What You Can Do To Prevent Child Abuse

What is Child abuse?

Any kind of intentional harm, ill-treatment, or violence to a child under 18 years is considered child abuse. It is not easy to recognize that a child is at risk of being hurt.

The impact of child abuse can be short-term or long term and the damage can also be permanent.

Child abuse takes many forms, some of the forms are mentioned below:

Physical abuse: Physical abuse occurs by punching, beating, kicking, shaking, biting, burning, or throwing the child purposely or put at risk of harm by another person.

Behavioral indicators in a child:

1. Suspicious of adults or other individual
2. Violent to animals
3. Violent to other children
4. Tries to hide injuries or bruises
5. Extremely aggressive or extremely withdrawn
6. Cannot recall how the injuries occurred or gives illogical explanations.

Emotional Abuse: Emotional abuse means injuring a child’s self-esteem, psychological or social well-being.

Emotional abuse is always present when other forms of abuse happen. Effects of this form of abuse are not always immediate.

Emotional child abuse includes verbal and emotional assault.

Physical indicators in a child:

1. Nighttime incontinence or encopresis that has no medical cause.
2. Frequent complaints of headaches, nausea, abdominal pains, etc.
3. Not attained important developmental milestones.

Indicators in a child behavior

• Self-destructive behavior like self-harming, engaging in drug or alcohol abuse, suicide attempts, etc.
• Attention seeking behavior
• Extreme inhibition in play
• Copy negative behavior and language used at home while playing
• Severe developmental gaps
• Depression, anxiety, withdrawal or aggression.

Sexual abuse: Sexual abuse is when an adult uses a child for sexual purposes, such as fondling, oral-genital contact, intercourse, exploitation, or exposure to child pornography.

It may also involve a stranger, most of the sexual abuse executed by someone the child knows and trusts.

Physical indicators in a child:

• Stained or torn underclothing
• Bloody undergarments
• Blood in urine
• Redness, swelling or bleeding in genital, or anal area
• Unusual or excessive itching or pain in vaginal, genital or anal area.
• Signs of AIDS or any other sexually transmitted disease
• Unusual sexual knowledge
• Unusually secretive
• Sudden personality changes or seeming insecure
• Bedwetting or bed soiling
• Fear of certain persons e.g. friend, uncle or any relative.
• Self-harm activities

Indicators in adult behavior:

• Insist or demand physical affection such as kissing, hugging, or any other physical activity even when the child does not want it.
• Overly interested in the sexual development of a child
• Request time alone with a child
• Take children on overnight outings alone

Neglect: Child neglect is a failure to provide necessary basic needs of food, shelter, affection, supervision, education, or clothing. Leaving a child in any situation without arranging necessary care.

Behavioral indicators in a child:

1. Delay in the development of a child
2. Sick or tired most of the time
3. Left alone for unacceptable periods of time
4. Underweight or malnourished
5. Lack of hygiene
6. Improper care of child
7. Poor school performance and social skills
8. Child is demanding affection or attention
9. No understanding of basic hygiene

Behavioral indicators in Adults:

• Parents fail to provide child basic needs
• Fail to enroll a child in school
• Leaves the child home alone when he does not want it
• Parents put own needs ahead of the child’s needs

Things to prevent child abuse

1. Safe places need to be created for children (where children feel safe and secure) in neighborhood, community and society.
2. There should be a structure or a system where children can express their feelings and emotions without any inhibitions.
3. A system to ensure that children are supervised and safe.
4. Provide children knowledge about safety measures.
5. Give information about the safety and emergency numbers.
6. Create awareness about child protection systems and networks.
7. Create support systems for children.

What we can do

Whenever you see children begging on the road or being physically abused in the community or sometimes come across a missing child or a child who seems unwell on street.

Always contact to police, or any NGO preventing child abuse. Do not ignore the situation.

You can take steps to prevent your child from exploitation and child abuse as well as stop child abuse in your neighborhood community.

• Parents need to offer their child love and attention.
• Listen to your child whenever you see them in any need or problem
• Create a supportive family environment
• Don’t respond your child in anger
• Learn to cope with stress and better interact with your child
• Don’t leave your child home alone.
• Be frank with your child.
• Always teach your child to stay safe online
• Restrict the websites your children can visit
• Check your child’s privacy settings on social media sites

Take a step towards stopping child abuse get counseling to ensure you don’t continue the child abuse cycle.