Fluent Essays

This research paper on Child Abuse and Neglect in America should be at least 10 pages. It covers the reasons of child abuse (which I already wrote about), and I still need research on why it is happening in the United States and possible ways to prevent it. See attached filed that was started and books that need to be referenced in further research. I highlighted what needs to be covered and what references are to be used from Work Cited list. This paper is due in a week. research_paper_draft_copy.docx child_abuse_as_an_international_issue.pdf national_research_council._understanding_child_abuse_and_neglect.pdf Unformatted Attachment Preview 1 Name Professor Name English 103 June 7, 2020 Child Neglect and Abuse in the United States Not long ago, Netflix presented a documentary telling a gruesome story of an eight years old boy from Palmdale, Gabriel Fernandez, that over a period of eight months was subjected to horrific torture, which included regular beatings, being shot in the face with a BB gun, forced to eat cat litter, being locked in a cupboard for hours, and pepper sprayed. The boy was subjected to all this torture by his own mother and her boyfriend, and his cruel nightmare ultimately ended when they beat him to death in 2013. While watching the documentary, one cannot comprehend that such horrific actions could be done to an innocent child that cannot protect himself, nevertheless, by his own caregivers, under the noses of child protection services. To make matters worse, not long after this documentary was released, another story appeared about horrific child abuse of Anthony Avalos, 10-years old boy from Lancaster, that was killed by his parents. Melinda Smith, M.A, wrote in her article “Child Abuse and Neglect”: “While physical abuse is shocking due to the marks it leaves, not all signs of child abuse are as obvious. Ignoring children’s needs, putting them in unsupervised, dangerous situations, exposing them to sexual situations, or making them feel worthless or stupid are also forms of child abuse and neglect— and they can leave deep, lasting scars on kids”. Further research into what causes some children to be abused and neglected by their parents showed that some of the possible reasons are: socioeconomic stress from financial issues, unemployment, and other problems; parents’ own 2 history of abuse and neglect during their childhood; substance use disorder; personal mental health issues, such as depression or anxiety; lack of parenting skills and understanding about basic childhood development. This research paper will further review in depth these causes of child abuse and neglect by parents, the reasons why it is still happening in our society, and possible ways to prevent it. First, poverty is one of the most significant reasons for child abuse and neglect within a family. This means that as the household income decreases, chances of child neglect and abuse are statistically more likely to happen. Families that struggle to pay their rent and put food on the table, that live in the bad neighborhoods are very susceptible to stress and in turn to taking it out on their children. Single parenting and social isolation from friends, family, or neighbors that could help with taking care of children, contribute to abuse as well. In 1973, Henry Kempe defined the social isolation common among maltreating adults this way: There is generally no lifeline or rescue operation available to the parents life. That is, they have no close friends, relatives, or neighbors whom they can readily ask for help in moments of stress. It is also possible that abusive parents have smaller networks of friends in general and in turn receive less help from other people. Additionally, parents’ own history of abuse and neglect during their childhood is another factor that greatly contributes to the problem of child abuse. Not all people that were abused during their childhood will end up abusing their own children, but they are definitely at the increased risk. The main reason is that emotionally or physically abused people simply don’t acquire necessary healthy communication skills between family members and unconsciously pass the same experience upon their children, even though they love them. Jay Belsky, and American child psychologist, wrote: “In light of evidence that maltreated children have problems 3 with emotion regulation, aggression, and empathy, it seems plausible that abusive and neglectful childhoods may promote hostile personalities that become come a proximate cause of maltreatment. Child abuse by parents teaches children to adapt to dangerous situations and numb their own feelings of injustice that people who supposed to love and protect them and be their safe harbor are the ones who inflict pain upon them. This in turn causes these children to develop bad behaviors and aggression toward other people, classmates, and later in life toward their children. Furthermore, substance use disorder in parents significantly increases the probability of child abuse in a family. The relationship between alcohol and drugs addiction and child neglect is clear. Most of the cases that child protection services are faced with have their origin in the use of substances. John Myers wrote in his book: “Today, approximately 80 percent of families involved with child protective services have substance abuse issues. Unfortunately, substanceabusing parents are often resistant to change.” Parents’ problem with alcohol and drugs also increase a chance of their children having the same problem later in life. Myers also writes: “Thus, the “corking fee” for alcohol abuse is violence, neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, domestic violence, disability, disease, and death on the road or at home. Drinking to excess is like taking a stupid pill. Yet, Americans love to drink, and may drink too much. “It’s Friday night, let’s get wasted.”” It is very unfortunate that some parents put their love for alcohol and drugs above the wellbeing of their children, and that it is causes a vicious cycle of suffering and pain. On top of that, substance-abusing parents less likely to comply with court-ordered services which makes the situation even worse. Moreover, mental health issues of the parents can affect the care of their children. Depresses parents often cannot get themselves to attend to their children’s needs. Myers 4 explained: “A relationship exists between child maltreatment and parental disorders of mood, anxiety, and personality. Some abusive parents demonstrate symptoms of dissociation. Some psychotic parents, particularly those with schizophrenia, are so lost to their illness they cannot care for themselves, let alone children. Small numbers of mentally deranged parents kill their children.” Some state laws consider mental illness as a condition that can lead to loss of custody or parental rights. Thus, parents with mental illness often avoid looking for help because of fear of losing their children. Myer writes about one child neglect situation due to mental illness: “In the case of In re Andrea G., Andrea’s mother was diagnosed with schizotypal personality. On one occasion, the mother attempted to draw blood from Andrea’s arm, stating that she needed “good blood” from her daughter. Mother encouraged Andrea eat frozen vomit covered in chocolate sauce. The mother could not maintain employment or a stable home.” It is very unfortunate and sad situation when a state steps in these kinds of cases. Parents are not to blame for their mental illness, unlike alcohol or drug abuse for example; however, they cannot provide competent parenting and safe and healthy environment to their children, and it is best if they are removed from a home, if there are no other adults that can overtake their care. Finally, lack of parenting skills and understanding about basic childhood development is another problem that causes child neglect and abuse. The child-parent relationship has a major influence on most aspects of child development, child’s self-esteem, cognitive development and behavior. When parents lack understanding of their children’s’ specific needs and abilities during particular age and expect them to be capable of tasks before they are ready, it may cause changes in mood, frustration, stress, and unfortunately abuse. In summary, child abuse and neglect result from individual, interpersonal, and societal variables that interrelate in many ways, making it impossible to provide simple explanation to 5 this complex issue. Unfortunately, there are many significant roadblocks that are on the way of eliminating the causes of abuse and neglect. 6 Work Cited Belsky, Jay. Childhood Experience, Interpersonal Development, and Reproductive Strategy: An Evolutionary Theory of Socialization. Child Development. Vol. 62, No. 4. Aug 1991, pp. 647-670 Finkelhor, David, and Jill Korbin. Child Abuse as an International Issue. Elsevier, 1998. Kempe, Henry. A 50 Year Legacy to the Field of Child Abuse and Neglect. Springer Netherlands, 2013 Myers, John. Child Protection in America. Past, Present, and Future. Oxford University Press, USA, 29 June 2006. National Research Council. Understanding Child Abuse and Neglect. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, Oct. 1993, www.doi.org/10.17226/2117. Smith, Melinda. Child Abuse and Neglect. Help Guide, June 2019, www.helpguide.org/articles/abuse/child-abuse-and-neglect.htm?pdf=12324 0145.?134/88 $3.00 + .nl Copyright 0 1988 Rrgamon Ress plc Child Abuse & Neglecr. Vol. 12. PP. 3-23. 1988 Printed I” the U.S.A. All rights reserved CHILD ABUSE AS AN INTERNATIONAL ISSUE DAVIDFINKELHOR,PH.D. Family Research Laboratory, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH JILLKORBIN,PH.D. Department of Anthropology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH Abstract-This paper provides a background and suggests a strategy for an international approach to policy development concerning child abuse. First, child abuse is defined in a way that makes it applicable across cultures and national boundaries as that portion of harm to children that results from human action that is proscribed, proximate and preventable. A number of other dimensions, such as the degree of social sanction or social censure, are outlined that also affect the likelihood that given harm will be regarded as child abuse. Cross-cultural research also reveals that certain categories of children-such as those in poor health, females, unwanted children and those born under difficult circumstances or with disvalued traits or under conditions of rapid socioeconomic change-are more vulnerable to maltreatment in many countries. The paper argues for a two-pronged international strategy that first urges individual countries to make a priority of the particular types of abuse that are in most urgent need of attention in their society as well as participating at the same time in a concerted international focus on three widely occurring forms of child abuse: parental child battering, selective neglect, and sexual abuse. CHILD ABUSE arose as a social issue primarily in the developed countries of the Western world. But with time, there has been increasing recognition that it exists in some form virtually everywhere, in developing and developed countries, in the East as well as in the West [l-5]. International organizations in recent years have started to build international awareness about child abuse [6-lo], but this effort is still in its embryonic stage. This paper provides a background and suggests a strategy for an international approach to policy development concerning child abuse. It is divided into three sections: First, child abuse is defined in a way that makes it applicable across cultures and national boundaries. Second, the major types of child abuse are described with illustrations of their international scope. And third, criteria are proposed for determining international policy priorities, and some examples are given of types of international initiatives that might be undertaken. DEFINING CHILD ABUSE A definition of child abuse that can be used internationally should accomplish at least two objectives: (1) It should distinguish child abuse clearly from other social, economic, and health problems of international concern; and (2) it should be sufficiently flexible to A version of this paper was prepared for and with the support of the Programme Development Division of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). and Planning Reprint requests to David Finkelhor, Ph.D., 128 Horton Social Science Center, University of New Hampshire, Durham NH 03824. 3 4 David Finkelhor and Jill Korbin apply to a range of situations in a variety of social and cultural contexts. Some of what is talked about as child abuse in Western contexts has little meaning in other societies. Child abuse is not simply any harm that befalls children. Children throughout the world suffer from a multitude of harms -malnutrition, starvation, infectious disease, congenital defects, abandonment, economic exploitation, the violence of warfare, to name a few. Not all harm that befalls children is child abuse. Child abuse is one harm among many. We propose the following way of defining child abuse: CHILD ABUSE IS THE PORTION OF HARM TO CHILDREN THAT RESULTS FROM HUMAN ACTION THAT IS PROSCRIBED, PROXIMATE, AND PREVENTABLE. There is an important rationale for each part of this definition. 1. Results from. The concept of child abuse implies a focus on cause. Only harms of a particular type of causation are included. This differentiates concern about child abuse from concern about other harms to children. For example, malnutrition and infectious disease are primarily defined by symptoms, whatever the cause. In the case of child abuse, however, knowledge of symptoms is not enough. To know simply that a harm resulted-for example, that a child died or a child got sick-is not sufficient to make a judgment of child abuse. We must know what the cause of the death or illness was as well. Because it involves an analysis of causes in conjunction with consequences, child abuse is a complex concept. 2. Human action. A first limitation on the type of harm that constitutes child abuse is that it is harm resulting from human action [ 1I]. This excludes a broad range of harm that stems primarily from what are generally called “natural causes”-children who are killed or injured by storms, earthquakes, floods; and children who are killed or sickened by diseases, droughts, or congenital defects. Of course, many harms have some combination of human and natural causes. Droughts are complicated by political actions. Disease is fostered by bad health conditions. In child abuse, the preponderant and necessary cause needs to be human action. 3. Proscribed. Not all human action that causes harm is child abuse. It only qualifies as such if the human action is negatively valued at the same time that it causes harm. Thus when children are harmed in the course of human actions that are generally approved of-for example, a surgical procedure that turns out badly-it is not considered child abuse. Even human actions of a generally neutral nature-for example, driving a car- are not considered child abuse when they cause harm to a child, unless there was something proscribed about the manner of the action, i.e., the driving was reckless or negligent. As can be seen from this illustration, it is the negative valuation of the action-its deviance, its harmful intent, its violations of legal codes or social expectations-that renders the action child abuse. This takes on particular importance in a cross-cultural perspective on child abuse because proscribed behaviors vary from society to society. 4. Proximate. When human action results in harm to children, sometimes it is fairly far removed in time or in space. If this action is too far removed, it generally falls outside the parameters of child abuse. Thus human action may have denuded the land and caused a drought two generations later that resulted in child starvation. But the human action is too distant for it to be considered child abuse. In general, actions resulting in child abuse have to be quite proximate. Most of what is considered child abuse involves actions of immediate caretakers and those in the child’s immediate environment that result directly in harm to the child; for example, violence, sexual acts on the child. deprivation of immediate needs. There is also some willingness to consider as child abuse actions that have fairly direct harmful consequences for children but that are not quite so proximate: for example, a governmental act that Child abuse as an international issue 5 forces children into economic servitude. But in general, the more proximate the action, the more it complies with the definition of child abuse. 5. Preventable. Inherent in the notion of child abuse is the idea that some alternative course of human action was potentially available that would have avoided the harm. Thus if a child in a developing country with few medical resources contracts meningitis and parents helplessly watch the child die because they know of no remedy, this is not child abuse. If parents facing the same disease in a developed country with accessible medical resources watch the child die without obtaining medical intervention, this would constitute child abuse. In fact, such a situation would fall within a subcategory of child abuse termed medical neglect [ 12-141. The relative preventability of the harm in the second case is what makes the action abusive. The criteria we have specified, illustrated in Figure 1, here go some distance toward demarcating the general types of harms to children that qualify as child abuse. But they by no means provide a complete guide to distinguishing what is and what is not abuse, especially in an international framework where norms and behaviors can vary so widely. Child abuse is a complex concept with many considerations that affect its boundaries. The concept has many gray areas and matters of controversy, situations that some observers might consider child abuse and others not. We have identified six additional dimensions, summarized in Table 1, that appear to influence the application of the notion of child abuse in an international framework. Dimensions of Child Abuse Dimension I: Zntentionality. Human acts which cause child abuse differ in the degree to which they are intentional, that is, in the degree to which they have as their goal the infliction of pain or injury or harm on the child. When a mother bums a child’s fingers for stealing, the harm is very intentional. When a child loses a finger working for pennies in an unsafe, overcrowded factory, abuse may have occurred, but the abusive factory owner HARM-CAUSING HUMAN ACTIONS PFKSCRIBED Figure 1. Definition of child abuse. David Finkelhor and Jill Korbin 6 Table 1. Dimensions Influencing Whether a Harm is Child Abuse Most Clearlv Child Abuse Intentional acts Acts that are socially censured in locale where they occur Acts whose abusiveness is a matter of international consensus Acts perpetrated by individuals Harms suffered solely by children as a group Acts against children who are clearly endowed with personhood Least Clearlv Child Abuse . I . . . . . . . . . . . . II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . III . . IV ........... V . . . . . . . . . . . VI .. Unintentional acts Acts that have some degree of social approval in locale where they occur . . . Acts whose abusiveness is a matter of international disagreement . . . . . . . . Acts perpetrated by organizations, governments, and society . Harms experienced by children together with others . . . . Acts against children who are not yet socially endowed with personhood or manager was not intending to harm the child; the goal was to make money or get more work out of the child. Acts of intentional harm are easier to qualify as child abuse. But most experts in the field do agree that acts of unintended harm can also qualify. Dimension ZZ: Social sanction vs. social censure. The kinds of acts considered child abuse are generally those that are reprehensible in a particular society and may differ from place to place depending on local standards and norms. For example, branding a child as a form of punishment would be considered to greatly exceed the cultural norms for child rearing in the United States. But in some tribal societies, facial and body scarification is ... 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