History of Child Sexual Abuse - Research Paper Example

History of Child Sexual Abuse Child abuse has a history dating back many centuries where children have been subjected ill-treatment by adults who are either their parents or guardians. The law has proved unsuccessful to protect these children even when they were considered their father’s property. Child abuse was introduced in the seventeenth and eighteenth century by colonists who invaded at the time. Child abuse existed for a long time; however, the nation did not acknowledge it until the story of Mary Ellen Wilson, an eight year old orphan, came to light revealing that she suffered severe physical abuse in the hands of her foster guardians (Shelman & Lazoritz, 2005). This caused a stir in the nation. There were no laws against child abuse at the time. Her predicament fell on the ASPCA, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. In order to present her case in the court, she was categorized as an “animal” although a human one. The animal protection laws were used and they led to the arrest and sentencing of her foster mother. Mary’s case led to the formation of the New York Society for the Prevention of cruelty to Children. In the early 1960s, the hospitals and doctors were allowed to use X-rays for their work. This led to them being able to see the broken bones of the skeletal system. Fractured bones, etc. were noticed in the X-rays of the abused children. This convinced a Dr Kempe of the Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh to carry out a research. In 1962, his article called the “Battered Child Syndrome” was published in the American Medical Association journal. He used his position as committee chair of American Academy of Pediatrics and presented a plenary session on his work and this resulted in his research being widely known. It expressed that abuse can be medically diagnosed propelling the nation to adapt and implement the mandatory reporting laws in 1974. This required that any suspected case of abuse be reported to the police. Since then, the law has put measures to eradicate child abuse of any kind by providing funds to programs that aid the public in identifying and reporting cases of abuse as well as providing sanctuary and protective services to victims. According to Burgress et al., (1978), child sexual abuse has been on the increase despite the laws regarding any form of abuse. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2005) shows out of every four girls, one boy and one girl are molested sexually by people who are close to them and whom they considered trustworthy. Sexual molestation of children is particularly rampant among African-American and Hispanic groups. The low socio-economic status, unsafe neighborhoods, historical oppression, single parent family arrangements and the lack of trust from the government could be the major reason as to why sexual abuse is higher within the two groups (Bagley, 1990). Due to the historic oppressions, these people think themselves to be inferior and this the major cause for the upsurge in crimes of sexual molestation. For this reason, the people - especially the children - are vulnerable to abuse. The children engage in sexuality as a way of assisting their families financially as they do not know that it is a form of child sexual abuse since they are not of legal age. The lack of trust between the government and these minority groups allows the perpetrators of these crimes with authority to do as they please without the fear of breaking the law. Therefore, these cases go unreported and the victims who are mostly children are left to suffer in silence (Bagley, 1990). In the city of New York, despite the laws that protect against child sexual abuse, it is still widespread in the region. A child may be at risk of molestation, it is required that he should be removed from the particular setting and be accorded proper assistance. On the contrary, the victimized child is not removed from the place as he is too scared to voice out what is being done to him. The result being that the person responsible for the act remains in the family setting. This is a traumatic experience for the child to live with the molester in the same environment. The chance that the crime may be repeated cannot be overlooked though nothing is done to change the situation. Some cases of assaulted children are never reported and with no channel in which to report or make complaints, the offence is repeated time and again to a point that it is considered a normal act in the society. New York City is documented to be notorious with child sexual molestation. In the New York City area, the safety of children is of high concern as they are not safe in the environment they are living in. Thus, Megan’s Law was passed so that the public was made aware of the registered sex offenders for their safety. In Brooklyn and Queens, a coach by the name Bob Olivia was reported to have molested two children from the school he was coaching in early 2011. When accused, he pleaded guilty and can no longer coach in any school and will be mandated to wear a device to monitor his whereabouts through the five years he is on probation. In another incidence, a father in a covenant house, in Manhattan, had to resign after he was discovered to have molested children under the care of the charity. Child abuse affects ends up affecting specific population in New York City. This involves child molestation that has got negative effects on the psychological development of a particular child. Child abuse is considered as a vice in the society as it has a really bad effect on the children – physically as we as mentally - and their future which is also the future of the society. This is evidence that sexual abuse in children does not only occur to the poor children but also to everyone else including the rich and average people. Statistics show that the greatest risk is to the victimized child. However, the male child is not considered safe due to the many cases that go unnoticed (Kinnear, 2007). The government has created programs to assist in the war against child sexual abuse as well as discouraging sexual perpetrators from molesting children. However, these programs have yet to deal with abuse in the form carried out by familiar people as statistics show that most children experiencing abuse are lured to the act by their perpetrators. Children need to be taught how to avoid such incidences and also the fact that not only strangers perform these acts but family members as well. With this understanding, children will be in a better position to identify and report any incidence that they do not see as appropriate. However, it is possible that if a child reports being abused to the parent, they may be more concerned about the doer who may be the spouse and not concentrate on the child. To stop child molestation there are certain programs already being carried out, one of them is Prevent Child Abuse (PCA) America. Its mission is to prevent child abuse and neglect. They make sure that the parents have the means to take care of the children and are trying to expand as much as possible to promote their cause. They help out with the research for the betterment of the bringing up of children and also make the public aware of child abuse and how it can be prevented. To completely curb the menace of child molestation, better administration of the programs already in place should be ensured and parents as well as the society are re-educated on modern techniques of dealing with sexual molestation of children. Works Cited Bagley, C., & King, K. (1990). Child sexual abuse: the search for healing. London: Tavistock/Routledge. Burgess, A. W., Groth, A. N., Holmstrom, L. L., & Sgroi, S. M. (1978). Sexual assault on children and adolescents / Ann Wolbert Burgess et al. Canada: D C Heath, 1978. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2005). Adverse Childhood Experiences Study: Data and Statistics. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Retrieved January 12, 2009 from: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/ace/prevalence.htm Kinnear, K. L. (2007). Childhood sexual abuse: a reference handbook (2nd ed.). Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. Shelman, E. A., & Lazoritz, S. (2005). The Mary Ellen Wilson child abuse case and the beginning of children's rights in 19th century America. McFarland. Read More