Child Abuse

Child Abuse

Introduction

A number of serious issues have gained an alarming status in the recent days, with child abuse being one of them. The issue has been present since the beginning of times, but, with the increase in other crimes and abuses, the rate of child abuse has also increased exponentially, with more and more children being abused each day around the globe. The situation gets even serious when it is linked to church and ministries, as these are the places where children are sent intentionally by the parents in order to gain understanding of religion in particular and life in general, and if the cases of child abuse in churches continue to grow at the present rate, there would be a time when parents would refrain from sending their children to churches out of the fear of child abuse and mistreatment.

Child abuse, whether in church or at any other place, is said to have a number of negative implications on child and the family, at the same time. The child is not only physically but also mentally hurt and the scars continue to grow and place their impact throughout the life. Several researches have been conducted, studying the lives of people who have been abused during childhood and it has been revealed that such children grow up to be submissive and fearful adults, with all the phases of life being different from the other normal individuals. The abused children are not only prone to physical and mental disabilities but also there are more chances for them to get involved in criminal and socially unacceptable activities. It has been proved by researches that abused children might grow up to be serial killers, rapists and street criminals.

In order to avoid all such implications and save the child from being abused at the ministry in church, parents need to provide proper education to the child and explain the phenomenon of child abuse in detail, so that they can learn to save themselves and bring the culprits to the screen. The details of the theological perspective of child abuse, along with the perspective of social sciences and the implications of phenomenon would be described in detail in the following paragraphs:

The concept of Child Abuse

Child Abuse can be defined as any process which involves the physical, emotional or sexual mistreatment with the child. In addition, neglecting the child is also counted as abuse and places similar impact on the mental process of the abused/ neglected child. According to the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department for Children and Families (DCF), child abuse is defined as maltreatment with the child or a series of acts which cause harm to the child, either due to commission or omission of any particular action. The act of parent or caretaker causing the potential or threat of harm to the child is also counted as abuse, which might take place in home, organizations, schools or communities or the church and ...