Child Abuse

1. Child Abuse Angi Bucci

2. Child Abuse and Neglect: • Types, Signs, Symptoms, Causes and Getting Help Each year shocking numbers of children are abused. 80% are abuse by parents Nurses are required by federal laws to report suspected abuse. So what are the signs?

4. Child Abuse Facts (cont) • In the United States, the federal legislation that sets minimum standards for how states handle child abuse defines child abuse and neglect as “any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker, which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or exploitation, or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.” In 2005, the most recent year for which the U.S. government has figures, 12.1 of every 1,000 American children, almost 900,000 in all, suffered abuse by adults, with parents of victims accounting for almost 80 percent of the abusers. Every day, about four children die in the U.S. because of abuse or neglect, most of them babies or toddlers. And those are just the cases authorities know about: for every incidence of child abuse or neglect that gets reported, it’s estimated that two others go unreported. Reference : Helpguide .org

5. Child Abuse Facts (cont) • There are four primary types of child abuse: • physical abuse • sexual abuse • emotional abuse • neglect

6. Physical child abuse: types and warning signs • Physical child abuse is an adult’s physical act of aggression directed at a child that causes injury, even if the adult didn’t intend to injure the child. Such acts of aggression include striking a child with the hand, fist, or foot or with an object; burning the child with a hot object; shaking, pushing, or throwing a child; pinching or biting the child; pulling a child by the hair; cutting off a child’s air. Such acts of physical aggression account for between 15 and 20 percent of cases each year. • Reference: (helpguide.org (mental_child abuse)

7. The state attorney's office is releasing its list of evidence against a Citrus County couple accused of horrendous acts of child abuse. The report contains DNA lab analysis for items taken from the home of John and Linda Dollar, along with items seized from their motor home. According to the report, blood and DNA samples were taken from each item and compared with samples from the children the Dollars are accused of torturing. Bay News 9's partner paper, the Citrus County Chronicle, reports DNA on a pair of black pliers taken from the home matches at least one of the Dollar children, possibly two. An electric cattle prod that prosecutors said the Dollars used to shock several of the children didn't show any conclusive DNA evidence. The Dollars will appear in court Monday for a status conference. The judge will also have to decide if the Dollars' trials should be combined into one. Once the trial begins, the state and defense teams could call a combined 100 witnesses.

8. Neglect: • Not providing enough food, clothes or hygiene • Reckless disregard for child safety including drunk driving, not removing health hazards, or failure to put chemicals out of reach, or leaving baby unattended. • Not providing or delaying health care • Abandoning child without proper child care and or kicking child out of the home without other arrangements • Child being around spouse abuse • Letting the child use recreational drugs, or drink alcohol before 21. • Failure to provide help when adolescent displays emotional distress, such as antisocial behavior.

9. continued • Many physically abusive parents and caregivers insist that their actions are simply forms of discipline, ways to make children learn to behave. But there’s a big difference between giving an unmanageable child a swat on the backside and twisting the child’s arm until it breaks. Physically abusive parents have issues of anger, excessive documented child abuse need for control, or immaturity that make them unable or unwilling to see their level of aggression as inappropriate

10. continued • Immaturity: Teenagers have an alarming high rate of offspring abuse • Anger management • A history of abuse in the abusers past • depression and anxiety • Alcohol or drug abuse!!!(after the high there is a low.. very low) • Children are property • Personal problems such as marital conflict, unemployment, or financial difficulties.

11. continue • Parents (especially fathers) have the right to control their children in any way they want. • Children need to be toughened up to face real life. • Girls need to be genitally mutilated to assure virginity and later marriage. • Effects of child abuse • Some effects of child abuse are obvious: a child is malnourished or has a bruised eye; a seven-year-old develops a sexually transmitted disease. But some physiological effects of child abuse, such as cognitive difficulties or health problems, may not show up for some time

12. Sexual abuse in children: types and warning signs2 • Sexual abuse, which accounts for about 10 percent of child abuse, is anysexual act between an adult and a child. Such acts include: • Behavior involving penetration – vaginal or anal intercourse and oral sex • Fondling –touching or kissing genitals or adult makes the child do this to them. • Violations of privacy – Forcing a child to undress, spying on a child in the bathroom or bedroom. • Exposing child to sex, in person or porn, dirty stories • Exploitation –making the child a prostitute or be on pornography • Sexual abuse is never the child's fault. • Guilt and loyalty issues • Children can not mentally or physically handle sexual abuse, even toddlers have problems later with over stimulation.

13. Some signs of sexual child abuse 1 • BE AWARE!! • Sexual abuse usually shows no signs unless MD is able to see marks or forced entry. However, there are clues to sexual abuse, including: • Inappropriate interest in or lots of knowledge of sexual acts • Seductive behavior in a child • Refusal to undress in front of others (grouped with other symptoms) • Extra aggression or, extreme compliance • Fear of a particular person or family member • Children who use the Internet are also vulnerable to come-ons by adults online. Among the warning signs of online sexual child abuse are these: • Your child spends large amounts of time online, especially at night. • Pornography on PC, frequent calls from unknown caller,or use of another members pass

14. Causes of child abuse • Why would anyone abuse a defenseless child? Not all child abuse is intended. Several factors in a person's life may combine causing them to abuse a child: • Stress, including the stress of caring for children, or the stress of caring for a child with a disability, special needs, or difficult behaviors • Lack of nurturing qualities necessary for child care

15. continued • Emotional Effects of Child Abuse • Just as all types of child abuse have an emotional component, all affect the emotions of the victims. These effects include • Low or lack of self-esteem • Depression and anxiety • Aggressive behavior/anger issues • Relationship difficulties • extreme withdrawal • Personality disorders • Clinginess, neediness • Flashbacks, nightmares, PTSD

16. Numbers to call • The best first place to call to report suspected child abuse is: • The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) • Staffers at the hotline can help: • Victims: children and teens who have been abused • Survivors of child abuse • Helpline for teens who are having problems at home • Youth and Teens or 1-800-RUNAWAY • Identification of paroled sex offenders • National Sex Offender Public Registry • and • Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Investigative Programs: Crimes Against Children (individual state databases

17. The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) • Staffers at the hotline can help: • Victims: children and teens who have been abused • Survivors of child abuse • Abusers: people who have abused a child or who are afraid that they may abuse a child • Witnesses to child abuse • Will call officials on three way • Reporting is anonymous. In most states, you do not have to give your name when you report child abuse. The child abuser cannot find out who made the report of child abuse.

18. Life skills training for children and young adults • The purposes of life skills training are first to equip children, adolescents, and young adults with • interpersonal skills and knowledge lasting to adulthood • second, to provide children with skills to help them protect themselves from abuse. knowledge building should be stressed in the areas of child development, family and life management, self-development How to get help • adolescent education in sexuality, pregnancy prevention, and more

19. Family support services • Lacking a support network in times of crisis puts families at significantly greater risk for abuse • or neglect. To provide immediate assistance to parents in times of stress, crisis care programs • should be available on a 24-hour basis and should include the following services: telephone hot • line, crisis caretakers, crisis baby-sitters, crisis nurseries, and crisis counseling. Through these • programs, parents facing immediate problems could receive immediate support to alleviate the • stresses of a particular situation. Help should be available over the phone or through in-person • counseling. • Seven Counties • Sources • Adapted from: Cohn Donnelly, A. (1997). An Approach to Preventing Child Abuse, Chicago, IL: National • Committee to Prevent Child Abuse. • Prevent Child Abuse America

20. Stressed out Parents • S.T.E.P. Systematic training for effective parenting (Available in some prenatal classes) • P.E.T. Parent effectiveness training • Take deep breath, and another, you’re the adult • Imagine hearing what your child is about to hear. • Press lips together and count to 20 • Put child in time out chair for one minute for each year of age • Put yourself in time out and ask, why am I angry? Are you rushed, or stress at work • Phone a friend • Take a walk if possible. (someone to watch kids) • Take hot shower, splash cold water on face • Sing, turn on music • Get a pen and write helpful things, then save the list • Prevention = 1-800 –children (child abuse learning center)

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