Child abuse and its forms
Ishrat Amin
The explanation and maltreatment of children are age old events. The broader concept of child abuse, which also includes battering, is recent origin by the caring professions. Child abuse includes physical violence (75%) , sexual molestation ( 20%) , mental and emotional (5%) maltreatment with negligence , deprivation and lack of opportunity.
The children are abused at home, school, day care centers and working places by the care takers and other adults.
The factors responsible for child abuse are poverty , overcrowding in family, mental illness, alcohol or drug abuse, crisis situation and violence disturbances in the family are main cause which include arrival of more valuable child, unwanted pregnancy, single parent who were abused in their childhood. The children who are abused, mostly due to negative behaviour, temper tantrum, bed wetting, habitual crying, mental subnormality and who are working as child labour.
The consequences of child abuse are physical injury, malnutrition, lack of hygiene care, growth failure or non organic failure to thrive due to lack of emotional stimulation and foods, behaviour problems, mental retardation, rape, sexual injury and even death.
Child abuse may be found in the form of battered baby syndrome, it is a clinical condition in young children especially below 3 years of age, who have received non accidental injury wholly inexcusable violence or injury, on one or more occasions, including minimal as well as severe fatal trauma, by the hand of an adult, in a position of trust generally a parent, guardian or foster parent.
In addition to physical injury there may be deprivation nutrition, routing care, love and affection. Battered baby syndrome has been found all social groups with risk of mental and neurological complications.
It results from excessive anger or an attempt to teach discipline to the children by parents or other adults. It can represent as burns, bruises, belt or stick marks, multiple trauma or fracture, failure of thrive, cerebral palsy and emotional deprivation. These children need hospitalisation and psychotherapy for both parents and child.
Management of child abuse should be done depending upon type of injury. Hospitalisation may be necessary and psychotherapy may be needed for parents and child. Abused child may need to be kept away from home, permanently or temporarily, if the parents are dangerously aggressive.
(The author is under graduate nursing student at Kashmir Institute of medical sciences and technology)