The Four Types Of Child Abuse

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Imagine you’re taking a stroll down your street and notice a small girl with bruises up and down her legs and arms. Most people would assume that it is just a little girl who probably fell in her roller blades or off her bike. The truth of the matter is; this girl is being abused at home. Child abuse has adapted itself in today’s society. Many organizations have been created because America isn’t just dealing with an individual or family problems. This issue has manifested itself into a variety of forms. A few including the maltreatment of the children, the physical and psychological factors of a child as well. Each year millions of children are suffering from these types of abuses. Parents attempt to punish their own children because they …show more content…
"It is important to recognize that most parents do not want to beat their children. Virtually all parents feel regret after such an incident and most believe physical punishment is not an effective route to increase compliance, learning or respect for the parent" (Durrant, 1996, p.186). There are four types of child abuse. First is emotional abuse, the second is physical abuse, the third is sexual abuse and lastly is neglect. Emotional abuse seems to be the hardest to identify in a child. According to American Humane, 'Emotional abuse of a child is commonly defined as "a pattern of behaviour by parents or caregivers that can seriously interfere with a child's cognitive, emotional, psychological, or social development'' (http://www.americanhumane.org/aboutus/newsroom /fact-sheets/emotional-abuse.html). this type of abuse occurs when a child is being ignored by the parent or assaulting them verbally. Other incidences include isolating the child from other parts of the family or even threatening them. The second type is physical abuse. This abuse is much clearer to notice on a child than of the other …show more content…
The third type is sexual abuse. This is rarely seen among the other abuses but sexual abuse still exists. Most people would assume that girls are more likely to be abused. However, both boy and girls are sexually abused. According to Ashwill, children will show some type of physical signs such as ''difficulty walking or sitting, torn, stained or bloody underclothing, pain, swelling or itching of genitals, pain on urination, bruises, bleeding or lacerations involving the external genitalia, vagina, or anal area and excessive masturbation" (Ashwill & Droske, 1997, p 1289). The last type of abuse is neglect. This type of abuse involves parents not showing enough attention to their child or basically ignoring them. You can only spot this in a child if they lack of hygiene, wears dirty ripped up clothes, malnourished or being constantly sick and no medical aid to be provided by the parent. In addition to that, these abuse are mostly reported by those who are in close contact with the child. For example, teachers or