Child Abuse Child abuse is a worldwide problem affecting children from birth to 18 years of age. Child abuse can be defined as the bad treatment of a child by a parent, caretaker, or someone who works with or around children. This topic is important to research because this researcher believes that everyone should be educated on the signs and different types of child abuse. It is valuable to society because parents need to learn to cherish and love their children instead of abusing them. Child abuse is imperative to this researcher because people need to become more vigilant since child abuse can be prevented. This topic is influential to the reader because after reading this paper they will have a thorough understanding and knowledge about child abuse. In this paper this researcher will be writing about the three types of child abuse: sexual, physical, and neglect.
In her article, “Why so Many Children are Afraid to Tell Someone What is Happening,” author Jeanne Segal writes about why children are afraid to report if they have been sexually abused. “Only a small percentage of children that have been sexually abused will report it” (2). A lot of children feel ashamed and embarrassed to report if they have been sexually abused. Children might be threatened into silence, for example, threats might be directed at the child or at other family members. They may be afraid that no one will believe them. This researcher has had a younger cousin that was sexually assaulted by a friend of the family. She never told anyone until she got a little older because she was afraid that he would hurt her if she told anyone. If a child has been sexually assaulted and they have reported it, they will need to seek counseling sometime in their life.
Yushima Cherry talks about how children are abused in her article, “Physical Child Abuse.” “When a child has been abused physically there will usually be signs that can be seen visually” (1). Physical child abuse can be defined as physical beating, punching, kicking, and biting; physical abuse is the most visible form of child maltreatment (2). A child’s behavior will sometime signal that they have been physically abused. Some physical indicators of abuse include bruises, lacerations, swollen areas, and marks on the child face. Victims of physical abuse may display withdrawn or aggressive behavior toward others. Children that have been physically abused may not trust others or maybe scared of physical contact. If a teenager is being abused they become very aggressive, failing in school, and may turn to drugs for a let out. If a child has been abused physically they should seek therapy immediately.
In her article, “Child Abuse and Neglect,” Melinda Smith talks about how child neglect is one of the worst forms of child abuse because there are usually no physical signs. “Child Abuse is more than bruises and broken bones” (1). While physical abuse might be the most visible sign, other types of abuse, such as emotional abuse or child neglect, also leave deep, long lasting scars (1). Child neglect is the most