childabuse

Where is The Proof? Every single year, millions of children are abused and neglected. The exact number is absolutely impossible to determine because so many cases of abuse go unreported and the definition of abuse varies in different places (Cates). As a result, almost five children die every day from abuse. More than three out of four are under four years old. What we as a country need to do is become more aware of our surroundings and know that child abuse is a serious problem today: we just need proof of it. Often many people overlook the signs and the proof of abuse that is right in front of there faces. One day you might see a child that has unexplainable injuries or is reluctant to go home. There may be a chance that they may be abused at home. If you know a child with suspicious bruises, cuts, or any injury, you have the moral and legal responsibility to see what caused them. Ask yourself, ‘Are these signs of a regular childhood accident or of abuse?’(Mulryan). Also, a victim of sexual abuse may have an unexpected pregnancy or receive a sexually transmitted disease. But don’t think abuse never happens just because they don’t have physical signs. Behaviors count also. In example, a twelve year old boy may have strong sexual knowledge and language that you would think he may not know. this may be a chance he is being abused at home. Another way of proving that child abuse is a problematic issue in the world is looking at the statistics. Estimates place the annual number of child maltreatment deaths at about 2,000, or five a day (Sechrist). In 1992, 2.9 million children were reported as suspected victims of abuse or neglect, an increase of 8% from 1991(Cates). The third National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect found that the number of child maltreatment cases nearly doubled between 1986 and 1993, and the total number of children seriously injured quadrupled. Investigations by child protective service agencies in 1997 revealed that almost 1 million children were victims of abuse and neglect that year (Sechrist). Also, you can observe the child abuse criminal court cases. In most cases an initialeport of abuse or neglect can come from anyone. In 1998, a little over half of all reports (53.1%) came from proffesionals, including medical and mental health proffesionals, teachers, child care providers, social service providers, and law enforcement officials (Policy). After an accident is reported, usually the child protective services agency will agency will investigate resulting in treatment or services. Of the 903,00 children who were identified as victims of abuse in 1998, an estimated 409,000 received services of some kind and 144,000 were placed in foster care. One hundred fifteen consecutive cases were reviewed, and 87 had resulted in conviction of the perpetrator on felony charges(Allen).

Future Of the Problem.

The children are our future, why not save them while we can? When people say the children are our future, they literally mean that what happens to them now, determines what will happen in our futures. In fact, there were around 5.8 million children who were reported as victims of abuse in the year 2007 alone. Research shows that children who are abused are at a bigger risk at obtaining an STD, getting pregnant, being arrested, and awkward and/or restricting social behavior. ("National") These social behaviors include guilt, fear, anxiety, depression, anger, hostility, inappropriate sexual behavior, poor self esteem, tendency toward substance abuse and difficulty with close relationships. (Browne & Finkelhor) There are also those “lucky ones” who eventually escape the abuse... through death. It is estimated that five children die every day from abuse and/or neglect. Over 75% of these children are under the age of four years old. The rise to five children per day from the early 1900’s three children shows that we may be on our way to a worse future. ("National") Many scientists are also starting to associate abuse with economic issues. With today’s economy, it’s not hard to believe that there will be a large increase of abuse in the near future. Between the years of 1985 and 1993, there was a fifty percent increase in abuse. By the end of 1993, there were three million reports. The number of seriously injured victims quadrupled between 1986 and 1993, from 141,700 to 565,000, which is a 299% increase. (Child) Many of said reports took place in the typical abusive home. The typical abusive home typically has some sort of abuse going on between the parents. Abuse, however, is more common in households run by teenage or single parents or in households that are suffering from financial problems. (Bethea) Simply lending a helping hand to an abused child can break the chain of abuse. Removing a link in the chain of abuse can save several generations from the pain and heartache that comes along with the abuse and/or neglect. In the last two decades or so, there has been a dramatic decrease in the amount of abuse and this decrease gives us reason to believe that the next few years will continue said decrease. Judging by the twenty six percent decrease in the years between 1993 and 2006, Americans are expected to keep the decrease going; however the trend could go either way. (Cary) A large portion of all American children have suffered through child abuse, which is one of the nation’s top problems with children. If the people of our nation come together to overcome this obstacle that has become out of control, we have the potential to eliminate child abuse in our communities. Abuse may not be a problem we can completely rid ourselves of, however we can reduce it. Working towards the elimination of it can save thousands of lives of innocent children. If we all come together as one, we can speed up the future decrease and eventually live in a nearly abuse free environment. In the next few decades, we are expected to make a dramatic change in our way of life, which will lead to a better future for generations to come. A few minutes of your time today can keep making a difference several years from now.

__**Solutions to Child Abuse**__ Anyone, under the circumstances, has the potential to abuse (Bailey). It can be anyone that is put under a great deal of emotion, and most of the time, they abuse someone they love. More than eighty percent of abusers are a parent or someone close to a child (“Facts”). The problem is how to make it stop. Then, sometimes the person being abused doesn’t want anyone to know, which just causes more problems. Even though some people believe that child abuse is something that can’t be solved, there are many different opinions because it can be, but only if people choose to speak up about it and there are many different programs to help. Some people believe that child abuse is preventable. One reason is because they go unreported. Therefore, no one can help situations they don’t know about. There are too many children that choose to make it a secret and end up dead because of it. Another example that shows that some people believe that child abuse is something that just cannot be solved is that the child is usually dead as a result. An average of nearly four children dies everyday as a result of child abuse and neglect (Iannelli). Then even if it is solved, the situation tends to lead to other problems. For example, fourteen percent of all men in prison in the USA, and thirty- six percent of women, were abused as children (“Child”).

Others argue that child abuse that child abuse can be solved, but only if people brought it to others attention. Anonymous reports accounted for seven percent of all reports in 2007 (Iannelli). Who knows how many individual people that can be! When others don’t speak up, the buildup of their emotions turns into actions, and actions have consequences. Children who experience child abuse and neglect are fifty-nine percent likely to be arrested as a juvenile, twenty-eight percent as an adult, and thirty percent likely to commit a violent crime (“Child”). Though, there are kids out there that have decided that they should do something about it and did. Reported cases of child abuse have increased by sixty-three percent in the last ten years (“Forms”). Hopefully those numbers will continue to rise until abusers understand that they are not welcomeThe main opinion on child abuse is that it can be solved by the help of many different programs. The Children’s Trust Fund is a public-private partnership created by the state legislature. This program suggests preventing child abuse by strengthening families. Children that are abused seem to have a better result when they join a program. Program participants have a lower rate of abuse, tend to stay in school and graduate, and delay subsequent pregnancies (Bailey). Just because teens may become pregnant, does not mean that you should not report or ask for help either. There are many others out there that did and in the last ten years, that percent has increased by forty-eight percent (“Forms”). For teens and kids out there, you should not get your hopes up over reporting your cases. Approximately forty-five percent of deaths occurred to children that have been former clients of child protective services (“Forms”). But even though it is a small percentage, it is something that everyone needs to consider. So you can see that although some people believe that child abuse is something that just can not be solved, but only if people choose to speak up about it. But most importantly, there are many different programs to help. Regardless of who or what that person has been through, they need to know they are not alone. And any of these options, examples, and consequences should help for people to make the right decision.   

Works Cited."National Child Abuse Statistics." //ChildHelp//. Sara O'Meara & Yvonne Fedderson, Web. 19 Feb 2010. . Cary, David. “News-Leader.com.” News Report: Child abuse fell sharply in decade. February 3, 2010. The Associated Press, Web. 18 Feb 2010 <[|www.news-leader.com/article/20100203/NEWS07/2030414/New-report--Child-abuse-fell--sharply-in-decade]>. Bethea, Lesa. "Primary Prevention of Child Abuse." //AAFP//. 15 Mar 1999. American Academy of Family Physicians, Web. Feb 19 2010. . "Child Abuse Statistics." //YesICan.org//. International Child Abuse Network, Web. 2 Mar 2010. . //Comments on Issues //. Web. 2 Mar 2010. . "Child Abuse Corner." //Foreign Policy Blogs//. Web. 2 Mar 2010. <http://children.foreignpolicyblogs.com/files/2007/04/child-abuse-corner.jpg>. "Child Abuse 2.0." //Serson Report//. Web. 2 Mar 2010. <http://api.ning.com/files/wZajrsXp1UjxGsn7WJAshExYkxeP1RdbLbZI5CXfWcA_/child_abuse_96481g.jpg>.