Child abuse is a disgrace to the American Society. It is an act that accomplishes nothing but bad things. It shows how low some people are in our society that they would beat their own children or other people's children. According to the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information there are millions of children that are abused every year (1). The perpetrators that commit these crimes against children are parents, siblings, babysitters, teachers, or other people that temporarily take care of children.
In the memoir Gal by Ruthie Bolton, Ruthie was physically abused by her grandfather with whom she lived with. His anger was easy to arouse and should have never been directed toward Ruthie. He would beat Ruthie ruthlessly until she was black and blue for no reason. Ruthie grew up hating and not trusting most males. She became violent and uncontrollable as she got older.
Alice Sebold in New York City. The photographer de...
Ruthie!
Alice Sebold by David ShankboneThis example of Ruthie being beaten by her grandfather is a typical product of a dysfunctional family system. Many times the child is used as a scapegoat of conflict between two parents or between a parent and somebody else. This happens when the parent doing the beating can not cope with the problems in their life. This leads the parent to use their child as a target for their anger and aggression.
Another reason why the Grandfather could have beaten Ruthie was because when he was a child he was beaten. There have been numerous studies that show that parents that were beaten as a child are more likely to beat their children than parents that were not beaten as a child. The studies also show that kids that have been beaten have a much higher risk of being involved in personal crimes such as murder, rape, and assault. These...