Running Header: CHILD AND ELDER ABUSE

Child and Elder Abuse

Child and Elder Abuse

Introduction

The current legal definition of child abuse in the United States is the non accidental physical, sexual, and/or emotional harm to a child either through direct action, omission, or negligence by a person who has care, custody, or control of a child. Where as elder abuse refers to the mistreatment of an older individual by a known individual. Unlike in a common crime where the perpetrator is typically unknown to the victim, elder abuse occurs when the assailant is familiar.

Discussion

Child Abuse

Children represent the innocence and good within a society. When members of society hear about the victimization of a child, it can be emotionally shattering. The impact of abuse on the child is immediate, but it also may go unrecognized by others for years or even decades. The issue of child abuse is an age-old problem. Historically, children were often viewed as property and were subject to the demands of family and society and had no rights of their own. Typically, in patriarchal families, it was the man who would decide how the child was cared for and, in some cultures, if the child was to be sold, abandoned, or even allowed to live at all. Over time, the concept of how children should be treated and thus what is considered abuse or neglect has changed. Abuse experienced as a child can influence the child's involvement in delinquency, and their tendency to act in violent ways toward their own children and spouses when they are an adult, thus creating an ongoing, intergenerational cycle of violence.

While there have been improvements over the years in how children are treated, there still is no universally agreed-upon definition of child abuse. The actual extent of child abuse and incident level of child maltreatment is debatable because of the wide variation in state reporting procedures, definitions, and investigation methods. The U.S. Department of Justice has stated that of all aspects of personal crime, the victimization of children is one of the least-documented areas. Nationwide, over five million children are referred to child protective services each year. Less than one-fifth of these cases, however, are substantiated as victims of abuse. Reported cases typically break down into four different types of abuse with the most common being neglect, followed by physical abuse, then sexual abuse, and finally emotional abuse. The HHS estimates that 1,740 children died ...