Child Abuse: The Harsh Reality
.
September 30, 2009 • Laura Ramirez
Filed under Opinion
What is child abuse? According to Dictionary.com, it is the mistreatment of a child by a parent or guardian, including neglect, beating, or sexual molestation. Many of us have seen cases of child abuse from mild to severe more then once, but how often do you see someone offering a helping hand? In my opinion, not often enough.
Mistreated children are found in all various levels of income, all racial and ethnic groups, and in all rural, urban, and suburban communities. Unfortunately, those who are meant to unconditionally love and cherish their child are often times the ones who are mistreating them. Every day you hear a heart-wrenching story of how an alcoholic dad or crack-addicted mom put painful burns on their kid or left their child unrecognizable after viciously beating them. How often to do you wish you could’ve avoided hearing about that little girl who was gang-raped and turned into some sex object for a perverted human being, or the mother who leaves her child without food or water for days at a time because partying with her friends was more of a priority for her? Too often these child abuse cases leave another innocent child traumatized, disfigured, or dead.
You don’t have to look too far to find examples of child abuse. After interviewing an anonymous student at COHS my eyes have been truly opened to how unfortunately common child abuse is. When asked, the student told me that the abuse from his father was triggered by a drug problem, a large amount of stress, and built up rage. He also stated,” He saw a lot of my mom in me and that only made him angrier.” These excuses aren’t a reason to ever put a hand on a child, especially your own flesh and blood. Fortunately, the student has been able to get away from the abuse and has had a chance move on. However, while this student has been able to free himself of this wrongdoing, many children are still caught in the web of neglect and mistreatment.
Child abuse is an epidemic but it can be stopped. If you know of or suspect someone you know of being a victim of child abuse don’t look the other way. Please contact the authorities or call the child abuse hotline 1-800-4-A-CHILD.
Loading ...
It’s funny…. I just landed on this site while doing research at work. I’m sitting here writing because as a senior in my high school days, I did my senior project on child abuse. I did the project because I knew I would pour my whole heart and soul into it due to the fact that as a young teenager I was sexually raped, and also watched abuse occur in my parents relationship. My mom actually took me to one of her W.E.A.V.E classes and here I was only 11 crying my heart out because I knew all the symptoms, no, shall I say the traits of an abusive man was all in my father. I was told that as a class, count three desks down and there you have a classmate who was being abused mentally, physically, and probably even personally being the abuser. And I evaluated my situations and demons and over came them. I spoke up. That’s the only way you can see it, feel it, and even touch it if you are hearing it from a real person who experienced it all. My last few words. Abuse will always be an ongoing thing whether we like it or not. It takes one person at a time to make changes and it all starts with one. It’s silly because people don’t see what abusive relationships can turn out to be. An on-going cycle of abuse. Financially, physically, and mentally. Once it’s done, it can’t be stopped until someone makes a stand.
[Reply]