What Is Child Abuse?
- Physical (e.g., failure to provide necessary food or shelter, or lack of appropriate supervision)
- Medical (e.g., failure to provide necessary medical or mental health treatment)
- Educational (e.g., failure to educate a child or attend to special education needs)
- Emotional (e.g., inattention to a child's emotional needs, failure to provide psychological care, or permitting the child to use alcohol or other drugs)
These situations do not always mean a child is neglected. Sometimes cultural values, the standards of care in the community, and poverty may be contributing factors, indicating the family is in need of information or assistance. When a family fails to use information and resources, and the child's health or safety is at risk, then child welfare intervention may be required.
Physical abuse is physical injury (ranging from minor bruises to severe fractures or death) as a result of punching, beating, kicking, biting, shaking, throwing, stabbing, choking, hitting (with a hand, stick, strap, or other object), burning, or otherwise harming a child. Such injury is considered abuse regardless of whether the caretaker intended to hurt the child.
Sexual abuse includes activities by a parent or caretaker such as fondling a child's genitals, penetration, incest, rape, sodomy, indecent exposure, and exploitation through prostitution or the production of pornographic materials.
Sexual abuse is defined as "the employment, use, persuasion, inducement, enticement, or coercion of any child to engage in, or assist any other person to engage in, any sexually explicit conduct or simulation of such conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct; or the rape, and in cases of caretaker or inter-familial relationships, statutory rape, molestation, prostitution, or other form of sexual exploitation of children, or incest with children."
Emotional abuse is a pattern of behavior that impairs a child's emotional development or sense of self-worth. This may include constant criticism, threats, or rejection, as well as withholding love, support, or guidance. Emotional abuse is often difficult to prove and, therefore, CPS may not be able to intervene without evidence of harm to the child. Emotional abuse is almost always present when other forms are identified.
Source Citation: What is Child Abuse & Neglect Factsheet
published by the Child Welfare Informaton Gateway
How Many Children Are Abused?
In 2006, 6.0 million children were reported to the Department of Family & Children Services as possible victims of abuse. Of those children, 3.5 million were investigated, and approximately 905,000 were confirmed to have been victims of at least one type of abuse. Many of these children were victims of multiple types of abuse. Almost 25.3% of these children had previous cases of confirmed abuse.
While these numbers are staggering, they are far from accurate. Thousands of abuse cases cannot be substantiated due to a lack of evidence. Many parents "hop" residences, counties, and states - making it difficult for DFCS to keep accurate records. Many parents are also very good at hiding abuse during the initial investigation period. Other instances of abuse go unreported due to the taboos and secrecy surrounding abuse, especially in instances of sexual abuse..
* Percentage reflected is greater than 100% due to data representing children listed in multiple categories.
Data Source: Rates of Victimization by Maltreatment Type 2006
from the 2005 Child Maltreatment Study
Breaking the Cycle...
"For many victims, the efforts of the CPS system have not been successful in preventing subsequent victimization. Through the Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSR), the Children’s Bureau has established the current national standard for the absence of maltreatment recurrence as 94.6 percent..."
To an adult survivor of abuse, this statement is absolutely terrifying. If the people who are paid to protect our children are not able to prevent child abuse from recurring, changes must be made in the way that we, as a society deal with and educate others about abuse.
Where Do We Go From Here?
With so many abuse cases that are never substantiated or reported, it only stands to reason that these children will often grow up without the guidance and support they need to become well-adjusted adults. Oftentimes, this creates a cycle of abuse that will be repeated through the generations to follow ~ until someone steps in to stop it.
Educating yourself on the signs and symptoms of abuse, learning how to document and report abuse, and helping to create support networks for families in crisis are the first steps to helping stop current and prevent future abuse. You can learn more about how to help by visiting many of the sites posted on Butterfly Wing's Links page.