Secondary School Level

Outline: Child abuse as a tragic problem. Forms of child abuse including physical neglect and physical abuse. India’s awareness towards the issue. Reasons for child abuse.

Child abuse is one of the miserable and most tragic problems faced by various nations all over the world. Countless number of children are abused around the world every day. They are mistreated, beaten, neglected or even sexually abused by their caretakers and relatives,               

Generally, there are three forms of child abuse. They are physical neglect, physical abuse and sexual abuse. Physical neglect is defined as a failure in providing the physical survival needs of the child to the extent that there is a risk to the child's health and welfare. Physical neglect includes insufficient food, insufficient accommodation, insufficient medical care and in sufficient supervision. Physical abuse is a form of child abuse that should be stopped as soon as possible. According to social organizations, beatings of children have grown over the past twenty years. This kind of abuse includes the physical disciplinary action that results in visible injuries on the body of the child. It also includes use of a life- threatening weapon, like a gun or a dagger, or removing a child from their family and/or prosecuting a criminal charge.

In India, attention has been focused on child abuse since 1988, with the beginning of media awareness, and national seminars. It is believed that child abuse in India has not received adequate attention due to lack of awareness to the issue. Cases of child abuse often go unreported. Sometimes abused children say nothing because they feel that they are going to cause problems in the family. Other children feel they should suffer it quietly, to get their parent’s love.

There are many reasons of child abuse. Many child abusers were also victims of the same. Mental illness is another common reason. Many abusers have personality disorders or other severe forms of mental illness. Psycho-social factors also play an important role. Other unexpected circumstance, include poverty, disability, divorce, sickness, lack of parental assistances and drugs. Understanding the root causes of abuse can help in prevention and curing the abused children.

It is unfortunate to note that a few months old infants as well as teenagers are subject to child abuse. Thus, children of any age can be the target of this malpractice. Child abuse is a serious crime faced all over the world. It must be controlled and stopped.