Running head: CHILD ABUSE 1

Child Abuse

Name:

Institution:
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Child Abuse

It is no surprise that children require special treatment. As they grow up, the surrounding

environment has a crucial impact on the formation of the personality, their perception of the

world, ability to build relationships with others, and many different areas of their lives. Also,

surrounding environments and social networks affect children's mental health and their future

lives. As a result, child abuse is an essential issue, and parents, as well as teachers, should pay

attention to apply their efforts to prevent it.

First of all, it is worth understanding the different types of child abuse. These include

physical, sexual, emotional abuse, and child neglect. At the same time, child neglect includes

such areas as educational, emotional, and medical neglect, as well as physical neglect and

inadequate supervision (“The Issue of Child Abuse”, n.d.). It means that children do not get

enough supervision, care, support, and affection for their well-being, health, and safety from

their parents or caregivers. As a result, child neglect is one of the most common abuse patterns in

which adults do not provide a child with necessities, such as supervision, adequate clothing,

food, and hygiene (“Child Abuse”, par.4). However, this type is not always easy to explain and

spot.

Sometimes, adults cannot provide appropriate care for their children due to physical or

mental disabilities. For example, these disabilities might be caused by several injuries or

depression and anxiety. Also, sometimes it happens because adults are addicted to alcohol or

drugs, which affects their perception and judgment, and prevents them from keeping their child

safe. People could assume that the child experiences child neglect if they are often late or
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missing from school, are allowed to play in unsafe areas or are unsupervised, suffer from

untreated illnesses, or have physical injuries. Also, such aspects as filthy or inappropriate for the

weather clothes and bad hygiene show that the child does not get decent care.

Emotional abuse impacts the child’s mental health and social development. It is worth

mentioning that emotional abuse can happen in any family. Even though emotional abuse might

be a single incident, it would have a negative impact on the child’s mind and might cause

damage over time. This type of abuse has many forms, and bullying, threatening, and yelling at

the child are amongst the most common ones. Shaming, humiliating, telling a child that they are

not good, worthless, unable to do something, or even if they are a mistake also is emotional

abuse and has a significant effect on the child's mental health. Children require physical contact

with their parents, such as hugs, kisses, and other signs of affection (Smith, M., Robinson, L., &

Segal, sec.3). As a result, using limitations of such contact as punishment and keeping a child

away would show them that they are unwanted and not loved.

Unfavorable comparisons to others, calling names, and encouraging violent and rude

behavior against other people, including other parent, siblings, friends, and even pets, would

affect a child’s perception of the world around them. Also, it would impact their mental health,

future behavioral patterns, and social relationships. As a result, emotional abuse would lower a

child’s self-esteem and self-confidence, which would have a negative effect on every area of his

or her life. Children that experience continuous emotional abuse might have abnormal fears

attempts to run away from home, and even physical pain, such as stomachaches and headaches

without medical reasons (“Child Abuse”, sec.2). It is worth mentioning that emotional abuse can
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happen due to different reasons, such as lack of experience, substance abuse in the family, lack

of understanding of children’s needs, and child development. Poor communication between

parents and children, unemployment, history of domestic abuse within the family, and many

other aspects might encourage emotional abuse, and a professional must analyze a particular

situation to help the family.

Sexual and physical abuse is also a crucial issue that not only causes harm to a child’s

body but also has a significant effect on their mental health and would impact the future.

Physical abuse is when the caregiver or a parent causes intentional physical injury to a child.

There are many signs that help to spot this type of abuse, including bruises, fractures, burns, and

head or abdominal injuries that a child cannot explain. A child that suffers from physical abuse

always waits for something wrong to happen, does not like touching, seems to be afraid to go

home, and wears long sleeves in hot weather to cover marks. Many adults that use physical abuse

consider it as a way of teaching their children to follow the rules and discipline. However, their

children do not know what might set their parents off and make them angry because they do not

have clear rules and boundaries. As a result, a child never knows what would cause a physical

assault and are always afraid, which causes anxiety and depression and affects their future life.

At the same time, sexual abuse is another form of physical abuse, and children are often

afraid to tell others if they are in such a situation. This type of abuse happens when an adult,

neither a parent, caregiver, relative, or a stranger, involves a child in sexual acts or uses him or

her for sexual purposes. Also, older or more powerful children that use younger ones for sexual

excitement should be considered as sexual abusers. It is worth noting that sexual abuse has two
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forms, which are contact and non-contact abuse (“The Issue of Child Abuse.”, n.d.). Non-contact

abuse includes an inappropriate sexual talk with a child, making a child view or show intimate

organs, or making them view a sex act. On the other hand, contact abuse is exploitation,

fondling, penetration, involving a child in a sexual act, child prostitution, or pornography. As a

result, this type of abuse does not always involve body contact, and exposing a child to

inappropriate material is sexually abusive.

It is worth mentioning that people who experienced sexual abuse often feel shame and

guilt that does not allow them to share their stories and prevent it from happening again, which is

why it is essential to recognize it. Sexually abused children might feel shame or even their

responsibility for what happened to them, which would lead to problems in sexual relationships

in their future. Also, they might be afraid that adults would not believe them, would be angry at

them, or that it would split their family apart. Such factors as inappropriate for their age

knowledge of sexual acts, efforts to avoid someone without a specific reason, running away from

home, or even STD and early pregnancy might be a sign of sexual abuse. Sexual abuse has a

significant negative impact on a child’s mental health. It might lead to such issues as depression,

anxiety, aggression, poor relationships with peers, low self-image and lack of confidence,

preoccupation with the body, and even eating disorders. A child might be afraid of bedtime and

have sleep disturbance. Also, some children may be sexually acting out.

All the forms of child abuse should be noticed by others, which would help to keep

children safe and prevent issues with their physical and mental health. Support children, provide

classes and training for parents, and raising awareness about domestic violence would help
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society to notice such children and help them (DeGarmo, sec.2). As parents and caregivers

would get support, they would have skills and strategies to prevent child abuse and be more

attentive and involved. Documenting and reporting domestic violence would also help. However,

it should be done immediately, and adults should not wait even a few days if they witnessed

child abuse because it harms a child’s health and well-being.

As a result, child abuse has many forms. It might be emotional, physical, or sexual,

including child neglect. However, all these types of child abuse are equally harmful to a child’s

safety and health, both mental and physical. It has a crucial impact on their perception and ability

to communicate with others, their self-esteem and confidence, causes depression and anxiety,

and prevents children from happiness and healthy relationships in the future. It means that

society should pay more attention to children around them, notice signs of abuse, talk to children,

support them, and provide help.

References

Child Abuse. (2019, March 4). Retrieved from

https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/conditions/child-abuse

DeGarmo, J. (2017, July 2). 8 Ways You Can Stop Child Abuse Today! Retrieved from

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/8-ways-you-can-stop-child-abuse-

today_b_589a2c5ee4b02bbb1816c095

Smith, M., Robinson, L., & Segal, J. (2019, June). Child Abuse and Neglect. Retrieved from

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/abuse/child-abuse-and-neglect.htm

The Issue of Child Abuse. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.childhelp.org/child-abuse/