cause of childhood death in the United States today and
had serious physical, emotional behavior for a child, in some cases, a tendency toward
aggression and violence.the reasons for child abuse was that parents who abused their children
were mentally disturbed, sick parents are mainly the mothers that’s doing the child as wrong as if
they don’t want the child anymore. In most abuse’s the parents would either be drunk, or on
drugs and they would have most parents talk to cures psychotherapy or counseling or and most
Abusive behavior comes in many forms, but the common denominator is the emotional effect on
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the child. Whether the abuse is a slap, a harsh comment, stony silence, or not knowing if there
will be dinner on the table, the end result is a child that feels unsafe, uncared for, and alone.
Although research findings have helped to debunk the "crazy-parent" theory, much of the focus
on child abuse still suffers from problems that limit its usefulness. How would I know you would
ask, studies show that professionals are more likely to report child abuse if the family is of color,
poor, or headed by a single woman. Also some studies are wrong concluded that child abuse is a
problem among people of color, the poor, and single women. In fact, child abuse is found in
have identified factors that contribute to the risk of abuse, including being the child of a parent
who grew up in an abusive home; being the child of a teenage or single mother; or experiencing
poverty, family conflict, dangerous neighborhoods, social isolation, and substance abuse. A
particularly troubling finding is that the majority of mothers of abused children also are battered
by their male partners. Protective services may view a woman as unprotected and remove her
children, even though the abusive man may be victimizing both the mother and children. As a
result, women are often blamed for their children's abuse or neglect.
It is important to realize that risk factors do not create abuse; rather, they increase the likelihood
of abuse. Recognizing that child abuse is not caused by any single factor but more typically
occurs when risk factors converge.This viewpoint underscores the importance of looking at child
abuse in a social and family context and not, as is often the case, as maternal failure or
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malfeasance.. This rarely happens. Once cases are recognized, a flexible and compassionate
family assessment is the ideal first step toward identifying where the problems are and finding
ways to alleviate them, including a combination of advocacy, counseling, and family support. A
movement exists among those responsible for child protection to keep at-risk or abused children
Programs that support this type of intervention are woefully underfunded, however, leading
child protection workers to remove children from their families because such family support
services are unavailable. Furthermore, poorly trained workers often believe that mothers
deliberately set out to harm their children. This blaming of mothers reflects a historical and deep-
rooted prejudice against women whose children are at risk. For example, for decades
autistic. Efforts to improve child protective services must include attention to the way
“In addition to interventions to treat abused children and their families, other programs are
designed to prevent child abuse from occurring in the first place, said Barbara Smith.” A
worrisome trend is the use of interviews and checklists designed to screen new parents to
determine whose children are most at risk of being abused. The problem with screening is that
professionals don't know precisely which factors cause child abuse, and labeling families can
stigmatize them. Another preventive approach is home visiting, where trained specialists visit
new parents, usually those who are very young or are single mothers. The best programs, which
offer comprehensive educational, social, and medical services, appear to reduce reported
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incidents of child abuse, although--as with all child abuse interventions--more evaluation is
A model law making it mandatory for doctors and hospitals to report cases of physical abuse of
children by adults is being drafted by the Children’s Bureau of the Department of Health,
The recommendation to formulate such a statute came as a result of conferences on child abuse
Findings at the conferences, attended by lawyers, judges, probation officers, doctors and social
workers, indicated there is a high incident of unreported physical child abuse in the United
States.
Bureau officials said yesterday that information regarding child abuse came first-hand from those
attending the conferences and from spot surveys conducted by individual doctors.
The proposed statute would be limited in application to doctors and hospital administrators
because, according to Katherine B. Oettinger, Children’s Bureau chief, “these groups are bound
relationship.”
Child abuse can result from physical, emotional, or sexual harm. While child abuse is often in the
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form of an action, there are also examples of inaction that cause harm, such as neglect. Some
households that suffer from alcoholism/substance abuse and anger issues have higher
occurrences of child abuse as compared to households without. Outcomes of child abuse can
result in both short and long term injury, or even death. There are some children who may be
Child abuse is widespread and can occur in any cultural, ethnic, or income group. Child abuse
can be physical, emotional, verbal, or sexual. It can also result from neglect. Abuse can result in
Physical abuse involves non-accidental harming of a child by, for example, burning, beating, or
breaking bones. Verbal abuse involves harming a child by, for example, belittling them or
threatening physical or sexual acts. Emotional trauma can result from several forms of abuse.
Studies show that one in four girls and one in eight boys are sexually abused before the age of
18, and that approximately one in 20 children are physically abused each year. Child sexual
abuse is the deliberate exposure of a minor child to sexual activity that the child cannot
comprehend or consent to. This means a child is forced or talked into sex or sexual activities by
another person. This behavior includes acts such as inappropriate touching of a child's breasts or
genitalia, someone exposing their genitalia to a child, fondling, oral-genital contact, genital and
Religious freedom has become a point of contention, some states allow for medical neglect due
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to religious objections. There are also examples of some extreme religious acts that are
“Hard cases make bad law. That may be the disturbing but difficult-to-avoid lesson from the
stomach-turning abuse suffered by the 13 children of David and Louise Turpin for at least a
"The Supreme Court has said that parents have the right to raise children without unwarranted
government intervention....The Turpins are the terrible but extremely rare price we pay for this
liberty....We are already living in a country where more than a third of children under 18 years
old come into contact with child services. Some of these are no doubt instances of real neglect
and abuse but others are cases of kids who have been left in the car while their parent runs into
the dry Regcleaner. Do we really want to encourage people to report on their neighbor's
parenting practices more than they already do?", said Louise Turpin
“Flight crews can restrain passengers or even divert flights when violent behavior erupts midair,
but when the situation involves a parent potentially abusing a child, the decisions are not so clear
cut.”, said Regina Garcia. A 5½-hour JetBlue flight earlier this month continued to its final
destination after three passengers reported a mother mistreating her 8-year-old son, including
grabbing him by the neck and shoving him against a window as he cried.
The same day, the airline diverted a flight to Las Vegas after a man reportedly hit and bit other
passengers. The airline did not respond to requests for comment on the incident involving the
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child, and a federal complaint against the mother does not say whether the flight attendant who
While it may vary by airline, flight attendants are trained in how to de-escalate violent situations
under widely accepted procedures, and it is likely that JetBlue concluded it was safest to leave
the mother and son together and not disrupt the flight, aviation experts say. “This is certainly a
very unpleasant situation, but it is one that is full of, if you will, gray areas, as opposed to a
At least 786 children died of abuse or neglect in the U.S. in a six-year span in plain view of child
protection authorities--many of them beaten, starved or left alone to drown while agencies had
good reason to know they were in danger, The Associated Press has found, said Garance Burke.
Most of the 786 children whose cases were compiled by the AP were under the age of 4. They
lost their lives even as authorities were investigating their families or providing some form of
protective services because of previous instances of neglect, violence or other troubles in the
home.
“A child protective services worker visited the day after her husband's attack, spoke with her
briefly and left. Her husband pleaded guilty to assault and was ordered by a judge to take anger
management classes and stay away from his wife, said Jennifer Blaz. She said the next official
contact between the family and Montana child services came more than six weeks later--the day
of Mattison's funeral. The system also failed Ethan Henderson, who was only 10 weeks old but
already had been treated for a broken arm when his father hurled him into a recliner so hard that
it caused a fatal brain injury. Maine hotline workers had received at least 13 calls warning that
Ethan or his siblings were suffering abuse--including assertions that an older sister had been
found covered in bruises, was possibly being sexually abused and had been burned by a stove
because she was left unsupervised. Ethan himself had arrived at daycare with deep red bruises
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dappling his arm. Still, the caseworker who inspected the family's cramped trailer six days before
Ethan died on May 8, 2012, wrote that the baby appeared "well cared for and safe in the care of
his parents."
Lack of Government Data. Because no single, complete set of data exists for the deaths of
children who already were being overseen by child protective services workers, the information
compiled over the course of AP's eight-month investigation represents the most comprehensive
statistics publicly available. The AP reviewed thousands of pages of official reports, child fatality
records and police documents for the period in question, which ran from fiscal year 2008 through
2013. And, even then, the number of abuse and neglect fatalities where a prior open case existed
at the time of death is undoubtedly much higher than the tally of 760.
Seven states reported a total of 230 open-case child deaths over the six-year period, but those
were not included in the AP count because the states could not make a distinction between
investigations started due to the incident that ultimately led to a child's death and cases that
already were open when the child received the fatal injury. Some states did not provide data for
all six years, not all branches of the military provided complete information, and no count of
open-case deaths of any type was obtained from the Bureau of Indian Affairs or FBI, which
difficult to measure how well those responsible for keeping children safe are protecting their
The data collection system on child deaths is so flawed that no one can even say with accuracy
how many children overall die from abuse or neglect every year. The federal government
estimates an average of about 1,650 deaths annually in recent years; many believe the actual
number is twice as high. Even more lacking is comprehensive, publicly available data about the
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number of children dying while the subject of an open case or while receiving assistance from
the agencies that exist to keep them safe--the focus of AP's reporting.
What should you do if you suspect that a child has been abused? Or if a child confides in you?
It’s normal to feel a little overwhelmed and confused. Child abuse is a difficult subject that can
be hard to accept and even harder to talk about, for both you and the child. When talking with an
abused child, the best thing you can provide is calm reassurance and unconditional support. If
you’re having trouble finding the words, let your actions speak for you. A common reaction to
news as unpleasant and shocking as child abuse is denial. However, if you display denial to a
child, or show shock or disgust at what they are saying, the child may be afraid to continue and
will shut down. As hard as it may be, remain as calm and reassuring as you can. Let the child
explain to you in their own words what happened, but don’t interrogate the child or ask leading
questions. This may confuse and fluster the child and make it harder for them to continue their
story. It takes a lot for a child to come forward about abuse. Reassure them that you take what is
said seriously, and that it is not their fault. If you feel that your safety or the safety of the child
would be threatened if you try to intervene, leave it to the professionals. You may be able to
If you suspect a child is being abused, it's critical to report it—and to continue reporting each
separate incidence of abuse if it continues to recur. Each report you make is a snapshot of what’s
going on in the family. The more information you can provide, the better the chance of the child
getting the help they deserve. Of course, it’s normal to have some reservations or worries about
I don’t want to interfere in someone else’s family... Child abuse and neglect is NOT merely a
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family matter, and the consequences of staying silent can be devastating for the child. What if I
break up someone’s home? A child abuse report does not mean a child is automatically removed
from the home, unless they’re clearly in danger. Parents may first be offered support, such as
parenting classes or anger management counselling. They will know it was me who called...
Reporting is anonymous. In most places, you do not have to give your name when you report
child abuse. It won’t make a difference what I have to say… If you have a gut feeling that
something is wrong, it's better to be safe than sorry. Even if you don’t see the whole picture,
others may have noticed as well, and a pattern can help identify child abuse that might have
Work Cited
Smith, Barbara “ In addition to interventions to treat abused children and their families, other
programs are designed to prevent child abuse from occurring in the first place.”
Schaefer, R. Naomi “Hard cases make bad law. That may be the disturbing but difficult-to-avoid
lesson from the stomach-turning abuse suffered by the 13 children of David and Louise Turpin
Turpin, Louise "The Supreme Court has said that parents have the right to raise children without
unwarranted government intervention....The Turpins are the terrible but extremely rare price we
pay for this liberty....We are already living in a country where more than a third of children under
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18 years old come into contact with child services. Some of these are no doubt instances of real
neglect and abuse but others are cases of kids who have been left in the car while their parent
Garcia, Regina “Flight crews can restrain passengers or even divert flights when violent
behavior erupts midair, but when the situation involves a parent potentially abusing a child, the
Harteveldt, Henry “This is certainly a very unpleasant situation, but it is one that is full of, if
Burke, Garance At least 786 children died of abuse or neglect in the U.S. in a six-year span in
plain view of child protection authorities--many of them beaten, starved or left alone to drown
Blaz, Jennifer A child protective services worker visited the day after her husband's attack,
spoke with her briefly and left. Her husband pleaded guilty to assault and was ordered by a judge
to take anger management classes and stay away from his wife.