CHILD ABUSE

THE SPECTRE OF CHILD ABUSE

             Child abuse is not a recent event but has been part of the people’s culture for a long period of time. It has many facets that are usually not noticeable and so perceived to be untrue. Its occurrence may be vague that most people choose to ignore it.

             What is child abuse? What causes child abuse? Who are the perpetrators of child abuse? What can be done to prevent child abuse?

             According to traditions, a child was considered bad by nature and therefore must be disciplined through punishment. The use of corporal punishment by adults was accepted as part of tradition to gain control of the child and to discipline a child because it was believed that the adults knew what was best for the child.

            In the seventeenth century, infanticide was severely practiced as a means to eliminate disabled babies and for birth control. This atrocity was stopped when the Roman Catholic Order of the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul founded the New York Foundling Hospital in 1869. This order aimed to help the abandoned babies which lowered the rate of child murders, especially in New York City.

             During the late eighteenth century, organizations like the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to children were established in New York as well as in London to rally against cruel ways of treating children. However, these groups initially encountered difficulty in realizing their goals because children were considered “properties of their parents” so parents had the right to do anything they wished to do to their children. Considerable measures were eventually taken to assure the protection of the abused children.

             Child abuse is the state in which an adult deliberately inflicts injury upon a child ranging from intended acts of commission to that of intended omission, like malnutrition as a result of purposely denying food to the child. 5 It may also include both the physical assault upon a child by an adult as well as neglect or failure of the caretaker to protect the child from assault by another adult.

            Dr. Vincent J. Fontana, Director of Pediatrics at the St. Vincent’s Hospital and Medical Center of New York and also the Medical Director of The New York Foundling Hospital coined the term “Maltreatment Syndrome in children”. He defined a “maltreated child” as one who has no “obvious signs of being battered but with multiple minor physical evidence of emotional, and at times nutritional deprivation, neglect and abuse.” He presented nine factors which would be useful to the doctors in determining child abuse, namely:

            1. Characteristic Age – usually under 3 years

            2. General health of the child indicative of neglect

            3. Characteristic distribution of fractures

            4. Disproportionate amount of soft tissue injury

            5. Evidence that injuries occur at different times, are in different stages of resolution

            6. Cause of recent trauma in question

            7. Suspicious family history

            8. History of previous similar episodes

            9. No new lesions occurring during the child’s hospitalization.

             School staff members can also aid in determining whether child abuse has been committed by checking on certain physical factors like suspicious marks or bruises on the child’s body as well as fatal injuries, such as, broken bones, unusual bigness of the stomach and also a dirty appearance. Certain emotional factors may also be their basis in checking child abuse. A child’s reverted behavior, as well as its opposite, which is aggressive, may be indicative of abuse. He lacks the ability to extend friendship with other people and he has inherent psychiatric problems.

            Child abuse is not a clear-cut cause and effect action but several factors have been attributed to its risk occurrence. One factor is the attitude of some children towards older people. Another factor is post partum stress. Even family dynamics like the number of members, social status in the society, conflicts and exposure to violence are other risk factors for abuse. Other authors pointed out religious differences between the parents of the child may also play a role in child abuse. Other causes of child abuse are financial problems, drunkenness, illegitimacy, penury, vicious characters of the parents and association with the police. Parents suffering from any degree of physical, mental and social retardation may also bring about child abuse as well as psychotics and neurotics.

             Most authors generally classify child abuse into three:

            1. Physical abuse

            2. Emotional abuse

            3. Sexual abuse

             Physical abuse refers to bruises, fractures, burns and other wounds that are intentionally inflicted or sometimes collectively called “battered-child syndrome.” Children are seriously beaten using certain instruments like belt clasps, rods, hand tools and fists. Some children have their heads bumped against the wall, with their hands either burned or poured with boiling water and sometimes kicked to death. Even the babies are shaken so violently to stop them from crying which usually results either to their death or to the impairment of their brains called the ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome.”

            Parents who physically abuse their children were themselves abused and physically punished in their youth that the anger that they kept when aroused led them to hit their children as of they were striking the parents they hated. Some of them think that the children being young and still in their unreasonable years need to be physically punished so that they would learn. Majority of them sometimes beat their children when they are angry although they may be very much against physical punishment.

            Emotional abuse occurs when parents often terrorize, reject and use their children as scapegoats. It also happens when parents mold their child in their perceived image instead of allowing the child to develop his own personality. Dr. Haim Ginnott, a Professor at the New York University, used the term “emotional rejection” to denote emotional abuse which means that the parents deprive their children with the love and care necessary for their growth. They frequently find faults in their children and expect full excellence in every work done.

 

            Sexual abuse of children may range from molestation to incest. The child may be used for sexual gratification or pimped by an adult to permit another person to use the child.

             Adults who commit sexual abuse of children are of different types, namely:

            1. heterosexual offender

            2. heterosexual aggressor

            3. incest offender

            4. homosexual abuser

             A heterosexual offender abuses a child of the opposite sex who is not his offspring without using force or threat. This happens because the child already knows that an adult is stronger and belongs to a higher social status than she and thus she is in no position to retaliate or object.

            A heterosexual aggressor sexually abuses a child of the opposite sex, who is not his offspring, making use of either force or threat. This type is the most cruel of all sexual abusers because they look upon children as fair game especially when they allow themselves to be easily lured to come. They feel that it is justifiable to use force when a child refuses or backs down after making a promise.

            An incest offender is the parent of the child, and generally, due to his position in the family, need not resort to the use of either force or threat. Sometimes, the father completely lean on his wife for financial and emotional support and looks upon his children as extension of the favors he expect from his wife.

            A homosexual abuser sexually abuses a child of the same sex and generally there would be no need to make use of either force or threat.

             The prevention of child abuse involves the protection of the abused child and at the same time, the treatment of the child abusing parent. Physicians, lawyers, judges, social workers, lawmakers, psychotherapists, teachers and community leaders have their respective responsibilities in child abuse prevention. Anyone who is close to a family in need of counselling or to a child in need of protection should keep in touch with the local child welfare agency so that immediate action can be taken to help both the family and the child.

            There are, however, problems involved in studying and determining child abuse. Parents invent credible stories. The children, being too young, are afraid to reveal the real incident. Physicians do not believe that the parents would actually abuse their children and thus refer the marks as indicative of a certain disease instead of an abuse because they do not want to entangle themselves with legal matters. Many court judges of children do not seem to be completely notified of the problem of child abuse that they often send the abused child back to his parents and show strong disapproval for the doctor who reported the case.

            The medical responsibility of a physician require him to report any suspected cases of child abuse either to the hospital or to the child protective society in his community or to the law enforcement agency, whichever would be more practical. The physician must be an expert in testifying to certain cases of abuse and must be prepared to make certain diagnosis and references to protect the abused child. He must consult the medical societies regarding objective measures to be taken, After reporting the case to the proper authorities, he should carefully explain to the parents the results of his studies for them to be aware of the incident without accusing any of them and so that appropriate measures could also be taken to help the parents.

            The community has a social responsibility in the prevention of child abuse by being aware that child abuse really exists and its rate is increasing so that measures could be taken to organize establishments and agencies that would afford the child better protection. The social worker also has a social obligation to investigate cases of child abuse and to cooperate with the medical personnel in identifying ways to help the abused child as well as to educate and rehabilitate the abusive parents.

             The child protective agencies have legal responsibilities which include investigating possible complaints of abuse. The diagnosis of the physician is added to these findings in order to find out whether the child could be cared for by the family. If in case it would be best to remove the child from the family, a petition for such would be forwarded to the court. The court then decides the best alternative to insure the protection of the child before it can make a decision as to allow the child to be put back to the care of his parents. It must carefully study the circumstances because any error would result to further abuse of the child. But if the court accepts the petition, there would be court hearings that may lead to the nullification of the rights of the parents to the child.

            Every member of the society has to work hand in hand to prevent child abuse. It entails not just protecting the abused child but helping the parents to recognize their responsibilities in raising a child in a healthy environment. Parents must be able to realize their duties to their children and that their children need all their love and concern. They must also learn to cherish their children, afford them a good life and allow them the task of developing their whole personality so that they in turn would become responsible parents when they grow up.

REFERENCES:

1. Bernhandt, Karl Schofield. Discipline and Child Guidance. foreword by W. E. Blatz. New York:McGraw Hill, 1964.

2. Ginnott, Haim G. Between Parent and Child: New Solutions to old problems. NEw York: MacmMillan, 1965.