Victims of Child Abuse
Most of us can’t imagine who would abuse a defenseless child; we think what on earth would make an adult hurt a child, and the worse the situation is the more unimaginable it becomes. However, the numbers of child abuse cases are very likely higher than you could ever imagine, with child maltreatment crossing all social classes and ethnicities. Perhaps saddest of all is the fact that the abuse overwhelmingly comes from those who should be guaranteeing protection from abusers.
Child abuse can happen in several ways, but no matter what type of abuse it is, emotional, sexual or physical, the result is the same; either serious physical and/or emotional pain. Sexual or physical abuse is possibly the most noticeable type of abuse as they leave physical signs and evidence behind. But, emotional child abuse neglect is a serious form of abuse that may be more subtle, making it difficult to spot. Neglect is actually the most common form of abuse.
There are many risk factors that may increase the chance of a parent abusing their child; such as their own history of child abuse. The patterns of abuse they learned in childhood are often the same ones committed against their own children. Stress and a lack of support may also be risk factors as parenting is a challenging, difficult and time intensive job. Without help and support from family or friends a parent can begin to feel stressed and overwhelmed. And, if they are raising a child with special needs or mental health issues, then these feelings intensify.
As well, the children of parents or caregivers who have drug and/or alcohol addictions are also at risk of being abused, since these substances can cause serious lapses in judgment. Since they hinder impulse control it makes physical and emotional abuse much more likely. Because of the impairment that is caused by intoxication, drug and alcohol abuse often results in child neglect. Statistics indicate that as many as 80% of young adults who were abused or neglected in childhood met the diagnostic criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder by the age of 21.
Another risk factor of child abuse is when a child witnesses domestic violence, and all associated problems in the home. While this is an example of emotional abuse, many times the violence will escalate into physical abuse to the child as well. All forms of abuse and neglect leave a child with both physical and emotional scars that harm their sense of self, as well as hampering the possibility of developing healthy adult relationships.
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