Child Abuse

CHILD ABUSE

Child abuse is a social problem that affects millions of children each year. Not only does child abuse have multiple societal repercussions, but also individual repercussions that produce lifelong scars. There are many forms of child abuse; sexual, physical, verbal, and emotional. Some of the facts presented in this paper will be painful to absorb. That does not change the fact that these problems must be addressed. It has been reported that one out of three girls, and one out of seven boys are sexually abused by the time they reach the age of 18. The most prevalent form of child sexual abuse is now recognized to be, incest. A study that showed approximately 27% of the women in every state of the union, and 16% of the men said they had been sexually abused as children.

Child Abuse Laws Child abuse. Two words that should never have to be seen side by side. Yet, child abuse is very much a reality in this world. Unfortunately, to wish otherwise would be the same as to wish for a perfect world. We must do the best that we can as a society with the power of laws on our side to help the innocent young victims of child abuse. We have a responsibility as human beings to do all that we can for these children. Some of us fulfill this responsibility by promoting awareness, some by donating time, money, or services, some by getting laws passed, and some by enforcing laws that protect children from all kinds of abuse.

The purpose of this study was to research child abuse from all angles to try to understand what we as a society may be doing wrong & also what we may be doing right to help the young victims of child abuse. To look at all types of studies & compare them & try to break them down to better understand them. The first things that should be understood are the characteristics of the offenders, the types of offenses, & some of the societal issues that are listed as possible causes of child abuse. Studies show that the characteristics of sexual abuse offenders are; dependent, inadequate individuals with early family histories characterized by conflict, disruption, abandonment, abuse, and exploitation. In 1997, over 3 million children were reported for child abuse and neglect to child protective service agencies in the U.S. These figures have gone up from year to year approximately 1.7% per year. Since 1985, the rate of child abuse fatalities has increased by 34%. Of these fatalities, 78% were children under the age of 5. 38% were under one year of age.

The top 6 causes of child abuse listed were: 1. Drug addiction 2. Poverty 3. A violent society 4. A lack of community ties 5. A family history of violence 6. Lack of parenting skills. The information obtained in this research paper was drawn mostly from various internet web-sites. I read all of the pertinent issues related to this topic. All sides of the issue were accounted for. For example; stories, facts, & figures as they are told by adults, the children, law enforcers, law makers, the accused, the falsely accused etc. This information then had to be sorted out according to what was fact, and what was opinion. I was looking mostly for law related issues, and I received a lot of other valuable pieces of information along the way. I pieced the information together in a way that I felt would make sense to a reader who was trying to get a good general understanding about child abuse laws.

One valuable source of information pertained to the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law (established in 1978). Its mission was to try to help improve children's lives through advances in law, justice, knowledge, practice, and public policy. Its work includes such jobs as; strengthening laws, policies, and judicial procedures affecting children, and increasing public awareness of law and justice related to children. The center has also taken on such projects as, removing barriers to the termination of parental rights and helping courts to improve child protection case handling practices. They also pledged to work to establish clear standards for attorneys in the representation of children, parents, and child protection agencies in child abuse and neglect cases. Also, to persuade legislature to strengthen the representation of children, parents, and child protection agencies in child abuse and neglect cases. According to the ABA Division of Media Relations and Public Affairs, in 1995, 3.1 million children were reported to child protection agencies as being abused or neglected. That was double the number reported in 1984. Of the 3.1 million children reported, 996,000 children were confirmed after investigation to be abused or neglected.

A study released in 1996 by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services suggests these totals are drastically understated. The National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect found that 2.8 million children were believed to have been actually abused or neglected in 1993. In addition, the study found that the number of children nearly quadrupled between 1986 and 1993. While the number of children reported to be abused or neglected has increased each year, the number of reports investigated has stayed about the same for each year. Several sources show (in approximate measures) that the following types of abuse reported to be broken up in the following way: The Volunteers for Children Act of 1998 was an amendment to the National Child Protection Act of 1993. The Volunteers for Children Act was signed into law by President Clinton as Public Law 105-251. Under this act, organizations and businesses dealing with children, the elderly, and the disabled would be able to use a national fingerprint based criminal history check to screen out volunteers and employees with relevant criminal records. Also under this amendment, if a volunteer or employee of an organization sexually molests a child in his care and if it can be shown that he/she had been previously convicted of a relevant crime, the organization may be held liable under the legal theory of "negligent hiring". This act also demands that if a current or potential volunteer or employee has a relevant criminal history, he or she must be prevented from having unsupervised access to children, the elderly, or the disabled. Such a person must not be placed in a position where he or she may easily victimize again. It is said that an employer has a clear duty to use "reasonable care in hiring" and retaining employees who are competent and fit for their positions.

The question is then raised to the definition and scope of "reasonable care". What is considered reasonable is usually determined with each separate case, as the circumstances surrounding each case will vary. It is said that the liability of the employer will not be based solely on his or her failure to investigate the criminal