child abuse

7 Pages 1700 Words

Child abuse is a very common thing in today's society, although not much is heard about it. The abuse occurs in the home where the bruises can be hidden. The emotional and physical scars are hidden behind clothes, makeup and lies. There are four different types of abuse suffered every day by children all across the world. The four different types are physical, sexual, emotional and psychological. The abuse leaves scars with children for the rest of their lives, physical scars, but the one's that cause the most pain are the emotional scars, the scars that last a lifetime.
Child abuse is the intentional use of physical force or intentional omission of care by a parent or caretaker that causes a child to be hurt, wounded, or killed. In Canada the exact statstics of child abuse and neglect is unknown, but is recognized as a major social problem. Under Provincial laws requiring physicians - and encouraging other persons - to report incidents of suspected abuse, more than two million cases of neglect and physical abuse are reported each year.
Child abuse covers a wide range of parental actions that results in harm being inflicted on children of all ages. The kind of abuse, however, varies with age. Infants and preschool children are most likely to suffer deliberately inflicted fractures, burns, and bruises. This is known as the battered child syndrome, first identified during the 1960's. Historically, reported cases of sexual abuse, ranging from molestation to incest, primarily involve male perpetrators and school-aged or adolescent female victims. More recently, however, a growing number of pre-school victims have been identified. Perhaps the most consistent type of abuse is neglect - that is, physical or emotional harm resulting from a parent's failure to provide a child with adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical care, education, and moral training. A common symptom of neglect among young children is underfeeding; an und...