Spouse and Child Abuse

Introduction

Domestic violence is a prevalent problem in today's society. While it is easy to see what impact it has on the actual victim, it is oftentimes difficult to see the effect it has on children witnessing these acts of violence. Research done in the field of domestic violence suggests that children (under the age of 19) exposed to domestic violence grow up to either become abusers or to become victims of spousal and child abuse.

Analysis

Child abuse is a prevalent and heinous issue in today's society. Child abuse can be demonstrated in many ways, there are three main types of child abuse: physical, sexual, and psychological. Physical abuse can be as minor as a hit and as extreme as confinement to a cage. Sexual abuse ranges from just touch, to actual penetration. Being neglected, and/or, being told that one's self is not adequate enough to be an acceptable human being, is known as psychological abuse. Children everywhere are abused daily, from the United States to China, to right next door it happens everyday. No matter what type of abuse, whether it be physical, sexual or psychological, they leave a lasting impression on the child's life and sometimes can end fatally.

In the book Robert Inside the Kingdom Lacey discussed that physical abuse of children seems to be the most heard of, but the affects however are not as well known. Physical abuse is one of the most common forms of child abuse. There is a wide range of forms/styles of physical abuse and there are also many ways of keeping the victim from disclosing information about the abuse. Ways of keeping the information retained are by threats either to the victim themselves of threatening the victim with death of a family member, loved one or a pet (Robert, pp 22-25). The onset of physical abuse is usually around 4.7 years, and it usually starts with something minor. The quieter the child stays about the abuse and the easier the abuser can convince the victim that the abuse is not wrong will determine how fast the abuse will escalate into something more serious. Not only does physical abuse leave physical marks, scars, and abrasions it leaves emotional damage as well. Regular abuse will have a very damaging affect on the child's self-esteem. The child will soon believe that they are constantly in the wrong and that they cannot do anything correctly in the eyes of society, when in most cases the child is simply not finishing their dinner, or doing nothing wrong at all. Another long-term affect would be the child's ability to trust people of the same gender as their abuser, and the child's comfort level around people of the same gender as their abuser. Just because there are ways of getting around it being known, does not mean it should go unknown. Children are affected physically and emotionally and people are unaware of what they are actually doing and how large of a negative impact they are ...