Eyes full of tears attract attention. Children in tears rip away at the heart. Abused children live a life of tears. Their lives are a minefield of attacks, neglects, and fears. In the midst of a life of pain, they seek help and protection.
What Is Child Abuse
“Child abuse is a term that generally refers to mistreatment of a child by a parent or another adult. There is no standard definition of child abuse, however. A narrow definition is limited to life-threatening physical violence, including severe beatings, burning, and strangulation. A broader definition includes any treatment other than the most favorable care," according to the definition provided by The World Book Encyclopedia, (World Book Company,1999).
Child abuse prevention is everyone's concern. Professional involvement in the identification and reporting of child abuse is a legal requirement. Child abuse is an area that has been treated very differently over the years. For example, in the past, a girl or woman who was raped would have been blamed for the crime. Often victims were accused of leading the person on.
Parental Accountability
Parents and other care givers promote resilience in children through their words, actions, and the environment they provide. Adults who promote resilience make family and institutional supports available to children. Parenting, however, is not the only factor influencing child outcomes. Cultural values, peer behavior, family circumstances and community characteristics all impact the development of children.
Violence is a public health issue as perilous as any microbial disease. It has been recognized by the World Health Organization as a public health priority worldwide. Abuse of children is not limited to geographical regions, nor real or imagined boundaries.
Violence risk assessment now is widely assumed by policy makers and the public to be a core skill of the mental health professions and plays a pivotal role in mental health law throughout the world. The imposition of tort liability on mental health professionals who negligently fail to anticipate and avert a patient’s violence to others has become commonplace.
Who Can Help Abused Children
Teachers have daily contact with their students and are in a key position to recognize indicators of child maltreatment. Teachers will most likely be the first professional to notice if one of their students might be abused or neglected. Teachers can play a strong role in such situations. If children feel there is an adult who cares and who is available to listen, feelings of self-worth grow stronger.
Teachers in the state of California are legally responsible for abiding by the California law and the federal law that pertains to mandatory child abuse reporting. Non-compliance with these laws can result in liability to teachers and to the school district to which they are employed.
Protection and rearing of the young is the primary responsibility of the parents and parental unit. The parents are the first source of learning, health and education for children. In broken homes, divorced homes and single parent homes, children are considerably more dependent upon the existing parent. This situation creates additional stress and demands on the parent and child or children.
Society should all be more aware of the challenges facing both parent and child. Two parents are by far better than one, in most instances. In the case of child abuse, if one parent is the abuser; the other parent has the responsibility for the protection of the child or children.
A parent who removes her children from a dangerous relationship such as this, is the true hero. However, parents who do nothing to protect their children are as guilty as the offender by aiding and abetting the abuse. Protect the children. They are the future.
Reference/Additional information:
School of Education, Sonoma State Universtiy Website. Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting: Introduction (accessed April 14, 2010).
Larry M O'Neal - In 2005, I started writing as a hobby. Over a period of three years, I produced a full length manuscript, and self published; "See You at ...
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