Child Abuse In America

Superior Essays
Numerous of children in America either encounter corporal punishment or child abuse in their childhood. Corporal punishment is defined as the constrained use of physical force by a caregiver to preserve the concept of discipline. Nonetheless, child abuse is delineated by harm to a child that can be in any form of physical abuse, sexual abuse, or neglect and abandonment. However, the problem in America is that an abundant amount of people have a strenuous time of recognizing the difference between child abuse and punishment that is for teaching moral behavior. Many parents have a perception that spanking their child is not considered to be child abuse due to the concept of discipline; however any abuse that includes of physically, emotionally, …show more content…
Moreover, the history of child abuse has been acknowledged to have negative outcomes. Child maltreatment has been known to have occurred for a long period of time that has affected many children. Researchers portray that child abuse is most likely as “old as childhood itself” (Cecil). Nonetheless, it has been around for years throughout “history and across cultures” (Korbin). Yet, even though the application of child abuse has been around for so long, it is declared that this problem has not reached the surface and public until the “1960s and 1970s” in Europe and America (Korbin). Due to this, it demonstrates that this concept was not arguable and debatable until around the year of 1960. However, child maltreatment has aggressively progressed over the years into something more serious and violence for children. Child abuse has numerous forms of abuse that can be applied to a child, yet many court cases have dealt with sexual abuse or abandonment. The National Incidence Study of Abuse and Neglect has affirmed in 1993 that there was approximately “300,000 cases of sexual abuse” within a year (Cecil). In addition to this extensive amount of court cases, it …show more content…
There are four categories of child abuse in which one of them being physical abuse. Another name of physical abuse can be called battered. It is defined as an “inflicting physical harm” that is directed towards a child (Cloos). However, physical abuse can be utilized as hitting, spanking, slapping, throwing, or even using a weapon towards a child. With physical abuse, it can occur by any parent in the family regarding the gender. It is affirmed that majority of the abusers in the family are likely to be a “male” (Black). This demonstrates that the male exhibits the dominance in the family. Yet, in some cases of physical abuse, it could be the mother that attempts to achieve Munchausen Syndrome. It is asserted that some mothers will "seek attention" by accomplishing their child to appear to be "sick" (Black). Therefore this is recognized that a caregiver who is typically the mother will physically abuse a child by attempting to make them ill or in appearance wise. Not only is physical abuse a form of child abuse but sexual abuse as well. Sexual abuse is characterized as any sexual activities with a child who is “under the age of legal consent” (Black). The sexual activities that can occur can include of touching, the exposure of sexual organs, or authorizing a child to watch pornography. This permits the abuser to have some sexual fulfillment. Further, it is affirmed that

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    The Effects of Childhood Maltreatment on Adults In the United States alone, 6.6 million children are subjected to childhood maltreatment, behavior toward a child that is outside of the norms of conduct and entails substantial risk of causing physical or emotional harm (“Child Abuse Statistics”). Maltreatment is categorized in four types: Physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse (psychiatric abuse), and neglect (“Overview of Childhood Maltreatment”). The myriad effects of these abuses are: victims of childhood maltreatment have less ability to express themselves and their feelings in their controlled environments, the high stress level put on a child in this type of situations may disrupt early development, by mixing the architecture…

    • 1775 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Child abuse expert, Beth M. Schwartz-Kenney defines physical abuse as “a situation in which a child sustains injury due to the willful acts of an adult” (Schwartz). Children are often beat against their will which can be a traumatic experience that they will never forget. Walls had no choice to obey her father as he told her to bend down, and she writes, “Finally, to call his bluff, I turned around, bent over slightly, and rested my hands on my knees. I expected him to turn and walk away, but there were six stinging blows on the backs of my thighs, each accompanied by a whistle of air. I could feel the welts rising even before I straightened up” (Walls 220).…

    • 2068 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The term “abuse” covers many different subsets. Sexual abuse, verbal abuse, and physical abuse are all forms of abuse. Physical abuse is especially hard to confront because a child may not know they are being abused. The parent may tell the child they are being disciplined and the child will believe this is considered normal behavior (Deblinger, McLeer, Atkins, Ralphe, Foa.,1989). The child may not want to turn the parent in because that parent may be the only sense of security that child knows.…

    • 1549 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Child Maltreatment is still a problem plaguing children today, as it is a leading cause of childhood serious injuries and fatalities. Child maltreatment effects millions of children each year. In 2014, child protective service agencies received an estimated 3.6 million referrals involving approximately 6.6 million children and it was estimated that 702,000 of those children were victims of child maltreatment (U.S., 2016). In 2015, Georgia alone had 4,099 child maltreatment case referrals (DFCS, 2016). Maltreatment can take many forms, and some children can suffer from more than one type.…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Rediscovery Child Abuse

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages

    What is the rediscovery of child abuse and why is it important? Children were only granted the same legal status as domesticated animals in regard to protection against neglect or cruelty in the 19th century. It took from 1962 through 1976 for “battered child syndrome” to be entered into the medical profession. Apparently, the confidentiality agreement about medical history between doctors, police, etc. was stopping the medical and criminal agencies from exposing the children who had been beat.…

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Approximately 900,000 children are abused in the U.S each year Three times as many children are mistreated as are reported to CPS agencies. About 80 percent of the children that die from abuse in the united states are under the age of four. Children are abused at home or by someone they know. Children are afraid of them, so they don't tell or talk to anyone. Physical child abuse can happen to any child of any race, religion, or economic status.…

    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Child maltreatment was given a more broad definition to include failure to act and included any act that can pose serious harm immediately. Violence against children is considered a public health crisis by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and abuse and neglect are deemed a high priority health problem by the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC). Our entire society feels the effects of child abuse. Economic and social costs are paid for by everyone. Expenses for medical care, court proceedings, police protection, foster homes, alcohol and drug treatment, and incarceration all add up…

    • 837 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Importance of Spanking There are many children who have grown up hearing the words “If you don’t stop, I am going to give you something to cry about!” from their parents. Breanna Hayes says, “Of course it hurts, it’s a spanking. How else would it work?”…

    • 989 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Some say child abuse is only physical however, child abuse takes many different forms. Maltreatment is cruel or violent treatment of a person or just plain mistreatment. Neglect is leaving a child, or fail to care for a child properly. Physical abuse is the use of physical force that may result in bodily injury, physical pain, or impairment. Sexual abuse is molestation or forcing undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another.…

    • 1083 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Senior Research Paper “Corporal punishment is as humiliating to him who gives it as for him who receives it; it is ineffective besides, Neither shame nor physical pain have any other effect than a hard one (Ellen Key).” Modern parenting is made to in steel character into a child by using physical discipline. It’s not humilating for the child to be spanked, but it is humiliating for the parent to incorporate this method. Religion, mankind’s responsibility, individual concerns, pretext, family concerns, and inhumane or humane demonstrates why physical discipline is not a form of child abuse. Disciplining a child using corporal punishment to establish moral boundaries is an acceptable form of disciplining a child.…

    • 1953 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    “The United States has one of the worst records among industrial nations - losing on average almost 5 children every day to child abuse.” (americanspcc.com) There are 4 types of abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and emotional abuse, and Mental and psychological abuse. (Ladwig) Massachusetts is the leader of all 50 states in child abuse. (Ladwig)…

    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Pros and Cons of Child Abuse We live in an era where child abuse is used a lot amongst parents not only in the United States but also in the World. Child Abuse is the physical, sexual or emotional mistreatment or neglecting of a child or children. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also known as the CDC and the Department for Children and Families (DCF) describe child mistreatment as any act sequence of acts of commission by a parent or other guardian that results in injury, possible for injury, or threat of harm to a child. Child abuse can happen in a bunch of different settings.…

    • 1561 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Luz Medina English 81010 Professor Pierson November 13, 2016 Corporal Punishment: Yay or Nay? For years, physical discipline, from light spankings to brutal beatings, was seen as commonplace in households to get a child to learn a lesson. It was never seen as a cruel and tough form of punishment but as a necessity to get a point across. Now, in today’s society, this punishment crosses a line to a dangerous and serious form of child abuse.…

    • 1135 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Child Abuse Sociology

    • 1375 Words
    • 6 Pages

    This can be for economic, social or cultural reasons. Therefore, it is shown that childhood is socially constructed and that child abuse and neglect are fairly recent concepts. In ancient Greece and Rome boys were sexually abused and at that time it was not considered abuse (McCauley,…

    • 1375 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Did you know that in concurrence to UNICEF each year almost 3,500 children die from physical abuse and/or neglect under the age of 15? Or that according to the non-profitable organization Child help in the United States, 3.3 million accounts of child abuse are made per year involving nearly 6 million children? From these statistics you can see how big a controversy child abuse is and how frequently it occurs. Surprisingly, child abuse is more common in developed countries than undeveloped countries. For instance in the United States, Mexico and Portugal, reports of child abuse are ten times higher than other countries with the next highest rates (UNICEF).…

    • 1422 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays