Child Abuse by Samuel Singh

AN INTRODUCTION

We are currently living in a time when the world of medicine is making historical breakthroughs in the world of science everyday. Also many times we hear of diseases being caused by viruses. A VIRUS would attack its host and alter it physically after a period of time. CHILD ABUSE is just like a virus. It infects, it spreads and it alters it’s victim.

According to Law through the “Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act”; A CHILD is a person not yet 18 years old, except in cases or sex abuse or the age specified by the Child Protection Law of the USA. (These laws differ from state to state) CHILD ABUSE is any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious emotional or physical harm, sexual abuse or exploitation. An act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.

Child Abuse is not only a personal or family problem, it is a problem that faces society as a whole. Children who suffer from abuse many times grow up to affect the society in a negative manner. They suffer from psychological damage that’s stays with them their entire lifetime.

There are different types of Child Abuse and they are:

• Emotional Abuse
• Physical Abuse
• Child Neglect
• Verbal Abuse
• Sexual Abuse

One form of abuse rarely occurs without the presence of another. In every state of abuse there is one that accompanies all the rest and that is “EMOTIONAL ABUSE.”

EMOTIONAL ABUSE

There are two definitions for EMOTIONAL ABUSE. The first is taken from “The National Center on Child Abuse” which defines Emotional Abuse as “acts or omissions by the parents or caretakers that have caused, or could cause serious behavioral, cognitive, emotional or mental disorders.” The second definition is taken from “The American Medical Association (AMA)” which defines Emotional Abuse as “when a child is regularly threatened, yelled at, humiliated, ignored, blamed or otherwise emotionally mistreated.

Emotional Abuse is more than just an attack with words, it is the suppression of the child’s emotional and social development, thus making it a threat to the development of a healthy person. Emotional Abuse takes many forms and here are all 11;

Belittling This is where a child sees themselves in a way that justifies the actions of the abusers. This limit the child’s own potential.