The Infliction of Child Abuse

In every society there is domestic violence. It comes in many different yet disguised forms, many of which comprise of mental abuse, verbal abuse, physical abuse and neglect. The victims of these abuses often include spousal abuse, household abuse, and public abuse and child abuse. Child abuse is considered the shoddier abuse next to spousal abuse. In order for one to really understand Domestic Violence/Child Abuse they must first comprehend what is Domestic Violence/Child Abuse, the types of child abuse and it’s impinge on children, and also ways in which it can be prevented.

Even though most abuse victims, if not all, attempts to conceal the fact that they are experiencing some kind of domestic violence, it still shows in most cases. Knowing what domestic violence is can be accommodating to a person. It not only helps them to better understand the concept of what it is, but it also helps them to be able to find a way out of it. The question, “What is domestic violence?” was posed to my face. The answer to that question may seem easy at first. But if you really and truly sit down and analyze it you will see the meaning of domestic violence in its entirety. Domestic violence is any emotional, physical or sexual abuse by a household member, often by a partner. (Webster’s II New Riverside University Dictionary.) Most victims also experience financial and social abuse and there are many ways the police can help. Rather than it being an isolated event, domestic violence tends to recur and to increase in severity over time. Without intervention domestic violence will continue. Another question was, “What is child abuse?” Child abuse is defined as causing or permitting any harmful or offensive contact on a child’s body; and any communication or transaction of any kind that humiliates, shames, or frightens the child. (Webster’s II New Riverside University

Dictionary.) It can occur in all types of families, cultures, and in all parts of the world. Young people are seen to be children until their eighteenth birthday. Therefore law deem the term �child abuse’ correct at any age from birth onwards. Many different types of child abuse can come in numerous forms. A child can be abused by the direct actions of an adult, such as a physical beating or because an adult fails to take action or comply with essential facilities that a child needs. Child abuse comes mostly from people that the child knows, from strangers or most of all family members.

There are four major types of child abuse, explicitly are physical, emotional, sexual abuse, and neglect. Physical Abuse is the inflicting of physical injury upon a child. Which may include, burning, hitting, punching, shaking, kicking, beating, or using objects to hit, twisting of a body part or forcing the ingestion of an unwanted substance such as drug or poison otherwise harming a child. The caretaker or parent may not have intended to hurt the child; but the injury is not an accident. It may, however, be the result if over-discipline or physical punishment that is inappropriate to the age of the child. Emotional abuse on the other hand includes acts or the failures to act by parent or caretakers that have caused or could cause serious behavioral, cognitive, emotional, or mental disorders. It is when a child is denied love, affirmations and affection. Another way in which children are emotionally abused is when they are constantly shouted at, threatened, ridiculed or taunted. (Dr. K. Khatri). Punishments such as being locked in the closet or being tired to a chair are considered to be somewhat threatening or terrorizing to a child. In other words, physical and emotional abuse plays a part in the way a child act, the things he/she says and the places they go. What is sexual abuse? Sexual abuse is the inappropriate sexual behavior with a child. (Webster’s II New Riverside University Dictionary.) It is the unwanted sexual intimacy forced on a child by an adult. Included are oral, anal, and or vaginal stimulation/penetration, fondling of a child’s genitals, making child fondle you (the adults own), incest, Sodom and sexual exploitation. If a stranger commits these acts, it would be considered sexual assault and will be dealt with by the police forces and criminal court. Likewise if a family member commits these acts, it is called incest and the police and the family court take similar actions. Last but not lease there is neglect. Neglect is when an adult fails to meet a child’s basic need, like food, and or clothing, they are administrating another form of abuse. This can either be physical, educational, and or emotional. With educational neglect the caregiver or parent fails to provide adequate or appropriate schooling. Neglect in a psychological way includes lack of emotional support and love, and leaving child alone.

Domestic violence and child abuse affects a child, both physically and emotionally. It has its ways of creeping up on a person and just brings them down to a lower level. Abuse can affect a child’s learning. You may ask, how? Well it is quite simple. Kids that are neglected or abuse generally become angry and isolated. Most young ones do not understand the meaning of the abuse that they are encountering and tend to believe that they are wrong in some way and in some things that they say and do. Because most young children don’t have the ability to express their feelings verbally the manifestation of these emotions are often behavioral. Abused children often withdraw from school, and as an end result they are portrayed as “loners”, because of the lack of friends, and understanding the essential of what is taught to them in school. Some kids try to overcompensate at school, which in the end brings more stress upon them as they try to perfect him/her in school. Most students in this manner tend to miss out on an education, due to the fact that there is no adult to run the show or to look after them. Others purposely miss school because they have no clothes to wear. Or they don’t want their bruises to be seen by teachers and friends and for the fear that one of them (the teacher and friend) will report them (the child) to a person of higher power. (http://www.newman.ac.uk). Instead of loving, trusting, and listening it also encourages the child to lie, resent, fear, and retaliate. It will alienate the child from the abuser and your entire household and make him/her an outsider. The child’s self-esteem is lowered, and it affects him/her psychological development and their ability to behave normally outside his/her home. (Gabriel King)

There are also long term and short term affects. His/her response to the abuse