Mackenzie's I-Search Blog: May 2012

Child Abuse throughout the United States

Why would someone abuse a defenseless child? When will the abuse stop? “Help me!” This is the plea of many children in America. Children being forced to deal with things that most of us would never imagine in our worst nightmares. Violence has unfortunately become a common occurrence of today's society. Everywhere we turn, all we see are visions of violence shown as solutions to problems. Parents and other caregivers abusing young children that they are supposed to love. Child abuse has grown more and more rapidly over the years. Innocent children bruised and beaten to death for reasons that are unjustifiable. On the news, in the papers, everywhere you hear about newborns and kids being beat to death. After conducting research and observing common situations I was able to see the causes and effects of physical and mental child abuse, enabling me to conclude that child abuse is a serious matter and that authorities need to step up and make an attempt to help the issue at hand before it gets worse.

There are four primary types of child abuse: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and neglect. Physical abuse is when a parent or caretaker harms a child by hitting, shaking, pushing, or throwing a child. Sexual abuse is any sexual act between an adult and a child, including both touching and non-touching acts. Emotional abuse is when children are constantly shamed, humiliated, or terrorized by the use of words to attack, hurt or injure someone. Neglect is a pattern of failing to provide for a child’s basic needs (Child Abuse and Neglect 2).The ones doing this to these innocent children have no logical explanation for their actions, yet they only get a short sentence. No matter what their sentence, nothing can compare to their actions. The neglect and the physical, sexual, and emotional abuse can never be taken away.

Children grow up thinking that everything their parents do is right. The problem is when these children are abused they do not learn that it is the wrong thing to do, and will be more likely to abuse their children. Parents who don’t know how to handle stress will often lash out, and become abusive to their children (Compton’s 1).Stress can be brought on from a variety of places. Common stress factors are unemployment, illness, drug abuse, poor housing, larger than average family size, death, or the presence of a new baby. A large number of cases of child abuse come from families living in poverty. Wealthier families have an easier time hiding child abuse because they don’t have as much contact with social agencies. Social workers, physicians, and others who report child abuse have an unfair tendency to label kids from poor families as being abused quicker than wealthy families (Child Abuse and Neglect 2).

While conducting my research I found a map that explained the ratings throughout the United Sates on child maltreatment deaths over the years 2005-2006. The map showed the sixteen states with more than the average number of maltreatment deaths. Each year, the Administration for Children and Families (AFC) publishes a report. The map illustrated that South Carolina was very close to being in the top sixteen. You could tell this because of where South Carolina was located. South Carolina was located in between several other states that placed the top sixteen. Through the graph and map you could conclude that there were 2.04 deaths per 100,000 children in 2006. Texas had the highest rate at 3.97 per 100,000. However, in 2007 as shown on the table, child maltreatment deaths had increased to 2.35 per 100,000 children, on average. The rankings had also changed. Kentucky had the highest fatality rate at 4.08 per 100,000 children (Our times).In conclusion, you can infer that the child maltreatment deaths are going to continue to rise over the next few years if nothing is done.

Many people do not consider the emotional and mental tolls that child abuse has on a child throughout their life. After doing some online research, I discovered that child abuse can severely affect an individual both physically and emotionally because it consumes every aspect of their life. Therefore, due to this research, I came to a conclusion that individuals do not realize that the abuser should not be the only one held accountable for the repeating occurrences of child abuse (Morton). So I ask the question, “Who should be held responsible for the repeating occurrences of child abuse?”

The scene was horrific. The courtroom was silent as the coroner listed the injuries, one after another. It was impossible to believe that one person could have survived the blows to nearly every part of the body. Especially because it was all done to a ten-year-old girl. A lengthy listing of her injuries included a fracture at the top of the skull, a gash on the top of the head seven inches long by four inches wide, bone deformities on the hip and arm and a fractured shoulder blade. The girl's stepmother was charged with murder. The courts charged her father, but he hung himself in jail shortly after his arrest (Tondrowski).

Of course this is an extreme case of child abuse, and it is often not this severe. However, no matter how severe the case, these tragedies will be carried with the children for the rest of their lives. Although, not all child abuse is deliberate or intended, child abuse effects how the victims feel and what they do years later. Children who suffer abuse have a much greater chance of being arrested; suffer from poor self esteem, social withdrawal, and insecurity.

So, why is child abuse not reported before innocent children are hurt or killed? Frequently identified reasons for not reporting are lack of knowledge about child abuse, fear they will make the situation worse, afraid to get involved, or they believe that someone else will speak up. Although these feelings are understandable and it can be frightening to respond to suspected child abuse, the consequences of not reporting could be seriously detrimental to a child’s safety. In some cases, they might even be life threatening. Protecting children from abuse and neglect is a community responsibility. Most adults want to help children and their families, but are unsure how to get involved. Often, it can be as simple as helping out a neighbor who needs a break by watching his or her child for a few hours. At other times, you may have more serious worries or suspicions that a child may have already been harmed or neglected (American Humane Association). It is the responsibility of all individuals and community members to respond to the suspected maltreatment of any child. Trust your instincts. Child abuse is very dangerous and should be stopped. There should be stronger consequences for parents or relatives who abuse their children. People in the United States should feel safe and should always be protected (Califano) !

One article, “Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect: Who is Responsible?” by Rashida Brown provides details explaining how the U.S. needs people to report the neglect and child abuse that is going on in their community. She claimed that, individuals are constantly wondering who’s at fault, yet they do nothing to make sure the situation never happens again (Brown).Brown develops this claim by exploring the acts that are currently taking action. She describes the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, explaining how they asked all states to make new policies, procedures, and laws for child abuse and neglect. Lastly, the author gave statistics to show the severity of this issue across the United States. Rashida Brown’s purpose was to show citizens that instead of pointing fingers at whose fault this issue is, they should be out there trying to do something about it.

Child Protective Services (CPS) does not provide safety, permanence, or the wellbeing for children. CPS gets more than 60,000 referrals on child abuse each week and is not able to correctly give each child what they need. Citizens are beginning to recognize the impact of child abuse that can be shown later in life (White).Therefore, based on this statement it is reasonable to conclude that there are always children lacking what they deserve to have. This claim was supported in the article “Effect of Child Protective Services System Factors on Child Maltreatments Rereporting”. This article provided data that showed children who survive abuse are more likely to have physical and mental problems. It also stated that they also are more likely to be a delinquent, bully, or criminal as they get older. Based on this information you can infer that children who are in the CPS system are not able to reach their full potential.

Child abuse is a worldwide issue we are forced to face. Abusers don’t seem to realize that their actions have a great impact on the child’s physical and mental state. It is agreed that children do commit mistakes; however, corporal punishment is not the best method to correct them (Portwood).Corporal punishment could just cause permanent damage both mentally and physically because they become angry and resentful towards those who punish them. Adults should use alternative manners such as, a “10 minute time-out system” for young children or “reduction of allowance” for the grown-up ones (Portwood). Also, before having children adults should plan for them. Planning will help the parents to understand the difficulty in raising a child.

In conclusion, child abuse is a serious issue that needs to be resolved before it gets worse! Through my essay I showed the research that I have conducted that identifies the causes and effects of physical and emotional abuse. As seen in this essay an array of questions dealing with child abuse have been answered. These include how children exposed to child abuse suffer later on in life, why a parent or guardian would feel the need to abuse their child/ children, which type of child abuse effects a child the most, and who should be held responsible for the repeating occurrences of child abuse? Based on all of this I think that it is reasonable to conclude that authorities need to step up and make an attempt to prevent the repeating occurrences of child abuse!

Mackenzie's I-Search Blog

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Argumentative Essay

Works Cited

Tabitha Suzuma. The Quiet Voice. 2011. Photograph. PsybloggerTabitha Suzuma. The

Quiet Voice. 2011. Photograph. Psyblogger<http://thequietvoice18.wordpress.com/2011/08/07/child-abuse-and-depression/>

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