Safeguarding Children - Types, Signs and Reasons for Abuse of Children

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Level 3

Health and Social Care

Miss Parry

AO2

Investigate the Types, Signs and Reasons for Abuse of Children

In this task I am going to discuss the types of abuse, signs and reason for the abuse of children.

The types of abuse are physical or non-accidental injury, emotional, sexual and neglect.

According to , Physical Abuse occurs when one person uses physical pain or threat of physical force to intimidate another person. Actual physical abuse may involve simple slaps or pushes, or it may involve a full on physical beating complete with punching, kicking, hair pulling, scratching, and real physical damage sufficient in some cases to require hospitalization. In particularly violent instances, people can die from the injuries they sustain while being physically abused. Physical abuse is abusive whether bruises or physical damage occur or not. Physical abuse may involve the mere threat of physical violence if the victim does not comply with the wishes of the abuser, and still be considered physical abuse. If an adult deliberately hurts a child – causing them physical harm, such as cuts, bruises, broken bones or other injuries – it is physical abuse. It can include hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning, and slapping.

According to , Causes - Being unable to cope with the stress and frustration of parenting can lead to physical abuse. A lack of support from family, friends or community can make this problem worse. Parents who have learned bad parenting from others, perhaps from their own past experiences of a violent parent, may be a factor, as are unrealistic expectations of how a child should behave. In particular, children born prematurely or disabled are more vulnerable to physical abuse. No-one knows for sure why this is the case, but the increased demands and stress of caring for a child with special needs could be a reason. Whatever the situation, there is never a good reason to deliberately injure a child.

Effects - The harm caused by physical abuse can range from minor injuries to major trauma. These can include:

  • bruising
  • burns or scalds
  • bite marks
  • fractures
  • scarring
  • poisoning
  • drowning or suffocating
  • head injuries caused by a blow or by shaking
  • fabricated or induced illness.

The experience of being harmed may, also, cause mental health and behavioural problems in a child, such as:

  • depression and anxiety
  • aggression and violence
  • problems with relationships and socialising
  • trying to hide injuries under clothing
  • running away from home
  • being distant and withdrawn.

Physical abuse during childhood can affect a person later in life as an adult, for example, it can cause conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder. 

Signs - All children have accidents, like bumps and falls, which cause injury. However, you may have reasons for thinking that an injury has been inflicted on purpose if:

  • an injury strikes you as odd
  • a child is injured repeatedly
  • a parent delays seeking treatment
  • a parent or child gives unconvincing or inconsistent explanations about an injury.

What injuries are normal for children?

  • Bruising on the shins, knees, elbows, and backs of the hands.
  • Bruising on children who are crawling or walking (especially older children).
  • Bruising on the forehead (for toddlers).
  • Scalds from hot liquid spills on the upper body.

What could be abuse?

  • Bruising on the cheeks, ears, back, buttocks, palms, arms, tummy, hips, backs of legs, and feet.
  • Bruising on babies who are not yet crawling or walking.
  • A history of bruising.
  • Multiple bruises in clusters, usually on the upper arms or outer thighs.
  • Bruises which look like they have been caused by fingers, a hand, or an object.
  • Burns of the backs of the hands, feet, legs, genitals, or buttocks.
  • Burns which have a clear shape, like a circular cigarette burn.
  • Large oval shaped bite marks.

As well as the visible signs of injury, physically abused children may also display signs of that abuse in their behaviour. 

Experiencing physical abuse can leave you feeling:

  • Fearful
  • Anxious
  • Lonely and isolated
  • Depressed and sad
  • Worthless with low self-esteem
  • Like you want to self-harm
  • Like you want to run away
  • Unable to concentrate at school, eat or sleep properly

Who could physically abuse you?

Physical abuse can be carried out by adults including your mum and dad as well as by other young people such as brothers, sisters, boyfriends or girlfriends. Bullying can often involve hitting, kicking and hurting and this is also a form of physical abuse.

According to , Children need to feel wanted, loved, safe and valued; they also need consistency and discipline. No parent (or carer) gets it right every time and an act of bad parenting does not amount to emotional abuse. Emotional abuse is severe and persistent ill treatment which adversely affects a child's emotional health and development.

Emotional abuse could include:

  • Humiliating or criticising a child
  • Disciplining a child with degrading punishments
  • Not recognising a child’s own individuality and limitations, like pushing them too hard, or being too controlling
  • Exposing a child to distressing events or interactions, like domestic abuse or substance misuse
  • Failing to promote a child’s social development, such as not allowing them to have friends
  • Persistently ignoring a child, being absent, never expressing positive feelings towards a child, or never showing any emotions in interactions with a child (emotional neglect).
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There are different reasons why a parent may emotionally abuse their child. It could be anger towards themselves misdirected onto their child. Or, their negative behaviour may be caused by the trauma of their own past experiences of an abusive childhood. Another reason may be that they have learned bad parenting from others, or that they simply misunderstand their child, like believing that their baby cries to annoy them. Emotional abuse of children occurs in all kinds of families, but particularly where there are additional stresses on the family. Adult mental health problems, domestic abuse, drug or alcohol addiction, marital ...

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