Child Abuse

9 Pages 2342 Words

With society placing such significance on family preservation, many of the

institutions set in place to protect children from abuse were focusing more
attention on preserving the family than on protecting the child and the child’s
rights. Welfare Service tends to be understanding and view both the parents and the
child as victims of circumstance. Even the United State’s Supreme Court based their
system around preservation of the family by making their rights of biological
parents have more power in the courts than the children’s rights unless the
biological parent loose their parental rights due to being found to be unfit
(Bartholet 1999).
Within this century, child pornography has begun to be recognized as a form of
abuse with maltreatment of the fetus being considered another form of abuse. As a
society we consider pornography as exploiting the innocence and rights of children.
Also the recognition that fetuses are as living, breathing beings and should have
just as many rights against abuse has caused the governments to enact laws which
protect the fetus while it is still in the womb.

Current Day Perspective

Even though child abuse has been present throughout history and the issue has been
brought out into the public eye more and more during the last century. The issue
still remains one of the biggest problems in today’s society. There are many
efforts and programs that have been put into place to help children who have
already been abused or neglected, but at this time the focus needs to be placed on
prevention.
Through the years the rights of the children have been overlooked and emphasis on
parental right has been the main concern of the legal system. Family preservation
has been a main focus for many social services, courts and law enforcement. Even
though parental rights are still placed as more important than the child’s rights;
society has started to reevaluate whether or not it is more detrimental to keep
the...