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Child abuse is a predicament that is well-known at a global level. It is widely acknowledged as a universal social problem for the reason that it has a negative impact on the physical condition and welfare of the victims i.e. children in a significant manner. Child abuse can thus be simply defined as the “physical, sexual, or emotional maltreatment or neglect of children by parents, guardians, or others responsible for a child's welfare” (“child abuse”). Physical abuse takes place when an adult causes physical injury by beating the child to maintain improper and inconsiderate authority. When a child is abused sexually, it means that he/she has been molested, raped, put up for prostitution or used for the purposes of pornography. Neglect is also a form of child abuse that can be physical, educational or emotional in nature. Physical neglect refers to the health well-being desertion or failure of providing the health care in time of need. Educational neglect refers to the failure in taking the responsibility of a child’s educational needs such as whether the child is attending school or nor, the academic progress etc. Emotional neglect is the degradation of another parent or child’s sibling in his/her presence, continuing substance abuse in the presence of the child etc. Another form of child abuse includes wrong and severe punishments, verbal abuse and wrongful blaming. According to a number of sociologists and psychologists, the abusive parental actions may also be considered as detrimental for the future of the children if he/she is exposed to violence or substances that are harmful (“child abuse”).
The mentioned are all forms of particular kinds of abuse that are seen and experienced by children who breathe and survive within the walls of domestic violence and thus experience child abuse on a daily basis. Young victims are unfortunate to experience serious emotional and mental damages as a result of continuous abuse. Physical injuries can be seen but the injuries on the mind and soul cannot be glimpsed. There is no instrument that can measure the psychosomatic damage a child tolerates being a victim of domestic violence. Most of the children who belong to poor families are the victims of domestic violence.
As far as the causes of child abuse are concerned, there are a number of complex factors that may contribute in initiating this worst practice including the personality characteristics or conditions of the person who abuses, the child and in some cases the whole family. It can be said that the most imperative originator of child abuse and ignorance is the domestic violence (Jouriles, McDonald, Slep, Heyman & Garrido, 2008).In a majority of cases, it was reported that the person who is the abuser was also neglected or exploited as a child (“child abuse”) that caused a Borderline Personality Disorder. BPD is a mental disorder that can be distinguished by a persistent insecurity pattern in interpersonal relationships, sense of self and feelings (King, 2009). By abusing their own children, they seem to enjoy in taking revenge of what was done to them. Drug abuse is also one of the major causes in a good number of child abuse cases (“child abuse”).
A few cases demonstrate that the abuser did not possess the required set of skills and knowledge for raising a child that increased the probability of child abuse. Thus, out of their gaucheness and tactlessness, they unnecessarily mistreat their children to teach them discipline and obedience. In this way, they ignore the fact that their children hate them and would be doing the same with the next generation of the family. Such parents or guardians are a nuisance as they do not provide an adequate parenting role model to the subsequent generations. It is an unfortunate thing that the target of child abuse is mostly those children who are not in good shape physically, unhealthy or have mental disabilities. Abuse is also precipitated mostly in those families where there are conflicts among the spouses, prevalence of domestic violence, inadequate financial resources due to joblessness and poverty and seclusion from the communal life. Such factors act as catalysts for the initiation of child abuse (“child abuse”).
Childhood experiences are very significant for the future life of an individual. Children exposed to domestic violence have a troubled childhood and consequently they have a hard time dealing with their later life. A child who continuously experiences abusive behavior and severe violence is highly likeable to mutineer and becomes a delinquent. They engage themselves in criminal and violent acts to escape from the bitter reality of their lives. Such an individual thinks that whatever he is doing with other people is justified as justice was not done with him in his earlier age (Aichhorn, 1955). By using violent ways, teenagers express their feelings of anger, depression and dejection. In order to build up their crushed self-esteem, they tend to adopt illegal ways to harm people as they were themselves harmed in their childhood. Teen crime increases due to the rise in family violence. Parents who abuse children or partners in every possible way (physically, verbally or emotionally) raise children who later involve themselves in ‘against the law’ activities.
Suggestions for the treatment of abused children
It is extremely important that every victim of child abuse must be evaluated and examined carefully. Following are some suggestions for the treatment of children who have experienced domestic violence or have become abusers themselves.
- The child’s reactions to the abuse and living circumstances should be reviewed carefully and a treatment plan has to be devised accordingly.
- The child’s age must be kept in mind before adopting the treatment approach.
- It is strongly suggested to include a loyal adult of child in the process of the treatment session.
- The child should be helped to communicate his feelings and emotions regarding the abuse freely as it will aid him to rinse out his hidden pain.
- It is also important to help and support a child to convey his feelings about his painful experiences of abuse or neglect. The child must be supported to do so without any feeling of humiliation or momentous apprehension.
- It is also suggested that a child should be encouraged to establish and maintain healthier connections with others.
- The shrinkage of the intensity and regularity of the poignant symptoms shown by a child is also significantly important.
- If exposed to other abused victims, a child’s sense of seclusion can be diminished as group therapy facilitates tremendously in washing down out-of-the-way reminiscences.
- The patterns of detrimental thoughts must be elucidate and altered as they could affect the opinion of the child regarding others in a negative way.
- An abused child must be given the knowledge of self-protective strategies so that it can minimize the chances of any repeated act of violence, abuse or neglect (Lipovsky).
- Conclusion
It is an unfortunate reality that domestic violence is a nuisance which is rippling all the way through our societies. All lines pertaining to religion, community, economy, profession and civilization have been crossed by this menace. It can easily be concluded after having a look at what is mentioned above that innocent children are being continuously targeted by the abusers. The hunger for control and supremacy motivates abusers to make children suffer their aggressive, antagonistic and hostile behavior. Regrettably, children’s safety and welfare is neglected by the community as parents are thought to be the sole ‘possessors’ of their offspring. Thus, society does not pay much attention to the children living with their parents. Children who witness violence in the family keep it a secret and are afraid to tell others what they experience. It doesn’t matter when the violence starts. What matters is that a child opening up his eyes in such a dreadful environment where abusing is practiced as a daily ‘ritual’, is extremely and permanently affected.
Family violence and child abuse in homes is a neglected problem. As good civilians, we all must observe and be cognizant of what is going on in our neighborhood and society. Mostly, domestic violence is out of the sight of public but we shall still be conscious of the happenings in our environment. It is desirable for every one of us to educate ourselves to become better citizens and thus propagate better communities. We shall take measures to create awareness about the soundless and veiled problem of domestic violence. The victims and targets of family violence need our constant help as they are the unfortunate ones who spend an adverse life if not facilitated emotionally. It is really imperative for a society to accept and understand the behavioral damages done to the abused children. Also, we must try to lend a helping hand to the violence-affected children to make them confident and positive towards life (Davis, 1998).
References
Aichhorn, A. (1955). The Meaning of the Reality Principle in Social Behavior. Wayward Youth: A Psychoanalytic Study of Delinquent Children, Illustrated by Actual Case Histories (p. 144+). New York: Meridian Books. Retrieved April 25, 2013, from http://www.questia.com/read/6006235/wayward-youth-a-psychoanalytic-study-of-delinquent
child abuse from The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. (n.d.). Questia, Your Online Research Library. Retrieved April 25, 2013, from http://www.questia.com/read/1E1-childabu/child-abuse
Davis, R. L. (1998). Introduction. Domestic Violence: Facts and Fallacies (p. 2). Westport, CT: Praeger. Retrieved April 25, 2013, from http://www.questia.com/read/26288369/domestic-violence-facts-and-fallacies
Jouriles, E. N., McDonald, R., Slep, A. M., Heyman, R. E., & Garrido, E. (2008). Child Abuse in the Context of Domestic Violence: Prevalence, Explanations, and Practice Implications. Violence and Victims, 23(2), 221+. Retrieved April 25, 2013 from http://www.questia.com/read/1P3-1498060821/child-abuse-in-the-context-of-domestic-violence-prevalence
King, L. (2009). Experience Psychology (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Education. Print.
Lipovsky, J. A. (n.d.). Treatment of child victims of child abuse and neglect. Retrieved April 25, 2013, from http://childlaw.sc.edu/frmPublications/TreatmentforChildVictimsofAbuseandNeglect.pdf
