Child Abuse Holly Stringer J8 Summit F block, Ballinger June 2012

Zurich International School

Topic: Child Abuse Every year over 100,000 children die from abuse and neglect and the majority of the dead are children under one year old. Children are often the abused in bad families for they cannot speak out or protest and are easily manipulated. Governments try to stop people abusing their children but it is so hard because there are so many cases and so little time to get to the children before it is too late. How come its always the children who have to be harmed and what could possibly drive a mother to harm her child so bad that they die? Child abuse is an awful thing that has to be stopped, children often die when they are abused, they are sexually, mentally or physically abused and if they have been abused they will in turn abuse their own children. Mental abuse is one of the worst types of abuse. This is because when a childs mind is harmed they cannot rid themselves of what they went through and it is imprinted on their minds forever. Mental abuse is linked to all other abuses, because when a child is physically or sexually abused that experience is engraved into them for the rest of their lives. Mental abuse is also relationships with family and friends. When you love a person or care for them an unknown trust is placed on them in your head, but when they break that trust an invisible wall is shattered that leaves its scattered shards in a mind. Breaking trust can be anything from neglect to not allowing a child out of the house. Not allowing a child to have their basic needs is a mental problem because they are deprived of the constant thing they have had all their lives and this can scar a young child. If a child has a history of abuse they will be very unstable and to stop themselves from collapsing in on themselves they look for something in their lives that is constant and is the one stable thing in their lives. This can be anything from a toy or a family pet. However if this source is deprived or taken from the child, they have no other choice but to completely break down. In the 60s there was a young girl, she was named as the Child of Rage. This documentary was of a girl who had been mentally and sexually abused by her father at a young age (Child of Rage).When she was finally sent away and put up for adoption she had already been hurt too bad for her to ever be a normal child. She tried to kill her younger brother, she hurt animals, and stole knives and other objects. Children that are mentally abused normally cannot feel empathy or have emotions and understand them like we do. They have been hurt in a way that we cannot even begin to

understand and they cannot either. When a child is mentally abused they are hurt in their soul and in their minds, which, unlike sexual and physical abuse is very hard to reverse and help. Sexual abuse is when a young child is forced to perform or be forced to have sexual acts used upon them. Sexual abuse is a horrible but true form of child abuse. Although sexual abuse isnt common it isnt unheard of. Back in the 50s there were some young boys who went to a boarding school and they were sexually abused. This went unnoticed because if the boys told their parents they would not be believed or they were told not to say anything for fear of getting in trouble. The unfortunate thing is that the people who were the abusers were men placed in position of authority and trust, teachers and priests (Breaking the Silence). Those cases were covered up for years until now, all the boys that were abused somehow found each other and together they have healed each others scars. Sexual abuse is a very delicate topic, for it is one that is most shunned and disgusted by everyday people. If a person was to know that their friend was sexually abusing a child they would not report it. Statistics have shown that 75% of people will not say anything if a child is being sexually abused by a friend (Sexual Abuse Uncovered). People are ashamed and scared of sexual abuse due to the fact that it is uncommon to find and because it is uncommon people are not used to it and cannot deal with the fact it is going on around them. However, statistics show that 2/9 girl in Switzerland are sexually abused which is the highest number in all of Europe. Unfortunately sexual abuse cases are never found or brought to justice that often and so young children must go on living in fear and silence. Physical abuse is the last form of child abuse in all of the major forms of child abuse. Physical abuse is when a childs body is harmed, in a way that inflicts injury that can be permanent or not. Injuries can be anything from broken bones to bite marks. When a child is physically abused it is normally a sign of mental issues from the parents (links to the brain). Many people believe that abusers are strangers, when in fact they are parents or family members. Abusers of children normally arent right in the head, they have either been abused as a child, have issues with their marriage or they have mental problems. In Mexico there was a case of a baby girl being abused by her parents, she was beaten and bitten and was often thrown to the ceiling to then land on the floor (My little girl). This is just one case of physical abuse, while there are so many more cases all over the world. Unfortunately, physical abuse is the most common abuse to find, on the plus side this means that the authorities can find abusers of physical child abuse easier and quicker. Although physical abuse is awful and very painful for the child it is, out of all of the three, the least effecting on the mind.

In conclusion, physical, mental and sexual abuse towards a child is an awful and devastating thing. Child abuse not only destroy a childs soul and confidence it also leaves a huge scar in the mind of the child that will be there forever. Screaming at children over their grades, especially to the point of the child's tears, is child abuse, pure and simple. It's not funny and it's not good parenting. It is a crushing, scarring, disastrous experience for the child. It isn't the least bit funny (Ben Stein). This quote shows that child abuse doesnt have to be something that physically harms the child, but it can be as simple as screaming at a child over homework or bad grades. Children die every day from child abuse and the cases cant be found because people who know a child that is being abused wont speak up and so they let them die. Child abuse needs to be stopped but how? If someone is being abused then speak up, dont let them die when you could have done something to save them. Works Cited . N.p.. Web. 5 May 2013. <http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/02/07/india-child-sex-abuseshielded-silence-and-neglect>. . N.p.. Web. 5 May 2013. <http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/humanrights/resources/plainchild.asp>.
Catholic Child Abuse - Breaking the Silence . Dir. BBC Documentry. Youtube. Web. 1 Jan. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaUxC0WO9rA>. Child of Rage. Dir. Dr. Bostoino. Youtube. Web. 1 Jan. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2Re_Fl_L4>.

Child Welfare Information Gateway, . N.p.. Web. 5 May 2013. <https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/signs.cfm>.

Smith , Melinda, and Jeanne Segal. "Child Abuse and Neglect." Help Guide. May 2012. Web. 1 Jan. http://www.helpguide.org/mental/child_abuse_physical_emotional_sexual_neglect.htm

Source of Picture: http://xkela.deviantart.com/art/Child-abuse-226767077 Wang, C.T. and Daro, D. (1998). Current Trends in Child Abuse Reporting and Fatalities: The Results of the 1997 Annual Fifty State Survey. Chicago, IL: Prevent Child Abuse America.