Child abuse is when a parent or caregiver, whether through action or failing to act, causes injury, death, emotional harm or risk of serious harm to a child. There are many forms of child maltreatment, including neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, exploitation and emotional abuse.
Every year more than 3 million reports of child abuse are made in the United states. It's a terrible epidemic that we at child-help are dedicated to put an end to. To do this, we need to first increase awareness of the issue itself.
The terms child abuse and child maltreatment are often used interchangeably, although some researchers make a distinction between them, treating child maltreatment as an umbrella term to cover neglect, exploitation, and trafficking.
• Physical Abuse:- Physical child abuse occurs when a child is purposely physically injured or put at risk of harm by another person.
• Emotional Abuse:- Emotional child abuse means injuring a child's self-esteem or emotional well-being. It includes verbal and emotional assault - such as continually belittling a child - as well as isolating, ignoring or rejecting a child.
• Sexual abuse:- Sexual child abuse is any sexual activity with a child, such as fondling oral - genital contact, intercourse, exploitation or exposure to child pornography.
• Medical abuse:- Medical child abuse occurs when someone gives false information about illness in a child that requires medical attention, putting the child at risk of injury and unnecessary medical care.
• Neglect:- Child neglect is failure to provide adequate food, shelter, affection, supervision, education, or dental or medical care
Symptoms
• A child who's being abused may feel guilty, ashamed or confused. He or she may be afraid to tell anyone about the abuse, especially if the abuser is a parent, other relative or family friend. That's why it's vital to watch for red flags, such as:
• Self harm or attempts and Rebellious or defiant.
• Reluctance to leave school activities, as if he or she doesn't want to go home.
• Attempts at running away.
• Changes in behavior - such as aggression, anger, hostility or hyperactivity - or changes in school performance.
• Depression, anxiety or unusual fears, or a sudden loss of self-confidence.
• Frequent absence from school.
• An apparent lack of supervision.
• Unexplained injuries, such as bruises, fractures or burns.
• Sexual behavior or knowledge that's inappropriate for the child's age.
• Injuries that don't match the given explanation.
• Pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection.
• Statements that he or she was sexually abused.
• In appropriate sexual contact with other children.
• Social withdrawal or a loss of interest or enthusiasm.
• Desperately seeks affection.
• Poor growth or weight gain or being overweight.
• Poor Hygiene.
• Lack of appropriate attention for medical, dental or psychological problems or lack of necessary follow-up care.
Cause
Factors that may increase a person's risk of becoming abusive include: A history of being abused or neglected as a child. Physical or mental illness, such as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Family crisis or stress, including domestic violence and other marital conflicts, or single parenting. Physical abuse is the most visible from of abuse and may be defined as any act that results in a non-accidental trauma or physical injury. Inflicted physical injury most often represent unreasonable, severe corporal punishment or unjustifiable punishment. Emotional abuse often coexists with other forms of abuse, and it is the most difficult to identify.
Example of psychological violence include acts as isolation from others, verbal aggression, threats, intimidation, control, harassment or stalking, insults, humiliation and defamation.
An abuser could be anyone. It can be someone you know or someone you work with. It could be staff who care for you, like the nurse or care assistance in your home. It could be your family or friends. The major reasons for physical and psychological maltreatment of children within the family often are parental feelings of isolation, stress and frustration. Parents need support and as much information as possible in order to raise their children responsibly.
Children in the age group of birth to 1 year had the highest rate of victimization at 26.7 per 1,000 children of the same age in the national population. The youngest children are the most vulnerable to maltreatment. Slightly more than one-half (51.2%) of all child victims girls and 48.5% were boys.
Don't make promises that you can't be sure to keep, e.g. "everything will be all right now." Reassure the child that they did nothing wrong and that you take what is said seriously. Don't promise confidentially- never agree to keep secrets. You have a duty to report your concerns.
Narcissistic abuse is a hypernym for the psychological, financial, sexual, and physical abuse of others by someone with narcissistic traits or suffering from narcissistic personality disorder (NPD).
Emotional regulation, Consciousness and memory, distorted perceptions of perpetrators of abuse, difficulties in relationships, low self-esteem, and a week outlook on life are all known factors in adulthood that occur from childhood trauma.
Psychological abuse, often called emotional abuse, is a form of abuse, characterized by a person subjecting or exposing another person to behavior that may result in psychological trauma, including anxiety, chronic depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder.
Sexual Abuse:- In some cases, children who begin wetting the bed again after they have learned to stay dry may be victims of sexual abuse. Other signs of abuse include: Frequent urinary tract infections.
What do you do if you suspect abuse? Make sue the person is not in immediate danger. If required, seek medical treatment as a matter or urgency. Contact the police if a crime has been committed.
