Thoughts About Child Abuse and Treatments for Child Abusers

by Keith D Millership
(Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada )

Any type of Child Abuse, carried out for a long period of time, may cause long-term mental damage. The term child abuse covers a wide range of behavior, from actual physical assault to simple neglect of a child's basic needs. Child abuse is also sometimes called child maltreatment. Infants and preschool children are most likely to suffer deliberately inflicted fractures, burns, and bruises. This is known as the battered-child syndrome. Although the extent of child abuse is difficult to measure, it is recognized as a major social problem, especially in industrialized nations. It occurs in all income, racial, religious, and ethnic groups and in urban and rural communities. This is why we need to look at some of the treatments for people who abuses a child. Steps which are often taken to correct child abuse are as follows: The safety of the abused child and any other potential victim of abuse in the household is paramount. Removal of the victim and placement in protective custody in a group home or foster care is often necessary. Effective counseling for the child, family, and the abuser is essential to deal with the associated emotional and psychological stress and trauma. In the event of neglect, establishing realistic expectations of the child's needs and capabilities is required. Parental high-risk behaviors such as substance/alcohol abuse must be addressed. Law-enforcement evaluation is performed, followed by the filing of charges, court appearance, and (if found guilty) sentencing as indicated. Pedophiles (people who have sexually abused children) often require intense psychological and pharmacological therapy prior to release into the community because of the high rate of repeat offenders. How can child abuse be prevented? This, too, is a very complex matter and includes these measures:

A support-group structure is needed to reinforce parenting skills and closely monitor the child's well-being. Visiting home nurse or social-worker visits are also required to observe and evaluate the progress of the child and his/her caretaking situation. The support-group structure and visiting home nurse or social-worker visits are not mutually exclusive. Many studies have demonstrated that the two measures must be coupled together for the best possible outcome. Children's school programs regarding "good touch...bad touch" can provide children with a forum in which to role-play and learn to avoid potentially harmful scenarios. Parents should make sure that their child's daycare center is licensed and has an open-door policy regarding parental visitation. Public-awareness programs regarding child abuse and neglect can be informative. Developing free and anonymous support systems (for example, "hot lines") encourages the reporting of potential instances of child abuse. What more can be done to prevent child neglect? As children's advocates, we wish to remind parents about the importance of preventative child health care, including: proper use of car seats and seat belts; consistent use of helmets for bicycling, skateboarding, and skiing/snowboarding; pool and water safety; firearm safety; preventing community violence; and poisoning prevention. These are just some of the things I think anyways I hope it was helpful thank you.

BY: Keith D Millership

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