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Katelin Lucine Ms. Gardner English 10 period 0 31 October 2013 The Dark Side of Childhood Child abuse is a reality for many children in this world; some we might even know, but they decide to keep it to themselves. Child abuse is not a topic that is brought up in an everyday conversation, because of its harsh actuality; however, people need to be aware of the pain and sorrow it brings children. This speech should encourage you to discuss child abuse and the effects it has on people. Take a few minutes to talk to your family and friends about this serious issue that arises in our country every single day. A statistic that I find to be very depressing is that, more than four children die every day as a result of child abuse. That means that there are 1,460 children dying every year. The top three types of child abuse are physical, emotional, and sexual. These are not the only ones but they are the most common. Physical is one type of abuse people think of most when they hear the word, abuse. Physical abuse is non-accidental trauma or injury caused by hitting, kicking, biting, burning and many other non-accidental injuries. Bruises to bite marks, scars to burn marks, loss of power to loss of self-worth. This is what these victims go through every single day. Emotional abuse is when the parent or caregiver repeatedly ignores, verbally assaults, terrorizes the child, and more. This behavior can lead to the childs cognitive, psychological and/or social development being damaged.

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Sexual abuse happens when an adult forces sexual acts upon the child. Some include intercourse, exploitation, and pornography. Because of the new technology computers bring to our society today, the sexual exploitation of children has become much more prevalent than it has been in the past. There is not one kind of abuse that hurts more than others. No matter what it is, physical, emotional, or sexual, Pain is pain, and all pain hurts. Children are delicate but strong human beings, and when they are abused, they lose all of their strength. They hide their feelings because they are afraid of what the abuser will do to them if they find out. Faces hide their emotions: emotions do not hide their faces. They act as if everything is normal, but the truth is, nothing is ever normal. Some victims of child abuse will grow up to be an abuser themselves. Sadly, in some cases, it passes down from generation to generation. Then there are the fighters, the ones who grow up to be an advocate for the abused. I applaud these people. They were able to overcome the pain that they felt. They pushed through everything that got in their way. Among many celebrities who were abused as a child, Oprah Winfrey put her abuse in the past and managed to become an inspiration to all. Personally, I have never been abused in any way, but that does not mean that I do not feel strongly about this tyranny. Many of you might have never been abused or know anyone who has ever been abused, so you might be saying, well why should I care? It is not me or anyone I know. But imagine if it were you. You would want someone to stick up for you, right. So classmates, ask this to yourself right now. What would you want other people to do for you?

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No one deserves to be abused and I believe our society can help make people aware of the situation. The pain that children feel, can encourage them to commit crimes, wound and/or kill innocent people, and even take their own life. Children who are repeatedly abused, are at higher risk of attempting suicide in later life. I do realize that child abuse is not an easy topic to talk about; however, if we let enough people know about the cruel things that are happening in our community, and we do something about it, we can make our community a better and safer place for everybody. I enthusiastically encourage you to tell your family and friends about child abuse. What you tell people about this tyranny is your decision, but think of all the people you could save from child abuse. Tell them what I am telling you. Tell them that they can save a life.

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Work Cited "American Humane Association | Home." American Humane Association | Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2013. "Blooming Lotus." Blooming Lotus. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2013. "Childhelp." Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2013. "Psych Central - Trusted Mental Health and Psychology Information." Psych Central - Trusted Mental Health and Psychology Information . N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.