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Child Physical Abuse
Child physical abuse is a form of child maltreatment a practice that has been a problem to society since the beginning of time it occurs when a child’s parent or guardian causes physical injury to their children it can be a cut, a bruise or a change in skin color. An overview of child physical abuse in the United States indicates that during the colonial period when English common law governed the population, children belonged to their father and they could as they wished to them. The notion continued up until when after independence when the child physical abuse caught the public attention after an orphan was being beaten by her foster parents daily, the case was declared and the adoptive mother was convicted of being jailed for a year in terms of assault and battery. From this case, American society started seeing the real situation which started the fight against cruelty in children. Child Protective Services agencies in the US are tasked with investigating reports of suspected child abuse. On average they investigate over two million cases every year, and 18 percent of the cases are usually physical abuse (Cindy, p e1337- e1338). A controversy emerges on the matter of the exact prevalence of physical abuse among children when government research agencies report a decline in the cases while on the other hand researchers examination on hospitalization rates for cases of physical abuse show either no changes or in some instances an increase of physical abuse. With such disparities then there is a need for the use of multiple data sources and extensive research to understand the truth and the severity of the matter.
Physical abuse is the common form of child abuse in the world because it can occur anytime anywhere. Child Physical abuse can be seen to affect children of all ages and ethnicity. However, factors such as race and social, economic status can increase the risk of a child’s physical abuse. Some parents might be thinking they are disciplining their children or helping them grow in the right way, but they are wrong because it affects the child in many different negative ways. Other reasons that parents end up physically abusing their children can be due to drug and substance abuse or mental disorders such as depression which makes the parent’s judgment impaired or leads to them becoming violent some reasons. The primary effect for a physically abused child is traumatic stress reactions, difficulty in developing or even maintaining friends because they are always living under fear. Physically abusing a child can be a leading case for them being aggressive to other children. Frequently abused children are at high risk of developing related anxiety symptoms and even living in fear all the time because they do know when the next abuse will be (“Physical Abuse Effects”).
Physical abuse is usually aimed at inflicting pain to the child, and this is done through traumatizing acts such as whipping, hitting, choking or even punching. The immediate result for this is pain and body injuries such as fractures, cuts or even internal injuries which can be life-threatening. Boys and teenagers are at higher risks of physical abuse, but infants suffer the most in cases of physical abuse. Given their tiny bodies when abused they are vulnerable to extreme physical injuries and incidents of death are very frequent.
Several approaches can be taken to prevent child physical abuse. The methods are based on changing or eliminating what leads to the parent’s aggressive nature towards her child. The first one is changing the economic status of the families. Most cases of physical abuse occur from families that are struggling financially. The government can intervene to change the situation by implementing policies such as child support remittances, tax credits or even subsidized child care programs which help families with children access basic needs at a lower price. Another way physical injuries can be prevented is through the implementation of family-friendly work policies. These will ensure that the parents will be able to a balance between work and family care. Most cases of abuse are a result of stress, reducing work-related stress through ensuring livable wages, paid leave, and flexible schedules can be very satisfying to the parent who will have god time with their child and almost no cases of physical abuse (Beverly L. et al. p 13-17)
In the early 20th-century child protection against physical abuse and other forms of violence was dependent on non-governmental child protection charities which also depended on donations, which they used to create awareness and welfare of children. However, after the great depression, financial status changed and people started looking up to the federal government for funding to continue with child protection activities. (p2). From 1970 during Children and Youth conference in the White House changed the way the government viewed child Abuse. As result efforts were made for the formulation of the Child Abuse and Treatment Act of 1974. The formation of this Act marked a victory for children. The Act made provisions for the creation of the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN). Help them administer grant programs which will help further protection of vulnerable children. Financial assistance was offered to states by CAPTA to help them develop child abuse recognition and prevention programs (Emilie, 2012)
Child services are also part of the legal system of child physical abuse protection because child abuse is a crime especially if it was intentional. Some parents claim the injury is from an accident or that they have a right to discipline their children the way they want. If the child physical abuse is severe, then the child services will have no option other than removing the child from the danger.
Child protective services are another legal action that every state have, they look into cases of abuse and if they site danger just like the child services they take the child to a foster care until the situation changes.
Child abuse has been in existence since the beginning of time, as time progresses more value is being put in the life of a child and parents are becoming more loving and caring. However, this is not an observation that can be generalized because even in the 21st century there are high cases of child physical abuse. Having focused on America on the entire paper, looking at data from the developing worlds such as Africa and Asia then child Abuse is a widespread and almost regular occurrence. Apart from economic situations and unending problems the issue with culture and the environment the child is growing on somehow calls for some discipline which amounts to physical abuse. One of the biggest challenges with child physical abuse is reporting. When a child or an infant is abused, they cannot be able to report, and that is why it is very challenging to solve the problem. Only people who witnessed the injury or trips to the hospital where the doctor can be suspicious of some injuries can attest to the physical injury. As a result, more research should be conduct to determine the severity of physical injury among children.
Work Cited
“Child Abuse Background And History – Findlaw.” Findlaw. Web. 12 Apr. 2019.
Christian, Cindy W., and Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect. “The evaluation of suspected child physical abuse.” Pediatrics 135.5 (2015): e1337-e1354.
Fortson, Beverly L., et al. “Preventing child abuse and neglect: A technical package for policy, norm, and programmatic activities.” (2016).
Kim, Hyunil, et al. “Lifetime prevalence of investigating child maltreatment among US children.” American journal of public health 107.2 (2017): 274-280.
“Physical Abuse Effects.” The National Child Traumatic Stress Network. Web. 12 Apr. 2019.
Stoltzfus, Emilie. Child abuse prevention and treatment act (CAPTA): Background, programs, and funding. (2012). 1-69.