Child Maltreatment

Child maltreatment is not a new phenomenon. It is a problem that is experienced by countries and cultures worldwide. The people involved come from all ages, races, religions, gender, and nationality. In the United States alone, over 906,000 children are victims of abuse and neglect every year, with approximately 1500 children fatalities resulting from that abuse and neglect. (National Child Abuse Statistics, 2006). I will discuss numerous types of child maltreatment, the consequences of the abuse and neglect, and interventions to prevent child maltreatment.

The first kind of child maltreatment I will discuss is physical abuse. “The definition of physical child abuse is any physical force or action that results in or may result in a non-accidental injury of a child or youth.” (Barriere, 2008). These actions can be received by the victim in many different manners and methods. The victim can exhibit bruises, welts, cigarette burns, and rope burns.

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(ChildAbuse. Org, 2006). These happenings can obviously and most certainly turn into serious medical problems, such as infections of burns, bone fractures, and possibly death.

Another form of child maltreatment is sexual abuse. “The definition of sexual abuse with children is when an older child, a youth or an adult uses a child or youth for his or her own sexual gratification.”(Barriere, 2008). There are various signs of sexual abuse including bloody underclothes, complaints of pain in genitalia areas, and age-inappropriate interests in sexual matters. These signs can develop into yeast or urinary infections, sexually transmitted diseases, and pregnancy. (ChildAbuse.Org, 2006).

Yet another form of child maltreatment is child neglect. “Child neglect is defined as when a caregiver fails to provide those basic human needs that are necessary for a child/youth to grow into a healthy adult.”(Barriere, 2008). There are numerous indicators that can be observed in this...