Abuse

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Theme 2:

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Child Abuse

DEFINITIONS:

The first thing to notice is that there is no singleaccepted definition of our topic.

* A conventional definition of violence:the intentional physical hurting of another

* Family violence: "the unjustified use of power or force by a family member toward another family member". Pagelow defines "family violence" thus: “any act of commission or omission by family members, and any condition resulting from such ... which deprives other family members of equal rights, and/or interferes with their optimal development and freedom of choice".

* Violent child abuse: a form of 'lashing-out' of a mother to the child, which does not appear to involve an intentional element

* Child maltreatment: refers to 4 primary acts…

1. Physical abuse

2. Neglect

3. Sexual abuse

4. Emotional abuse

* Victimization: abuse or mistreatment of someone whose ability to protect themselves is limited.

Child abuse and neglect have considerable psychological importance because they occur within the on-going relationship that is expected to be supportive and nurturing… children grow up in environments that fail to help their development.

Yet their tie to the family and even abuser are complex…child may experience a sense of being torn between a sense of wanting to belong and fear. They face the following dilemmas:

* Victims want to stop violence but also long to belong to family

* Affection and attention may co-exist with violence and abuse

* Intensity of violence increases over time… but sometimes may decrease; different forms of maltreatment are experienced.

Forms of abuse:

PHYSICAL | NEGLECT | SEXUAL | EMOTIONAL | EXPLOITATION |

Multiple acts of aggression that physically harm the child | * Physical: lack of health care / inadequate supervision/ abandonment * Educational: failing to attend to kids educational needs...