Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Research Paper

Child Abuse thwartion and preaching - Research Paper ExampleThere is a misplaced perception among the masses that chela wickedness is only familiar in nature. But emotional neglect of the childs require and desires by parents or guardians also constitutes child abuse. Childhood is very fragile and emotionally sensitive in nature. It is during this natural age that a childs perspective and sense of self-worth is formed. Thus, child abuse can form detri workforcetally and long-lasting effects on the overall health of a child. Child abuse is to a greater extent prevalent in developing and underdeveloped countries than the developed ones. In the face of grim poverty and starvation, children a good deal become the innocent victims of multiple forms of abuse. In some countries, instances of child abuse are also dictated by local myths and traditions. For example, in South Africa, it is believed that sexual intercourse with a virgin would cure a man of HIV.The practice of child ab use has existed in some form or the other since clock immemorial. It was a normal practice for early Greek and Roman civilizations to abandoned deformed or undesired children, and to offer children as sacrifices to appease the gods. Similar practices were performed in Carthaginian, Roman, Greek, and Aztec societies. In Roman society, the father had absolute pronouncement over his childs life. cozy abuse of children was also common, but it was never perceived as being banned or even immoral. It was rather a traditionally accepted phenomenon. But as humankind has progressed as a civilization, attitudes regarding child abuse have drastically changed and rightly so. Child abuse is now acknowledge as a grotesque social crime, one that can leave ugly scars on a childs life. Not only does it ruin the innocence of the child, but it also leads to psychological problems in adult life. Traditionally, child abuse has been categorized in the following ways- neglect, physical abuse, psychol ogical/emotional abuse, and sexual abuse. Of the total describe cases of child abuse, neglect represented 54% of confirmed cases of child abuse, physical abuse 22%, sexual abuse 8%, emotional maltreatment 4%, and other forms of maltreatment 12% (National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse). Neglect can imply a situation where the parents fail to satisfy the basic needs of the child including physical, emotional and educational needs. Physical Abuse refers to any act of physical violence committed against a child. Psychological or emotional abuse denotes a pattern of behavior that impedes a childs psychological growth and development. This includes perennial criticism of the child, rejection and all other activities which would adversely affect a childs sense of self-worth. Sexual abuse, which has a rather hazy definition, involves any sexual act between an adult and a child. The much explicit form of sexual abuse occurs when a child is abused for the sexual gratification of an adul t. The more subtle form of sexual abuse, though just as serious, is when an adult indecently exposes their genitalia to a child, asks or pressures a child to engage in sexual activities, displays pornography to a child, or uses a child to produce child pornography. (Martin et al, 383). Studies have revealed that nearly 15% to 25% of women and 5% to 15% of men were sexually abused when they were children. (Kevin et al, 391).