“Death by Child Abuse…And NoOne Heard”
Book Review Child abuse is defined as physical, sexual or emotional maltreatment or neglect of a child. This is a reality for millions of children each day that face beatings, rape, torture, starvation or worse. It is in the interest of all mankind and mainly for the poor suffering children that we face this issue and eliminate it. The statistics show that the majority of prisoners, prostitutes and homeless have experienced some form of abuse in their lives. Without proper treatment most will become abusers themselves. More light needs to be shed on these issues, but more so further legislation and involvement by communities and religious organizations, to insure the safety and innocence of our children.
It was in 1874 when a girl named Mary Ellen McCormack made history. She was the first publicly accounted victim of child abuse. Her foster mother tied her to a bed, beat her, burned her and stabbed her with a pair of scissors. The abuse was reportedly repeated for seven years. The attitude of society and the police back then was that it was the parent or guardian’s right or duty to punish or reprimand the child. The truth is that it was a law used for the humane treatment of animals that possibly saved Mary’s life and ended her hellish experience. In this country we have a bizarre way of waiting for something horrible to happen to then pursue making it illegal or unlawful. Does this prove naivety or ignorance of the citizens of this nation and the government that’s purpose is to protect its citizens? Do we continue on this path of allowing for mistakes to be made, innocent children being tortured, raped, beaten and murdered, or do we take immediate action to halt this vile plague that is upon us? It is every American’s responsibility to insure the safety and welfare of the children of this nation. There are thousands of children murdered each year by their guardians and family members. This is beyond unsatisfactory and proves that American’s priorities are mixed up.
It was in 1982, while most people went about their busy day that a little five year old girl named Ursula Sunshine Assaid was being dragged out of a shallow pond. She was dead and had been shoved into a duffle bag, but not before having suffered more torture than any man could have endured for fifty five hours straight before. Ursula’s mother had a boyfriend that was once the victim of child abuse himself. He would force Ursula to stand outside under a tree for hours on end. When she would move around he would beat her. She was also forced to march around the house and say her ABC’s, if she messed up she would get beat. Her mother and the boyfriend would starve Ursula and feed her soap. They wouldn’t allow Ursula to drink water. She would cry and act out at school but the teacher didn’t recognize the signs. Ursula endured beatings, starvation, neglect, psychological and emotional abuse and never stood a chance. Even a friend of Ursula’s mother’s boyfriend couldn’t even recognize or didn’t care to act when he recognized some of the actions taken by Ursula’s parents. Ursula should have never gone through what she did .There were plenty of people in her life to make a difference. Her parents were charged with murder and sentenced to prison. The father was bludgeoned to death by a fellow inmate. Ursula’s mother allowed for the abuse to occur and pretended that everything was normal. There were other people that came into contact with Ursula but no one saved her. No-one recognized the signs or saw what Ursula was going through. This is half of the problem with child abuse, often the children are threatened to tell no-one about what is going on or are too scared to say anything about it. There are even some children who have experienced torture, rape and beatings from such an early age that they consider it a normal lifestyle.
There are various forms of abuse. Physical abuse involves injuring of a child by means of burning,
