Spotting the Signs of Abuse and the Appropriate Responses.

Authors Avatar by nicoleemariee (student)

Task 3 – Nicole spencer

Antonia Unit 10

(P3)

When a child has been suspected of maltreatment, there are many signs and symptoms that can lead to the suspicion of this abuse; there are three types of indicators which may cause this suspicion. The three types of indicators are; physical, behavioural and family/life risk Factors.

Physical indicators

When you suspect that a child is being maltreated, there are many things to look out for, such as unexplained injuries and emotional defences. When you think a child is being physically abused there are many things to look out for, such as unexplained injuries, one of these injuries could be bruising in unexpected places. When a child is young they are prone to bruising as there body isn’t as strong as adults, so it is easy for them to get bruises from playing and falling over when they are young. Most children get bruises so you have to know the difference between the bruises that they have made themselves, or ones that are more distinctive as abusiveness. Bruises that appear due to abuse are usually a lot bigger and more sorer than what a bruise from falling over would be. When a child is being abused, there bruises are more likely to be in hidden places, such as, under the armpits, backs of the legs, stomach and the back.

Another sign/symptom of abuse is that the child could be underweight. This means that the child isn’t getting the food that they need or the nutrition that they need. This is a hard indicator of abuse because all children grow in different shapes and sizes. If the child is so small that you can see their bones, then this is when action should be taken to find out why this child is not getting the right nutrients in their body. Another way to spot if the child Isnt having enough food or drink is by checking that they eat in school or that they are bringing enough food if they do not have a school dinner.

If a Child is being Maltreated sexually, they may have a lot of soreness around their genital area. When a child is playing with the other children you may be suspicious that the child looks like they are in pain or that they have been complaining about being sore. They could also be touching themselves a lot to try and ease the pain. If a child has a more advanced  knowledge of sexual conversations/references , than what other children that age, it is most likely that they have been exposed to sexual abuse, whether that is just watching something that is pornographic or have been a included in sexual acts, this could be either oral or normal sex.

If a child has a blatant infection you may have to speak to them and ask them what it is. Because when a child is younger their immune system is a lot weaker than what an adults is, so they are more likely to get infections off other children or just pick them up when out and about. If the child seems to be in pain with this infection they should be sent to the school nurse. If a child is dirty most of the week for example, their hair is greasy, they have a bad odour or they have dirty clothes on, you should start to become aware of this and take notes when this happens, as poor hygiene is a form of abuse and needs to be sorted because the child may get an infection that could make them seriously ill or even kill them.

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Behavioural Indicators

When a child is being abused at home, their personalities are more likely to change from what they were before this abuse happened. But if a child has been abuse all its school life it may be a lot harder to identify these indicators that show the child may be, being maltreated. One of the indicators that show that a child might be maltreated at home, is rocking/head banging.  This is a big indicator that the child is being maltreated. When a child is rocking or head banging  this could become a habit as to rocking ...

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