The design problem
Through my research I found that child abuse is when someone is ill-treating a child, causing damage to the child's health or personal development. It is any form of physical, emotional or sexual mistreatment or lack of care that leads to injury or harm.
It commonly occurs within a relationship of trust or responsibility and is an abuse of power or a breach of trust. Abuse can happen to a child regardless of their age, gender, race or ability. Abusers can be adults (male or female) and other young people, and are usually known to and trusted by the child and family.
The abuser may be a family member, or they may be someone the child encounters in a residential setting or in the community. An individual may abuse or neglect a child directly, or may be responsible for abuse because they fail to prevent another person harming that child.
- Physical abuse may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating, or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately induces, illness in a child.
- Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, including prostitution, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including penetrative (e.g. rape, buggery or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts. They may include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, sexual online images, watching sexual activities, or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.
- Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve conveying to children that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person. It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. These may include interactions that are beyond the child’s developmental capability, as well as overprotection and limitation of exploration and learning, or preventing the child participating in normal social interaction.
It may involve seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another. It may involve serious bullying, causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, though it may occur alone.
· Neglected abuse: You are neglecting a child if you fail to take care of them properly, for example, by failing to protect them from danger, cold or starvation. This does not have to be deliberate. You can also be neglecting a child if you give them very little affection or attention. A child who fails to grow properly might also be seen as having been neglected. You might be neglecting a child if you leave them alone at home. This does not depend on the age of a child but on the circumstances and whether the child is at risk of being badly harmed).
Child abuse statistics in UK
Children are suffering from a hidden epidemic of child abuse and neglect.
Statistics on sexual abuse
July 2011
Statistics on child sexual abuse, one of the NSPCC's priorities.
· One in nine young adults (11.3%) experienced contact sexual abuse during childhood. (Based on survey of 1,761 young adults aged 18-24 years).
· 17,727 sexual crimes against children under 16 were recorded in England and Wales in 2010/11.
· One in 20 children (4.8%) has experienced contact sexual abuse.
(Based on survey of 2,275 children aged 11-17 years).
· Three-quarters (72%) of sexually abused children did not tell anyone about the abuse at the time. 27% told someone later. Around a third (31%) still had not told anyone about their experience(s) by early adulthood.
Source: http://www.childhelp.org/pages/statistics
Psychological Impact of Child Abuse
The impact of child abuse already is known to increase the risk of suicide; however the literature about other characteristics of depressed victims of child abuse is scarce. Although the findings of the Mayo study do not confirm causality, the information stresses the importance of more aggressive approaches from the public health perspective to prevent child abuse. "A history of child abuse makes most psychiatric illnesses worse," according to Magdalena Romanowicz, M.D., lead author of the study. "We found that it significantly impacts the wide range of characteristics of depressed inpatients including increased risk of suicide attempt, substance abuse, as well as earlier onset of mental illness and more psychiatric hospitalizations. This new information serves as a reminder of the importance of child abuse prevention from a public health perspective."
Dr. Romanowicz says plans are under way to further examine the association between child abuse and mental illness in a larger study of patients.
Reporting child abuse to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC)
You can report child abuse to the NSPCC. The NSPCC runs a confidential free phone helpline for anyone who wants to report child abuse. When you speak to the helpline, you do not have to give your personal details if you don't want to. If you do give your details, the NSPCC may have to pass these on to social services, or the police, but will ask them not to pass your details onto the person or family you have concerns about.
If you report concerns about child abuse to the NSPCC, they must do something about it.
NSPCC
Helpline: 0808 800 5000 E-mail: help@nspcc.org.uk Website: www.nspcc.org.uk
Sources :
http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/f_child_abuse.pdf
http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/resourcesforprofessionals/sexual_abuse_statistics_wda80204.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090521112831.htm
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