Violence against Children and the Law - Essay Example

Violence against Children and the Law Introduction Violation of children rights is among the topics that have gained much attention in the modern world. This is not because that it is an upcoming issue, violation of children rights has always been there for many decades only that some societies would not consider it as an abuse, but rather as a way of disciplining children and as a norm (Srivastava 52). Some of these violations end up leaving permanent or long-term psychological or/and physical marks to the victims like the ones that were inflicted on Joshua DeShaney as stipulated in the case of Deshaney v Winnebago.

Various inter-agencies, state as well as the federal governments have been adopting measures in attempt to curb this menace though they are faced by numerous challenges that make protecting children a difficult and almost an impossible task. There are numerous factors that significantly make the process of protecting children a difficult task. Some of them include the element of poor management of state and federal funds, lack of cooperation from the public, the high turnover rate for children protective services staffing and poor staff training, difficulty in proving that a minor is been abused as well as lack of adequate state children custodies just to mention a few (Mallon and Hess 68).

Many people find it difficult to report a case of child abuse to the authorities thus completely frustrating the process of identifying and apprehending perpetrators. In most cases, people avoid interfering with issues concerning other families or individuals including matters relating to violation of children’s rights. Authorities find it difficult to identify children whose rights are been violated since only a small percentage of the population is willing to volunteer the necessary information (Epstein and Schwartz-Kenney 56).

For the case of Joshua, it was fortunate enough that his step mother was bold enough to report that he was been abused by his father though in the late stages; after their divorce. The same thing applies to many other people who avoid interfering with other family issues considering them private, or wondering how they will explain it to the authority since they are not related with the children whose rights are been violated in any way. Proving a violation of a child’s rights is at times a difficult task especially if the offender is a close family member like the case of Joshua who was receiving corporal punishment from his own father.

Proving a case of child abuse is also a difficult task more so if the victim cannot communicate thus having to rely on medical evidence provided by medical practitioners who examine the abused infant. In most cases, this ends up providing insufficient, incredible and unreliable evidence that cannot be used in prosecuting the offender (Finley 103). There are so many types of children violations that cannot be proven using medical evidence especially those relating to psychological torture. Even for the case of Joshua who was been physically abused, the Wisconsins Winnebago County department of social services could only claim that there were suspicions of an abuse in the initial stages not until the child suffered severe head damages.

Lacks of state children’s custodies as well as poor management of the state and federal funds are other major factors that make the process of protecting children from abuse a hefty undertaking. Despite the fact the agency could find some bits of evidence that Joshua was being abused, he continued to be under his father’s custody with the only effort that the department was making being to regularly visit him. The department failed to remove Joshua from the custody of his divorced father despite constant reports of abuse for almost two years and repeated hospitalization because of serious injuries (Finley 103).

Poor management is also a clear barrier towards protecting children from abuse. As mentioned above, the agency did not make swift moves towards removing him from the custody of his abusive father. Finally, the high turnover rate for children protective services staffing and poor training of the staffs is also seen to be a major barrier in preventing child abuse. Many of the staffs working in agencies dealing with curbing issues of child abuse are poorly trained and have no medical and other skills that would enable them quickly identify mild forms of child abuse especially psychological abuse (DePanfilis and Marsha 85).

For the case of Joshua, he was abused for almost two years with the agency staffs failing to come up with effective measures of identifying and solving the problem in the initial stages. Works CitedTop of FormBottom of FormTop of FormBottom of FormTop of FormBottom of FormTop of FormBottom of FormTop of FormBottom of FormTop of FormDePanfilis, Diane and Marsha Salus. “Child Protective Services: A Guide for Caseworkers.” Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, 1992. Print. Epstein, Michelle and Schwartz-Kenney Beth.

“Child Abuse: A Global View.” Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2000. Print. Finley, Laura “Encyclopedia of Domestic Violence and Abuse.” 2013. Internet resource. Mallon, Gerald P, and Hess Peg. “Child Welfare for the Twenty-First Century: A Handbook of Practices, Policies, and Programs.” New York: Columbia University Press, 2005. Internet resource. Srivastava, Rones. “Child Abuse and Neglect: Challenges and Opportunities.” New Delhi: Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers, 2013. Print.

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