The child abuse It is the physical, psychological or sexual abuse of a child, occurring more frequently by parents, caregivers, teachers or close relatives. It is a frequent sociological phenomenon; a quarter of all adults report having suffered physical abuse as children.
The World Health Organization defines child abuse as any act of abuse or neglect of which children and adolescents under the age of 18 are objects, which harms their health or development.
Child abuse not only refers to physical abuse or sexual abuse, but also includes neglect and psychological abuse. Other actions, such as commercial exploitation, neglect or emotional indifference are also considered child abuse.
According to WHO data, a quarter of adults say they have suffered physical abuse in childhood, while one in five women and one in thirteen men say they have been victims of sexual abuse in their childhood or adolescence.
Child abuse often occurs within the family or in an environment close to the minor. Parents, stepparents, close relatives, close friends or guardians are frequently responsible for the abuse suffered by the minor.
In all cases, there is an age asymmetry between the abuser and the victim, and also abuse of power, which implies a dominant social role of the person causing the abuse.
Article index
Some surprising information / facts about this type of violence according to the WHO:
According to UNICEF:
It occurs when physical force is used to cause harm to the minor. It includes all intentional actions that cause physical harm to the child: bumps, burns, scratches, pricks, violent shaking, etc..
Children who are beaten or physically abused have marks, bruises and bruises over large areas of their bodies, and wounds at different stages of healing.
They frequently also present multiple fractures produced on different dates, injuries to the nervous system or brain trauma that show severe physical abuse and repeated over time..
Violent shaking is a common form of abuse in very young children: most are under nine months of age.
These jerks can cause bleeding in the brain, retina, and small “splintered” fractures in the child's arm and leg joints, caused by rapid shaking..
Shaking can lead to long-term consequences, such as delayed psychomotor development, cerebral palsy, blindness, or even death..
Neglect happens when the family member does not care for the child properly. It is a lack of responsibility that leads to the omission of the basic care of the child or adolescent, whose fundamental needs are not covered.
To give you some concrete examples, there is negligence when the minor is not watched, is not sent to school, is not fed properly, is not dressed properly or is not taken to medical check-ups or consultations, etc.
It is a set of behaviors and attitudes that last over time and that cause a lot of damage to the mood and self-esteem of children or adolescents.
Psychological abuse includes yelling, insults, indifference, contempt, humiliation, confinement, threats or any type of hostility expressed in verbal form.
If this type of abuse occurs in the first years of the child's life, it is possible that the child does not develop attachment and in the future that child will feel excluded from the family and social environment.
In this way, psychological abuse negatively influences their self-esteem and social skills.
Sexual abuse occurs when a child or adolescent under 18 years of age has sexual contact with an adult or another minor, when he is not evolutionarily prepared to do so and when this situation occurs in a relationship of submission, abuse of power and authority over the victim.
Sexual abuse also includes sexual exploitation, rape, fondling, requests with sexual connotations even if there is no physical contact, masturbation in the presence of a child or the exposure of genital organs, among others..
In these cases, it happens many times that children are taken to see the doctor for physical or behavioral problems that, when investigated further, turn out to be the consequences of sexual abuse.
Although child abuse can happen in any setting, you should know that there are some risk factors that increase the chances that a child or adolescent will suffer abuse.
For example, children under the age of four and adolescents are at higher risk. The same happens with children who were unwanted, who do not meet the expectations of their parents, who have a physical or mental disability or who cry a lot.
Adult guardians who have difficulties bonding with their children, who were abused themselves in their childhood, or who have unrealistic expectations regarding their children's development are at higher risk of being abusers.
In addition, financial difficulties at home and the consumption of alcohol or drug dependence can also be risk factors..
Finally, in families living in situations of domestic violence, who suffer isolation in their community or who lack the support of their own relatives to take care of their children, there is also a greater risk of child abuse.
The causes of child abuse are multifactorial.
As you have already read in the previous section, when adults have suffered abuse in their childhood, when there are violent situations at home, low self-esteem, physical or mental disorders in parents or children, substance abuse or unwanted children, there is a greater risk of minors being abused.
The lack of compensatory elements for these risk factors, such as personal satisfaction, access to therapies, attachment to children, social support and a good economic situation also cause situations of greater risk.
Surely you already intuit it: in addition to the immediate physical consequences that child abuse can cause, these situations of violence also cause emotional, behavioral and social disorders.
The importance and severity of the impact depends on:
The consequences can be:
They often lack positive beliefs about themselves and the world around them. In general, they have less ability to recognize or react to the discomfort of others.
They tend to interpret the intentions of their peers or teachers as more hostile than they really are.
This is mainly due to the continuous emotional contradictions to which they are subjected, since a person who is supposed to take care of them and who they love, actually mistreats them.
In general, the prevention of child abuse, from a global point of view, is the task of governments, which must establish programs to help, educate and support families..
This can be achieved, for example, by forming support groups that inform and educate parents so that they have better skills to raise their children by adopting positive strategies.
Also through policies that help prevent unwanted pregnancies or by sensitizing and training professionals who care for minors, such as teachers or pediatricians, for the early detection of these types of situations..
In some states, pediatricians and other health care professionals are required by law to report known or suspected cases of child abuse.
But don't worry, even if you're not a pediatrician or social worker, you too can do things to help avoid these aberrant situations..
For example, if you have children, teach them to know their body and to differentiate normal contact with another person from immodest contact. Just tell him that no one has to touch his genitals without him he doesn't want to.
In this way, you will be helping to prevent sexual abuse. Explain to your children that they should say NO when they don't like a situation or a proposal and that if someone wants to force them to do something unpleasant, they should immediately tell a trusted adult..
In case it were of your interest, I will add the protocol of action against child abuse carried out by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.
If you know of a case of child abuse or suspect it, what you should do is contact a child protection service that is available in your city, region or state..
If you believe that the physical abuse or neglect is putting the child's life in immediate danger, do not hesitate to call the police or emergency services.
Sadly, child abuse won't go away if you look the other way.
And what is worse, if it is not prevented in time, it is a problem that perpetuates itself. As you have surely read above, adults who have suffered abuse in their childhood run the risk of becoming abusers or violent people.
Therefore, if you know or suspect a case of child abuse, you must report it to the corresponding authorities, not only so that they protect that child, but also so that the family is taught how to function properly, without violence..
And what experiences do you have with child abuse?
Yet No Comments