Every year over 3 million reports of child maltreatment are made involving

more than 6 million children. The United States has one of the worst
records of child abuse losing 4-7 children a day to the abuse. Abuse is
when any behavior or action that is used to scare, harm, threaten, control
or intimidate another person. Child maltreatment also known as child abuse
is a behavior outside the norms of conduct and entails substantial risk of
causing physical or emotional harm. There are four main types of child
abuse; physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect.

PHYSICAL Abuse
Physical abuse is one of the most common form of child maltreatment. Defined as non-
accidental trauma or physical injury caused by punching, beating, kicking, biting,
burning or otherwise harming a child, physical abuse is the most visible form of child
maltreatment. Minors who are physically abused can develop child traumatic stress.
They are also at risk for depression and anxiety. How can you tell if someone you know
is being physically abused? Well physical abuse comes with some symptoms you can
look for.
Any injury to a child who is not crawling yet
Visible and severe injuries
injuries at different stages of healing
On different surfaces of the body
Unexplained or explained in a way that doesnt make sense
Distinctive shape

There are also some signs that the abuser has. The abuser may seem to dislike the
child by calling them worthless or a mistake. When asked about the child's injury they
may explain the injury in ways that dont make sense or just leave it unexplained.
Depending on the age of the child the abuser may just say he fell or ran into something
if the child cant talk. Minors who have been physically abused may still feel the effects
long after their injuries have healed. Including depressive disorders, anxiety disorders,
eating disorders, childhood behavioural or conduct disorders, drug use, suicide
attempts, and obesity. Children under the age of 4 and who have disabilities are more
likely to be abused. These children may not understand what is happening, so their
abusers use that as an advantage. 1 in 14 children have been physically abused. That
is about two kids per classroom. Child abuse may be caused from lack of support,
poverty, abuse of drugs or alcohol, or mental health. But there is no excuse for child
abuse it violates our basic human rights and we should do everything in our power to
make sure that it is not happening. Its not fair to the child to have to go through all the
pain and scars it will leave.

Sexual Abuse

A child is sexually abused when they are forced or persuaded to take part in sexual
activities. This doesn't have to be physical contact, and it can happen online.
Sometimes the child won't understand that what's happening to them is abuse. They
may not even understand that it's wrong. Things that are sexual abuse are
 sexual touching of any part of the body, clothed or unclothed, including using an object
assault by penetration, including rape or penetration of the mouth with an object
or part of the body
encouraging a child to engage in sexual activity, including:
sexual acts with someone else
making a child strip or masturbate
intentionally engaging in sexual activity in front of a child
taking, making, allowing someone to take, distributing, showing or advertising
indecent images of children
showing a child images of sexual activity, including photographs, videos or via
webcams.

What do signs of child abuse look like? Some things to look for in sexual abuse is

Shrinks away or seems threatened by physical contact

Expresses suicidal thoughts, especially in adolescents
Self-harms
Develops phobias
Changes in hygiene, such as refusing to bathe or bathing excessively
Runs away from home or school
Overly protective and concerned for siblings, or assumes a caretaker role
Difficulty walking or sitting
Bloody, torn, or stained underclothes
Bleeding, bruises, or swelling in genital area
Pain. itching, or burning in genital area.

Sexual abuse can happen be biological. Sexual drive is a deep-seated human urge
similar to the desire to eat. Some sexual abusers are paedophiles, which means they
have a primary sexual interest in children who haven't reached puberty. Most child
sex offenders aren't paedophiles, but it's a term that a lot of people use frequently and
often inaccurately. Who can sexually abuse children? Child sexual abuse is
committed by men, women, teenagers, and other children. There isnt one type of
person. Offenders come from all parts of society, and all backgrounds. If you think
your child is being sexually abused you need to contact the police right away to
investigation.
 Emotional Abuse

Emotional abuse is the ongoing emotional maltreatment or emotional neglect of a

child. Its sometimes called psychological abuse and can seriously damage a childs
emotional health and development. Examples of this is humiliating or constantly
criticising a child, threatening, shouting at a child or calling them names, making the
child the subject of jokes, or using sarcasm to hurt a child, blaming, scapegoating,
making a child perform degrading acts, not recognising a child's own individuality,
trying to control their lives, pushing a child too hard or not recognising their limitations,
exposing a child to distressing events or interactions such as domestic abuse or drug,
taking, failing to promote a child's social development, not allowing them to have
friends, persistently ignoring them, and being absent. There often arent any obvious
physical symptoms of emotional abuse or neglect but you can spot signs in a child's
actions or emotions. some of those symptoms include:

be overly-affectionate towards strangers or people they havent known for very

long
 lack confidence or become wary or anxious
not appear to have a close relationship with their parent. when being taken to or
collected from nursery or school.
be aggressive or nasty towards other children and animals.
use language, act in a way or know about things that you wouldnt expect them to
know for their age
struggle to control strong emotions or have extreme outbursts
seem isolated from their parents
lack social skills or have few, if any, friends.

Why does psychological abuse happen? psychological abuse can happen If a parent
had a bad experience when they were a child or has bad role models around them now
then this can affect the way they look after their own children. Some parents may find it
difficult to understand why their child is behaving in a certain way, and they can react
badly. For example, they might think that their baby is crying to annoy them.
Emotional abuse may also be caused by a poor bond or relationship between a parent
or carer and their child.
Psychological abuse can increase the risk of a child developing mental health problems,
eating disorders or can lead to them self-harming. Some research suggests theres a
link between emotional abuse in early years and a child developing problems with
eating or language. As a child gets older, or the abuse continues, these effects can
become more serious. Emotional abuse can restrict a child's emotional development,
including their ability to feel and express a full range of emotions appropriately, and to
control their emotions. This type of abuse can also Diminish self confidence in a child.
Psychological abuse is never okay even though it is not violent it is still extremely
serious.
 Neglect
Child neglect is the most frequent type of abuse
of children, with children that are born to young
mothers at a substantial risk for neglect. In
2008, the U.S. state and local child protective
services received 3.3 million reports of children
being abused or neglected. NCANDS defines
neglect as a type of maltreatment that refers
to the failure by the caregiver to provide
needed, age-appropriate care although
financially able to do so or offered financial or
other means to do so (USDHHS, 2007). Some
signs to look for if you think a child is being
neglected. Rejecting the child and not giving
the child any love,not feeding the child, not
dressing the child in proper clothing, not giving
needed medical or dental care,leaving a child
alone for a long time,not go to school
regularly,smell badly and be dirty,tells you that
there is no one at home to take care of them,the adult in their life does not seem to care
about the child, is depressed, shows bizarre behavior, or uses alcohol or drugs. Child neglect
can delay a child's brain growth. If they dont learn to walk, speak, or listen. They wont
know how to communicate and they would make grunting noises like a baby or just
withdraw themselves from people.If the minor is not taken care of they wont know how to
dress themselves or even be potty trained depending how long the neglect goes on.
Neglect can interfere with how the child sees themselves. If the child was taught that they
werent worth taking care of they may become depressed and suicidal. Child neglect in a
child who doesnt understand what happening may cause them in the future to have anxiety
and trust issues with people. Parents in poverty, using drugs or alcohol, under a lot of stress,
and have mental illnesses may be more likely to neglect their child. In some cases of child
neglect children a child can be found sleeping on a moldy mattress and covered in bugs and
dirt. Some minors found are covered in their own feces because they are not potty trained.
Kids are even found starving with lice in their hair or bugs covering the house. Child neglect
can help be prevented by making sure you have the support you need to be taking care of a
child. You need to have it together financial and you need to have your mindset to your
child as your first priority. Some cases of child neglect can result in death if not taken care
of properly. If you think you cant take care of your kid anymore or dont want to you need
to seek help, so you can make sure your child is safe. We need to stop child neglect and if
you think or know anyone who might be exposed to neglect you need to call and get help
right away. This is a very serious crime that we need to stop.