The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act - Essay Example

Child Abuse Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Date Introduction Definitions of child abuse and neglect are available in both Federal and State laws. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) defines child abuse as any recent failure to act or act by a caretaker or parent that results in serious emotional or physical harm, exploitation or sexual abuse, death or the failure to act or act that presents the risk of serious harm (CWIG, 2016). In reference to the CAPTA definition, child abuse includes the inducement, persuasion, use, employment, coercion, or enticement of a child to participate in, or help another individual to engage in sexually explicit conducts. This includes rape, prostitution, molestation, and other sexual exploitation forms. The different types of abuse include physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse or exploitation, emotional abuse, parental substance abuse, and abandonment. The essay reiterates the essence of understanding the global issue of child. The Significance of the “Child Abuse” Topic The topic of child abuse is important because of the behavioral, cognitive, and emotional problems exhibited by children that are either victims or witnesses of child abuse (Kidsdata, 2016). These problems include depression, use of drugs and alcohol, difficult in coping with the school curriculum and environment, early sexual activity and suicidal behavior. It is also possible for either children who have been abused to engage in violent teen relationships and repeat similar acts in the future on their children or other children. As a result, studying the topic is detrimental towards identifying proper ways of curbing the child abuse global abuse for the safety of the future generation. Child abuse prevention entails identifying and implementing measures that aim at containing risk factors and enhancing protective factors to guarantee the wellbeing of families and children (Wessells, 2009). Protective factors include specific conditions in the communities and families that promote the wellbeing and health of families and children when they are present. Such measures empower parents that present the risk of abusing their children to learn better strategies of coping, and supporting themselves even when they are under the influence of stress. The fact that the global society conceals incidences of child abuse leading to their underreporting heightens the necessity of having an in-depth understanding of the topic. Incidences of child abuse occur in almost all socioeconomic and ethnic groups of families. Several risk factors contribute towards child abuse. Parental substance abuse suffices to be one of the risk factors that contribute towards child abuse. Considering the adverse effects of the abuse, it is apparent that preventing child abuse requires the effective addressing of substance abuse among parents. Domestic violence is the other risk factor that leads to child abuse particularly physical abuse. It is evident that 30% to 60% of families characterized by frequent incidences of domestic violence subject their children to child abuse. The other risk factors include parental mental illness, child disability, and poverty. The need to prevent child abuse suffices to be the primary incentive behind the selection of the topic. Public education and substantial support from communities are some of the measures that can reduce and prevent incidences of child abuse in the global society. In the prevention of child abuse, communities would provide financial, social, and emotional support to the affected families. Why Child Abuse is a Global Issue Child abuse is indeed a global social and public health problem that results in life-long consequences to the affected individuals. Global estimates of child abuse indicate that proximately 22.6% of adult individuals across the globe were victims of physical abuse during their childhood stages. The estimates also indicate that 16.3% and 36.3% of adults experienced physical neglect and emotional abuse respectively during their childhood stage. The estimates do not indicate significant differences between girls and boys. The differences are evident under the lifetime occurrence of child abuse among boys and girls since the prevalence for girls and boys were 18% and 7.6% respectively. Apart from the already mentioned mental and physical impairment and poor performance of the victims at school, child abuse also results in relationship and job difficulties. Consequently, it is apparent that child abuse can slow down the rate of economic growth of a country due to its adverse effect on the productivity of the nationals. Child abuse can also have an adverse effect on the social development of a country because of its adverse effect on relationship aspect of individuals (Ajilian et al., 2015). In essence, child abuse is a global issue that affects millions of individuals and households. Traditionally, child abuse was a private issue for concern (James, 2000). However, its adverse societal impact has changed the perception. Currently, child abuse is a global issue that requires joint efforts from all stakeholders. The UNICEF report also indicates that child abuse is a global problem. According to the report, approximately one billion children aged below 15 years suffer physical abuse o a regular basis. The report also indicates that approximately 25% of girls aged between 15 and 19 years are victims of physical abuse. Moreover, the report reiterates that child abuse is an issue that affects all societies and countries across the globe. According to the report, child abuse appears invisible even though the affected societies and countries feel its effects. As noted earlier, the result of the issue in the affected countries is retarded socioeconomic development. UNICEF heightens the need for significant investment in the fight against child abuse bearing in mind the fact that the issue is a global concern. Response measures should focus on creating awareness of both occurred and suspected child abuse cases and the need for strengthening child protection and social welfare systems (Fegert & Stötzel, 2016). The United Nations Conventions on the Right of the Child stated the rights of children to physical integrity and the responsibility of governments to ascertain the protection of children from all forms of child abuse and neglect. The objective of these measures is to reduce the adverse consequences of child abuse felt by the global community (Radford et al., 2011). However, the continued prevalence of child maltreatment is an indicator that the global society has not dedicated its efforts towards preventing the problem. As a result, studying the topic would play a pivotal role towards creating global awareness of the problem as well as identifying potential measures of dealing with the issue. A large proportion of the world’s population lives under poor conditions. The level of poverty continues to rise each day. Research discloses that there is correlation between child abuse and poverty. According to Child Poverty Action Group (2013) children living in environments that have deficiencies are exposed to neglect and maltreatment. In addition, many are subjected to the labour environment at an early age. Child labour is therefore a key manifestation of child abuse in many poor countries across the globe. Based on the fact that a large percentage of the global population lives in underprivileged conditions, it therefore implies that many children are exposed to child abuse, as a result, the issue is indeed a global issue. It can also be argued that child abuse is a worldwide issue based on the fact that it takes place in every nation across the globe. Despite of the initiatives and resources adopted by governments to lower the neglect and maltreatment of children, the level of child abuse has not diminished essentially in developed nations. Initiatives to transform the behavior of caregivers are also not working effectively. Developed nations also have strong regulation against child abuse. However, the problem is still an impending problem because of reoccurrence. Other entities within the society also greatly contribute to child abuse therefore making it an ongoing problem in the world. For instance, children are often exposed to institutional violence which is often not physical, but rather, a symbolic form of violence or abuse. When children attend institutions for example schools, they may be exposed to bullying from teachers and other leaners which further violates their self-esteem, dignity and integrity. Also institutions such as governments expose children to abuse through lack of access to food grants, discriminatory policies on family support, lack of access to proper housing and also through the absence of proper polices to guide online bullying which is very rampant today (Child Poverty Action Group, 2013). It can therefore be stated that many countries across the global experience such challenges, therefore making child abuse a global issue. Conclusion Child abuse and neglect has transitioned from a private issue affecting individual families to a global issue that affects the socioeconomic development of the affected communities and nations. The adverse effect to victims and witnesses of child abuse on their mental health as well as work and relational aspects is responsible for the adverse impact of child abuse on the development of communities and countries. The increasing prevalence of child malpractice across the globe necessitates the consideration of child malpractice as a global problem. Approximately one billion individuals aged below 15 years experience child abuse. Studying child abuse as a topic is important because it creates global awareness of the issue as well as identifying possible response measures that would contribute towards reducing its prevalence. References Ajilian Abbasi, M., Saeidi, M., Khademi, G., Hoseini, B. L., & Emami Moghadam, Z. (2015). Child Maltreatment in the World: A Review Article. International Journal of Pediatrics, 3(1.1), 353-365. Child Welfare Information Gateway (CWIG). (2011). What is prevention and why is it important? Retrieved from: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/preventing/overview/whatiscap/ Child Welfare Information Gateway (CWIG). (2016). Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect. State Statutes: Current through 2016. Child Poverty Action Group. (2013). Child abuse: what role does poverty play? CPAG. Fegert, J. M., & Stötzel, M. (2016). Child protection: a universal concern and a permanent challenge in the field of child and adolescent mental health. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 10(1), 18. James, M. (2000). Child abuse and neglect [Series of two parts] Part 1: Redefining the issues. Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice/Australian Institute of Criminology, (146), 1. Kidsdata. (2016). Child Abuse and Neglect: Why This Topic Is Important. Retrieved from: http://www.kidsdata.org/pages/childabusewhytopicimportant Radford, L., Corral, S., Bradley, C., Fisher, H., Bassett, C., Howat, N., & Collishaw, S. (2011). Child abuse and neglect in the UK today. Wessells, M. (2009). What are we learning about protecting children in the community. An inter-agency review of the evidence on community-based child protection mechanisms in humanitarian and development settings. Read More