The Effects of Child Abuse and Neglect :: Violence Against Children

Imagine being a child and having your own father or mother hitting or burning your body, making sexual advances towards you, or just never being there for you when you need them. Becca, who decided to keep her last name anonymous, told about her experiences with being abused as a child in the Admit to Child Abuse web page. She told of her story by saying that she was "the victim of child sexual abuse and was abused for approximately 7 years by my father. Even at my age (22) now it is hard to put what happened to me into words" (Admit to Child Abuse). Well, more abuse like Becca's happens to children in today's society and they are victims of just those things. Many people may not realize this but child abuse has become prevalent in the United States throughout these past couple of years. Not only are children being physically abused but they are also being sexual abused, emotionally abused and neglected by people that are suppose to be the closest to them. There are many signs and ef fects of abuse, depending on the child that is being abused. Throughout this paper, each form of abuse will be addressed and those forms will be analyzed to find a proper treatment for these problems. Under law, a physically abused child means "a child less than 18 years of age whose parents responsible for the child care... inflicts physical injury by other than accidental means which causes substantial risk of death" (Safe Child Abuse). In other words, physical abuse is when a person physically touches a child and harms them in some way. This is something that is not being done by accident. It is also considered to be physical abuse when a caregiver, which does not have to be the parent, creates or allows certain situations to happen that would cause the child to be in danger. A physically abused child is easier to spot out then an emotionally or sexually abused child. This is because there are usually physical indicators, like bruises, cuts, and burns on the children's body that are being abused. Some more physical indicators would be bite marks, swelling on any parts of the body, and fractures in awkward places. Behavioral indicators from the child to look out for when determi ning if someone is being physically abused is if the child avoids physical contact with others, gives inconsistent versions about injuries that they have, does not seem to want to go home after school, seems frightened of parents and there are also many more.