NSTP

• Child abuse and neglect


  Any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent, care giver, or another person in custodial role that results in harm, potential for harm, or treat of harm to a child
• Child abuse and neglect are preventable
• Types of child abuse

  • Acts of commission
  • Acts of omission
• Acts of commission


  Deliberate and intentional acts that may not have harm to the child as the intended consequence, e.g. physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse
• Acts of omission


  Failure to provide for a child's basic physical, emotional, or educational needs, or to protect the child from harm or potential harm, e.g. physical neglect, emotional neglect, medical/dental neglect, educational neglect, inadequate supervision, exposure to violent environments
• About one in seven children experience some form of child abuse or neglect in the last year, but the problem is underreported
• A consistent definition of child abuse and neglect is important
• Strategies to prevent child abuse and neglect

  • Strengthen economic supports to families
  • Change social norms to support parents in positive parenting
  • Provide quality care and education early in life
  • Enhance parenting skills to promote healthy child development
  • Intervene to lessen harms and prevent future risk
• Child abuse


  Physical or psychological/emotional mistreatment of children
• In the US, the CDC defines child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or other care giver that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child
• Most child abuse occurs in a child's home, with a smaller amount occurring in the organizations, schools or communities the child interacts with
• Categories of child abuse

  • Neglect
  • Physical abuse
  • Psychological/emotional abuse
  • Sexual abuse
• Definitions of child abuse vary by jurisdiction for the purposes of removing a child from their family and/or prosecuting a criminal charge
• According to the Journal of Child Abuse and Neglect, child abuse is 'any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation, an ad or failure to act which presents an imminent risk or serious harm'
• Physical abuse


  Willful (as opposed to accidental) physical injury inflicted upon the child, e.g. punching, beating, kicking, biting, burning, shaking
• Munchausen syndrome by proxy


  A psychiatric illness where a parent will purposely either invent symptoms or falsify records (e.g. fever) resulting in unnecessary tests, hospitalizations, and even surgical procedures
• Neglect


  The failure to provide for the shelter, safety, supervision, and nutritional needs of the child, including physical, educational, and emotional neglect
• Neglect is the most frequently reported form of child abuse (63% of all cases) and the most lethal
• Types of neglect


  • Physical neglect
  • Educational neglect
  • Emotional neglect
• Physical abuse


  Physical aggression directed at a child by an adult, e.g. striking, burning, bruising, choking, shaking
• Physical abuse is the second most frequently reported form of child abuse (16% of all cases)
• The use of any kind of force against children as a disciplinary measure is illegal in 24 countries around the world
• Child sexual abuse


  A form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent abuses a child for sexual stimulation, including acts such as asking/pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities, indecent exposure, displaying pornography, actual sexual contact, and using a child to produce child pornography
• Approximately 15% to 25% of women and 5% to 15% of men were sexually abused when they were children
• Most child sexual abuse offenders are acquainted with their victims, with around 30% being relatives and 60% other acquaintances
• Sexual abuse is the third most frequently reported form of child mistreatment and the most underreported type of abuse
• Steps taken to correct child abuse

  • Ensure safety of abused child and other potential victims
  • Provide effective counseling for child, family, and abuser
  • Establish realistic expectations of child's needs and capabilities in cases of neglect
  • Address parental high-risk behaviors like substance/alcohol abuse
  • Law enforcement evaluation, charges, court, and sentencing
  • Intense psychological and pharmacological therapy for pedophiles prior to release
• Measures to prevent child abuse

  • Support-group structure to reinforce parenting skills and monitor child well-being
  • Visiting home nurse or social worker visits to observe and evaluate progress
  • Children's school programs on "good touch-bad touch"
  • Ensure licensed daycares with open-door policies
  • Public awareness programs on child abuse and neglect
  • Free and anonymous support systems (e.g. hotlines) to encourage reporting
• Preventative child health care measures are important, including proper use of car seats/seatbelts, helmets, pool/water safety, firearm safety, and poisoning prevention
• Psychological/emotional abuse


  Includes name calling, ridicule, degradation, destruction of personal belongings, excessive criticism, withholding communication, and routine labeling or humiliation
• Categories of emotional abuse

  • Rejecting
  • Isolating
  • Terrorizing
  • Ignoring
  • Corrupting
  • Verbal assault
  • Over-pressuring
• Effects of child abuse

  Isolation, shame, hiding chaos at home, not wanting peers to visit, not participating in activities
• Family stress


  The disintegration or the nuclear family and its inherent support systems have been held to be associated with child abuse
• Isolation


  Often these children experience a sense of shame and a need to hide the chaos at home from others, they may not want peers to come to their home or may not be allowed to have friends over. They may also act aggressively and alienate others
• Feeling responsible for the abuse


  A child may think, "If I had been a good boy/ girl, daddy wouldn't hit mommy". This is reinforced if the parents are fighting aver the discipline or care of the children
• Helplessness


  A child exposed of partner abuse may feel passive and dependent on others as (s)he is unable to protect himself/herself from the abused parent
• Medical problems in response to witnessing the violence

  • Headaches
  • Ulcers
  • Stomach aches
  • Asthma
• Ambivalence


  For a child, the idea of having two different feelings about one parent is difficult and confusing, i.e. love and anger or fear
• Fear of abandonment


  Due to the fighting, a child may have strong fears that one or both parents will leave or die
• Emotional and behavioral problems


  Child adjustment problems relate more to witnessing than to separation, divorce or the loss of a parent by death. Witnessing abuse creates the same emotional problems for children as being assaulted themselves. These greatly elevated levels of both emotional and behavioral problems in their childhood and adult life