CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND CHILD ABUSE

Criminal Justice And Child Abuse

Criminal Justice And Child Abuse

The maltreatment of children is a national problem. We are all responsible for the prevention of child abuse and neglect in our country. Violence against children must always be a priority for criminal justice officials, political leaders and the public we serve.

It is very disturbing to find that most children are physically abused and neglected in the home, and is committed by persons known to and trusted by the child. Such as family members, relatives, baby-sitters or friends of the family. This type of harsh treatment has serious consequences for their future behavior. (Gray, 2005)

Children are hardly ever abused just once. Rather, abuse is the result of patterns of behavior in a family. The signs and symptoms may only be apparent as time passes.

It should also be noted that in 90% of the rapes of children less than twelve(12) years old, the child knew the offender, according to police reported data. This was reported by the U.S. Department of Justice - Bureau of Justice Statistics (Burgess & Grant, 1988).

There are four major types of child maltreatment: physical abuse, child neglect, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse.

Physical abuse is the willful infliction of physical injury as a result of punching, beating, kicking, biting, shaking, burning or otherwise harming a child. The parent or caretaker may not have intended to hurt the child, rather the injury may have resulted from over-discipline or physical punishment.

Child neglect is characterized by failure to provide for the child's basics needs. Neglect can be physical, educational, or emotional. Physical neglect includes refusal of or delay in seeking health care, abandonment, expulsion from the home or refusal to allow a runaway to return home, and inadequate supervision. Educational neglect includes ...