CHILD ABUSE

Child abuse / Child maltreatment

01)Who is a Child
• The child is legally all human beings under the age of 18 years.(“A
universal definition of what it means to be a ‘child,’” n.d.)
Biologically, it is the period of a person's entire life span from birth to
puberty. This period of time is considered as the golden age of a
person.(“Ages & Stages Child Development,” n.d.) Physical and
mental development is a rapidly occurring stage. Therefore, child
rights have been introduced by the world organization of UNICEF.
Mainly, every child has the right to be heard, protection and dream.
02)What is Child abuse
• Child abuse is one major problem in all over the world in sanctuaries.
According to World Health Organization “child maltreatment is the
abuse and neglect that occurs to children under 18 years of age. It
includes all types of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual
abuse, neglect, negligence and commercial or other exploitation,
which results in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival,
development or dignity in the context of a relationship of
responsibility, trust or power.” ( WHO Explanation )
3.What are the types of child abuse?
• Physical abuse occurs when a parent or a caregiver causes deliberate physical
injury to a child

• When a child is exploited for a sexual purpose or is involved in a sexual act, sexual
abuse occurs

• If a child’s social and mental development is compromised by a parent, it is called

emotional abuse.

• Neglect of a child occurs when the parent or caregiver does not carry out
necessary care and support activities necessary for a child.
4.How it affects a child?
•Impaired brain development
•Poor physical health
•Psychological issues
•Relationship issues
•Substance abuse
•Behavioral issues
•Abusive to others
• Consequences of Child Abuse

• 1.Low self- esteem,depression, anxiety,hostility.

• 2.Eating disorder.
• 3.Relationship difficulties,alienation, withdrawal, personality
disorders.
• 4.Problems with schoolwork,delinquency, teen pregnancy,
suicide attempts,substance abuse
SIGNS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
• Reports being abused sexually.

• Trouble with walking/sitting.

• Nightmares or sudden bedwetting behavior.

• Fear of going to bed/sleep at night.

• Sexual knowledge beyond their age, including strange/unusual detail.

• Acting out of sexual behavior/being preoccupied with their own body.

• Unusual signs of depression.

• Sudden lack of confidence and sense of self-worth.
• Pain/itchiness in the genital region.
• Bleeding/bruises in the genital region.
• Undergarments that are stained/torn/bloody.
• Constant recurrence of yeast infections/urinary infections.
• A disease that is usually sexually transmitted.
• Child is left unsupervised often.
• Parent/caretaker is jealous of child’s association with other people.
• Overly possessive parent/caretaker
• SIGNS OF PHYSICAL ABUSE IN CHILDREN

• Reports being injured by the parent/caretaker.

• Bites, bruises, burns, black eyes, or broken burns that the child cannot
properly explain.

• Absences from school followed by physical signs of injury.

• Fear of parents/going home.

• Fear of adults in general.
• Sudden changes in regular dressing (possibly to cover up
marks/injury).
• Parent/caretaker is not able to properly explain injuries of
the child.
• Parent/caretaker speaks negatively of the child.
• Parent/caretaker uses very harsh physical discipline on the
child.
• Parent/caretaker has been abused as a child themselves.
5.What are the ways in which child abuse can
be tackled?
• Child Protection is the prevention of, and response to, exploitation,
abuse, neglect, harmful practices and violence against children. It is
embedded in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the
Sustainable Development Goals. Child Protection is universal: it is for
all children everywhere, from low- to high-income countries.
• The vision of the UNICEF Child Protection Strategy is a world where
all children are free from violence, exploitation, abuse, neglect and
harmful practices
Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect
Strategy Approach
.Strengthen economic support to families. 1. Strengthening household financial security.
2.Family friendly work policies

Change social norms to support parents and positive 1.Public engagement and education campaigns.
parenting 2.Legislative approaches to reduce corporal
punishment.

Provide quality care and education early in life 1.Preschool enrichment with family engagement.
2.Improved quality of child care through licensing and
accreditation
Strategy
Enhance parenting skills to promote healthy child
development.
.Intervene to lessen harm and prevent future risks
Approach
1.Early childhood home visitation.
2. Parenting skills and family relationship approaches.
1.Enhanced primary care.
2.Behavioural parent training programs.
3. Treatment to lessen harms of abuse and neglect
exposure.
4. Treatment to prevent problem behavior and later
involvement in violence
Psychological Theories
Psychological explanations regarding child maltreatment and the three
theoretical perspectives: Social Control Theory, Social Learning Theory, and
Social-psychological Strain Theory.

Social Control Theory assumes that individuals have a natural tendency

towards crime and violence which is restrained by their social bonds. By
disrupting these bonds, maltreatment by caregivers makes individuals more
likely to offend.

Social Learning Theory maintains that victims of maltreatment learn and

adopt patterns of violent or delinquent behavior through processes of
imitation and modeling.
Finally, Social-Psychological Strain Theory (SPST) focuses on
maltreatment as a source of acute stress. Outcomes such as behavior
problems, developmental delays, and changes in brain functioning (for
example, elevated cortisol levels). These studies suggest that
maltreatment could predispose a child to risky, self-destructive or
aggressive behaviors of posttraumatic stress syndrome among children.
Evidence base researches.
National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health
two main limitations of the existing literature on child maltreatment.
First, we use a large national sample, and investigate different types of
maltreatment in a unified framework. Second, we pay careful attention
to controlling for possible confounders using a variety of statistical
methods that make differing assumptions.

Child maltreatment, which includes both child abuse and child neglect,
is a major social problem that has been neglected by economists.
References
• https://slideplayer.com/slide/4337036/
• https://www.unicef.org/sudan/stories/universal-definition-what-it-me
ans-be-child
• https://www.ccrcca.org/parents/your-childs-growth-and-developmen
t/
• https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/child-maltreatme
nt
• https://www.google.com/amp/s/parenting.firstcry.com/articles/child-
abuse-a-guide-to-parents-caregivers/%3famp
• https://www.unicef.org/documents/child-protection-strategy
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3817819/
Take home message