Oregon Abuse.

Essay by ctothearolinaJunior High, 9th gradeA, October 2005

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Abuse is something that plagues our nation through a reserved kind of silence. Although over a million children are abused every year in the United States, very few cases are actually reported. Child abuse is the most common form of abuse. The definition of a child is anyone under the age of eighteen and not married. Therefore, it is easy to find a child who is a victim of abuse. In 2001, DHS, or the Oregon Department of Human Services, received 36,303 cases of suspected abuse and neglect and out of that number there were 8,232 victims of abuse and neglect.

There are many forms of abuse: physical abuse, emotional abuse, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect. Physical abuse is physical harm caused by someone onto another. Emotional abuse is like a child being shown no love while growing up. Verbal abuse is like a child getting told that it's stupid or that it will fail or other things to put it down.

Sexual abuse is the forcing of unwanted sexual activity by one person on another. Neglect is lack of care and disregard for someone. All of these are examples of the ways many are maltreated everyday.

Symptoms of abuse are repeated injuries, neglected appearances, disruptive behavior, withdrawal, and super critical parenting. The effects of abuse are emotional handicaps, acting-out behavior, and even death. The effects of abuse can stay with one all of their life. Sometimes, children of abuse grow up to have kids of their own and become abusers themselves. There are many reasons why parents become abusers. For example, some reasons that parents might abuse their kids are immaturity, lack of parenting knowledge, unrealistic expectations, social isolation, unmet emotional needs, poor childhood experiences, frequent crisis, and drug and alcohol problems. Parents...