The Affects Of Child Abuse Essay Research — страница 2

running washing machines, throwing a child against a wall, shaking a child with extreme force or placing parts of a child?s anatomy on hot or burning objects to cause pain. Sometimes in extreme cases the shaking of a child with such extreme force as an aggressive abuser possesses can cause severe brain damage as the brain is crushed from repeated impact against the skull. This type of injury is especially damaging in babies and small children. Nobody knows precisely how many children die each year from physical abuse at the hands of adults. Many times when physical abuse is caused by a parent or guardian, the child is not taken for medical help, even when wounds or injuries are very severe. When they are taken into the hospital it is usually by a secondary member of the family,

one who may not have caused the abuse but did not stop it either. This type of person might be called a facilitator. In the past, there was much more discipline in homes and schools then there is today. That is what the government sees. Many people see it as abuse if the child isn’t learning from it. Many experts think that terrible pressures on today?s family are partly to blame for the excess of abuse in today?s families. Physical abuse is termed sexual abuse when it involves the display or touching of genitalia or anything which is not a comfortable part of a normal person to person contact. This brings us to our next form of Child abuse, that of Sexual or exploitive abuse. 9. Sexual abuse is described as those activities by an older person for his or her sexual

gratification without consideration for the child?s psycho-social sexual development. Also, as contacts or interactions between a child and an individual of higher power when the child is being used for the sexual stimulation of that adult or another. There are many categories of sexual abuse, these include; incest, pedophilia, exhibitionism, molestation, sex (statutory rape), sexual sadism, and child pornography. Many times men or women who abuse children were Smith 4 abused when they were young. In this way, abuse is very much a self fulfilling prophecy, or circle problem. Historically, sexual abuse was not as much of a problem as it is in modern times. Incidences of sexual abuse are highest in urbanized technologically advanced societies. We hold this to be self evident

because the basic need of the sexual drive is denied a constructive (at least, less destructive) outlet in modern society. In other cultures and times, prostitution was a valid form of employment, and this niche provided an integral outlet for connoisseurs of sex. (I.e. nymphomaniacs, and satirists). Without this vent men with sexual frustration may turn to the less reactive child as sexual prey. Due to the black market prostitution of children, a twelve year old boy can earn upwards of a thousand dollars per day selling himself on the streets of Los Angeles. Sexual abuse can have severe consequences on the mental development of a children. 10. Mental Abuse of a child can involve several different activities. These can involved the common verbal forms, i.e. yelling, neglect,

constant insults, etc. They also involve certain forms of mental torture and neglect. Mental abuse is one of the most damaging forms of abuse, because unlike rape or other forms of sexual or physical abuse, mental abuse will be with you all of your life. I would offer this analogy to shed light on what I am trying to communicate here. Physical and sexual abuse are like roadblocks in the road of life. They are there for a while, but you get over them eventually. Mental abuse, on the other hand, catalyzes the disillusion of the view of the street. If someone is always insulting you, always telling you that you are no good: then with time, your mind becomes accustomed to it, and begins to believe it. This especially is a damaging consequence for young children and infants, who are

as dependent upon mental support as they are for their physiological needs. It is an utter violation of such a relationship. Mental abuse not only affects the child, and the family, but society as a whole. In one of my interviews I received the following response to the question; What do you feel is the greatest misconception about Smith 5 abuse in today’s society? This brings us to our final area of discussion on the subject of child abuse, that of neglect. 11. Neglect is the most prevalent form of child maltreatment. Neglect is the unlawful withholding of a child?s basic needs. Food, Water, Shelter, Clothing; these are all things that a child needs to live an effective life in today?s society. To deny a child these things is to leave him lower on the ladder of needs than he