-Child Abuse Consequences –
Child abuse can best be described as a disease. A disease is any harmful, depraved, or morbid condition, as of the mind or society. In many cases a disease can spread and become worse or the disease can get better when the right steps are taken. Child abuse doesn’t only affect the child but their family and community as a whole. Child abuse can affect everyone dealing with the situation physiological, behavioral, as while as societal.
A child is abused usually from someone they know. As a child you become attached the person who is around you the most, you form somewhat of a bound which eventually turns into true Societal st. To have that person you trust harm you can cause a child to have physiological problems. As the child starts to get older they isolate themselves from each other and start to have inability to trust which can translate into lifelong consequences. Lifelong consequences such as depression, panic attacks, low self esteem and sometimes self-injury. This can also effect society because most children grow up to be abuser themselves.
Child abuse can affect a family psychological for many reasons. One reason being someone starts to blame themselves. In most cases the child is being abused without their caretaker knowing until its to late. Some reasons being that the caretaker is busy working and has a babysitter or someone they trust watching their child. After they hear what has been going on they feel as though its their fault because they were not there for the child. Playing the blame game can cause a person to also become isolated from everyone else in fear that are constantly being judged by the people around them which can also led to depression.
Child abuse can also affect the way a child behaves. Studies have found abused and neglected children to be at least 25 percent more likely to experience problems such as delinquency, teen pregnancy, low academic achievement, drug use, and mental health problems. Other studies suggest that abused or neglected children are more likely to engage in sexual risk-taking as they reach adolescence, thereby increasing their chances of contracting a sexually transmitted disease. (Child Welfare Information Gateway , 2008)
Behavioral consequences for a family includes caretakers isolated their kids from the outside world. In some cases caretakers start to feel as though it’s impossible for a child to go through this kind of agony again if they are with family. They take them out of school and allow them to get home schooled and only allow them outside if they are accompanying them. In some cases most doctors describe this as paranoia. Paranoia is a mental disorder characterized by systematized delusions and the projection of personal conflicts, which are ascribed to the supposed hostility of others, sometimes progressing to disturbances of consciousness and aggressive acts believed to be performed in self-defense or as a mission.(paranoia. (n.d.). The American Heritage)
So how does child abuse affect a society as a whole? Society as a whole pays for child abuse and neglect, in terms of both direct and indirect cost. Direct costs include those associated with maintaining a child welfare system to investigate and respond to allegations of child abuse and neglect, as well as expenditures by the judicial, law enforcement, health, and mental health systems. A 2001 report by Prevent Child Abuse America estimates these costs at $24 billion per year.
Indirect costs represent the long-term economic consequences of child abuse and neglect. These include costs associated with juvenile and adult criminal activity, mental illness, substance abuse, and domestic violence. They can also include loss of productivity due to unemployment and underemployment, the cost of special education services, and increased use of the health care system. Prevent Child Abuse America estimated these costs at more than $69 billion per year. . (Child Welfare Information Gateway , 2008)
Melody Myers
300 Jay Street
Brooklyn,NY 11201
718-260-5500
melody.myers@mail.citytech.edu
Dear Mrs. Mealy,
I am writing this letter to hopefully pursue and bring about change to the school systems concerning the abuse of children. Living in Brooklyn isn’t exactly easy due to the high crime rate in this area. Many children are not even making it to see age twenty because of all the gun play that has been going on. Although this is a huge issue and I applaud you on taking actions and putting police officers to work to do their job which is to keep criminals off the street there is another issue that is also taking our children’s life. The issue is child abuse and although many cases in our district are not reported that doesn’t mean it is not happening. Many people don’t know what’s going on with a child until they end up on a news channel as a child who has died from child abuse or a child dying because of neglect. After talking to a representative from the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) and conducting studies there are many facts that has stood out. One factor is a lot of reports are not being reported because some feel as though it is none of their business, other reasons being the individual does not want to look like a snitch.
My idea to you is to publicize child abuse more and tips on what to do if you see a child being abused or if you notice a child showing signs of being abused. Throughout the community you see plenty, “if you see something say something” posters, or the “turn a gun in and get a money award” posters up everywhere. As much posters up of this I feel there should be child abuse posters up as while. Posters that help and show people in the community why this is a positive and the life they could possibly change if they spoke up. I’m not stating have a huge sign up of a child dead in a casket, because although we’re trying to get a point across this can be very disturbing to some people. If possible I think there should also be signs up in train stations as while as the trains. There are posters of cigarette effects why shouldn’t it be posters of child abuse statistics?
The only way to sometime fix a problem that affects the community as a whole is to publicize it and make the matter known to everyone. If we take this step as a community we can lower the death rate of children due to child abuse, just as much as we have lowered the gun play in the community.
Sincerely,
Melody Myers
