Transcript Child Abuse.

Child Abuse
By Veronica Rau-Mason
What is child abuse?
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Federal:
 Any
act or failure to act, on the part of a parent or
caretaker which results in death, serious physical or
emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation
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Iowa:
A
child who is subjected to one or more of the
following six categories by the person responsible for
the care of the child
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Physical abuse
Sexual abuse
Mental injury
Denial of critical care
Presence of illegal drugs
Manufacturing or possession of a dangerous substance
What is and isn’t physical abuse?
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Physical abuse is defined as any non-accidental
physical injury that is suffered by a child as the
result of the acts or failure to act by a person
responsible for the care of the child.
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Physical punishment for correction in with no
intent of injury is NOT child abuse.
What are the signs of physical abuse?
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Physical indicators of bodily harm such as burns,
bruises, and fractures that are not accidental.
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Behavioral indicators include extreme
aggression, withdrawal, seductive behaviors,
and being uncomfortable with physical contact
or closeness.
What is sexual abuse?
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Sexual abuse is defined as the commission of a
sexual offense with or to a child as the result of
these acts or failure to act by person responsible
for the care of the child:
 Engaging
in a sexual act with a child.
 Forcing a child to perform a sexual act with an other.
 Having a child view sexual acts.
 Commercial exploitation of a child.
What are the signs of physical abuse?
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Physical indicators include bruised or bleeding
genitalia, venereal disease, or pregnancy.
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Behavioral indicators such as excessive
knowledge of sexual matters beyond their
normal developmental age, seductiveness, or
inappropriate relationships with peers or adults.
What is mental injury/abuse?
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Mental injury is defined as injury to a child's
intellectual or psychological capacity as
evidenced by an observable impairment in the
child's ability to function within the normal range
of performance and behavior as the result of the
acts or failure to act by the person responsible
for the care of the child:
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Ignoring the child and failing to provide necessary validation of the
child's worth in normal family routine.
Isolating the child from normal human contact.
Verbal assaults that create fear, hostility, and anxiety within the child.
Corrupting the child by encouraging and reinforcing destructive,
antisocial behavior until the child is unable to interact in normal social
environments.
Over pressuring the child to grow up fast and to achieve too early or
higher in the areas of academics, physical or motor skills, or social
interaction.
What is & isn’t denial of critical care/neglect?
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Denial of critical care is defined as the failure on
the part of a person responsible for the care of a
child to provide for the adequate food, shelter,
clothing or other care necessary for the child's
health and welfare when able to do so.
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A parent or guardian who is legitimately practicing
religious beliefs who does not provide specified
medical treatment for a child for that reason alone
shall not be considered abusing the child.
What are the signs of mental injury & neglect?
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Physical indicators such as clothes (ill-fitting, filthy,
or inappropriate for the weather), hygiene is
consistently bad (unbathed, noticeable body odor,
matted and unwashed hair), and untreated
illnesses and physical injuries.
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Behavioral indicators include low self-esteem, antisocial mannerisms, depression, stealing, and
extreme fear, hostility, and anxiety.
How often does child abuse happen?
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Rates of Victimization:
 Out
of the 3.5 million child abuse investigations
conducted each year, approximately 750,000 are
founded.
 10.6 children per 1000 are victims of child abuse.
 Approximately 75% of these children are considered
first time victims with no prior history of abuse.
 Rates of victimization have been slowly declining over
the past decade.
Who are the victims of child abuse?
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Age:
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Sex:
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Younger children have higher
rates of victimization.
Girls are more likely to be
victims than boys.
Race/Ethnicity:
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White and Hispanic children
have lower rates of
victimization (~10/1000) than
all other ethnicities (~15/1000)
Who are the victims by type of abuse?
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Denial of Critical Care/Neglect: 60%
Multiple Maltreatments: 13%
Physical Abuse: 11%
Sexual Abuse: 8%
Mental Injury: 4%
Who are the perpetrators of Child Abuse?
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Relationship to Victim:
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Age:
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Female perpetrators tend
to be younger than male.
Sex:
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Approximately 80% are
the parents.
Women comprise of about
57% of perpetrators.
Race/Ethnicity:
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About half were White,
one-fifth African American,
and one-fifth Hispanic .
What are the negative consequences of child abuse?
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Juvenile Delinquency including teenage pregnancy,
prostitution, alcohol and drug abuse, etc.
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Psychological problems such as depression, low selfesteem, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder,
etc. (80% of those who were abused as a child).
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Adult criminal tendencies including violent crimes (84% of
men and 36% of women in prison were abused as
children).
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Those who have been subjected to child abuse are more
likely to abuse children as an adult!
How to prevent child abuse …
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Early childhood intervention
Home visitation
Parenting programs
Family strengthening and support
Youth development programs
Shelters
Welfare assistance
Interesting, but horrific statistics:
-Almost five children die everyday as a result of child abuse. More than three out of
four are under the age of 4.
-It is estimated that between 60-85% of child fatalities due to maltreatment are not
recorded as such on death certificates.
-A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds.
-Ninety percent of child sexual abuse victims know the perpetrator in some way; 68%
are abused by family members.
-Child abuse occurs at every socio-economic level, across ethnic and cultural lines,
within all religions and at all levels of education.
-Thirty-one percent of women in prison in the United States were abused as children.
-Over 60% of people in drug rehabilitation centers report being abused or neglected
as a child.
-About 30% of abused and neglected children will later abuse their own children,
continuing the horrible cycle of abuse.
-About 80% of 21 year old that were abused as children met criteria for at least one
psychological disorder.
-The estimated annual cost resulting from child abuse and neglect in the United
States for 2007 is $104 billion.
Statistics Continued …
-Abused children are 25% more likely to experience teen pregnancy
-Children who experience child abuse & neglect are 59% more likely to be
arrested as a juvenile, 28% more likely to be arrested as an adult, and 30%
more likely to commit violent crime.
-Children who have been sexually abused are 2.5 times more likely develop
alcohol abuse
-Children who have been sexually abused are 3.8 times more likely develop
drug addiction
-Nearly 2/3’s of the people in treatment for drug abuse reported being
abused as children
-Eighty percent of young adults who had been abused met the diagnostic
criteria for at least 1 psychiatric disorder at the age of 21 (including
depression, anxiety, eating disorders, & post-traumatic stress disorder)
-Fourteen percent of all men in prison in the USA were abused as children
-Thirty-six percent of all women in prison were abused as children
Child Abuse from the
Sociological Perspective
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Structure-Functionalist
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Marxism/Conflict Theory
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Symbolic Interactionism