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Describe Child Abuse

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Every day, countless children are subjected to abuse in the United States. Although there are many ways that maltreatment can be inflicted on a child, there are four main categories that are generally used to identify abuse; emotional or psychological abuse, neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. Emotional or psychological abuse involves the mental health of the child. Withholding affection as punishment, purposefully ignoring, calling the child names, and any other treatment of a child that causes emotional turmoil is considered emotional abuse or psychological abuse. D.K. Gosselin, the author of Heavy Hands, asserts “Emotional or psychological abuse involves a pattern of behavior that impairs a child’s emotional development and sense …show more content…

Intent is not a requirement for abuse to be classified as neglect. According to the Child Welfare Information Gateway (2013), “[n]eglect is the failure of a parent, guardian, or other caregiver to provide for a child’s basic needs” (p.3). This includes the neglect of physical, medical, educational, and/or emotional needs. Neglect can occur when a parent or caregiver is not emotionally or physically able to care for themselves or a child. Physical abuse is defined as pain or injury inflicted on a child intentionally. Gosselin (2014) provides many examples of physical abuse including “striking, stabbing, kicking, burning, or biting the child or any action that results in a physical impairment or the death of the child such as shaking or throwing” (p.96). Gosselin (2014) explains that a caregiver may not have intended to harm a child even if the physical abuse is not accidental. Sexual abuse includes both sexual acts and non-contact abuse. The Child Welfare Information Gateway (2013) provides the definition of sexual abuse according to the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act …show more content…

Gosselin (2014) provides “[u[ntil recently, few considered the treatment of children to be a matter of public concern” (p.87). Because maltreatment of children was not a priority, there aren't numbers regarding past abuse victims to compare current abuse statistics. One of the most influential efforts of modern America regarding child maltreatment came from the 1974 Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition (2014), CAPTA was enacted to “provide funding for the prevention, identification, and treatment of child abuse and neglect”. In order to receive federal funding through CAPTA, each state must use the definitions of CAPTA to define child abuse and neglect. Since many cases of abuse are likely to go unreported, the National Low Income Housing Coalition (2014) explains that “CAPTA has evolved from responding to the occurrence and effects of child abuse to focusing more broadly on risks, protection, prevention, and multi-sector approaches and partnerships”. Providing there is a large effort at both the state and federal level in utilizing CAPTA and attempting to taking control of the maltreatment of children, it seems America is in the right direction to see a decrease in

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