PhysicalAbuse1

ThePhysicalAbuseOfChildren

ThePhysicalAbuseofChildren

PaulBarnes

MattawanHighSchool/CadetTeacherAcademy

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ThePhysicalAbuseOfChildren

ThePhysicalAbuseofChildren

Manychildrenhavegreatchildhoodsfilledwithhappinessandenjoyment.However,

somechildrenaren'tsolucky.Manychildrenareabusedbytheirparentsinonewayoranother.

Whilethereareseveraltypesofabuse,thispaperwillfocusonphysicalabuse,whichin

2005affectedmorethan149,234childrenacrosstheUnitedStates(www.americanhumane.org).

Thispaperwilldiscussthemainsignsofphysicalabuseandhowtheymightberecognizedin

students,thecausesandeffectsofphysicalabuse,andwaysthatvictimscanbehelpedtocope

afterphysicalabuse.

Someformsofabuseareverysubtle,whereyoureallyhavetolooktofindthem.

However,physicalabuseisntoneofthoseformsofabuse.Signsofphysicalabuseareoften

veryobvioustonoticeforexample,ifastudentrepeatedlyshowsupwithnewbruises,its

unlikelythathejustkeepsfallingandmorelikelythatsomethingisgoingon.Furthermore,

physicalabusecanbesuspectedifachildsstoryofhowaninjuryoccurreddoesntfittheinjury.

Otherindicatorsofabusewouldbemarksthatwouldntbemadebyaccident,TheAmerican

HumaneAssociation(2013)listsafewontheirwebsite:humanbitemarks,cigaretteburns,

brokenbones,puncturemarksormissinghair(para.6).Lastly,achildsactionsmayalsopoint

tophysicalabuse.Ifachildisundergoingphysicalabuse,hecanbecomeirrationallyangry,he

mightalsowearoddclothesfortheweather(tocoverupinjuries),orhemayexpress

discomfortinonewayoranother,suchasrefusingtositinhischairorholdinghisarminan

unusualposition.

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Tofurtherunderstandphysicalabuse,onemustfirstunderstandthecausesandeffectsof

it,andhowitaffectsstudentsintheclassroom.Oneoftheprimarycausesofphysicalabuseis

anger,becausewhensomeoneisangry,hemaynotrealizewhatheisdoingandmightuse

toomuchforcetodisciplineachild,thusinjuringthechild.Furthermore,childabuse

canalsobecausedbylackofparentalmaturity,inadequateparentingskills,parentshavinghada

badchildhoodthemselves,drugandalcoholissues,anddomesticviolence.Oneoftheeffects

thatwasalludedtoabovewashavingabadchildhood.Thiseffectissignificantbecauseifachild

seesoneorbothofherparentsbeingabusive,thentheymightthinkthat'swhatbeingaparentis

about,therebyspawninganewgenerationofabusers.Anothereffectofchildabuseistheimpact

ofabuseontherelationshipsofthevictimswheretheyreadults.AccordingtoWalker,as

quotedonthewebsitewww.asca.org.au(2015):

Whenhumansareyoung,theirworldrevolvesaroundtheirparentsorprimary

caregivers(sic).Parentsorcaregiversaretheprimarysourceofsafety,security,love,

understanding,nurturanceandsupport.Childabuseviolatesthetrustatthecoreofa

childsrelationshipwiththeworld(para.1).

Inotherwords,childrenstrustisviolatedbychildabusethesechildrenwilllikelyhavetrouble

withrelationshipswhenthey'reolderbecausetheirrelationshipswilllacktrust.Furthermore,

manyvictimsalsohavechaoticlifestylessincetheirinternalconflictscausethemtolack

consistency.Thiscancausethemtolosejobs,amongotherthings.Childabusecanalsocause

manyhealthconcernssuchasdepression,anxietydisorders,addictions,personalitydisorders,

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eatingdisorders,sexualdisordersandsuicidalbehaviour(AdultsSurvivingChildAbuse,2015,

para.3).Infact,arecentstudyindicatedthat...almost76%ofadultsreportingchildphysical

abuseandneglecthaveatleastonepsychiatricdisorderintheirlifetimeandnearly50%have

threeormorepsychiatricdisorders(AdultsSurvivingChildAbuse,2015,para.3).

Clearly,insituationsofchildabuse,preventingthevictimsfromdevelopingthe

consequenceslistedaboveiscrucial.Teachersplayabigroleinhelpingstudentswhohavebeen

abused.Oneofthebestthingsateachercandoistoprovidestudentswithacomfortableand

safeenvironmenttotalk.Thisallowsthestudenttoexpresstheirfeelingssotheydontresortto

inappropriateorcriminalbehavior.Iftheemotionallevelissobadthattheteacherdoesnotfeel

thathecannothandleithimself,thenheshouldsendthestudenttoaschoolcounseloror

psychologistforhelponthematter.Additionally,teachersarerequiredbylawtoreportany

instancesofchildabusethatarereasonablyapparent,wherereasonablyapparentmeans

firsthandobservationorstatementsmadebyaparentorchild(AmericanHumaneAssociation,

2013,para.12).Doingthiswillhelpprotectthestudentand,ifnecessary,getthemawayfrom

thebadenvironmentinwhichtheyareliving.

Insummary,physicalabuseisoneofthemostobviousformsofabuse.However,its

causesaren'tsimplyblackandwhite,andtheeffectsareevenlessso.Theeffectsofphysical

abusecancausesomeemotionalwoundsthatmayneverheal.Whilestatisticsmayseemgrimfor

abusedstudents,withhelpfromeducatorsandotherprofessionals,manyofthesestudentscan

eventuallylivehappylivesawayfromtheshadowsofabuse.

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References

AdultsSurvivingChildAbuse.(2015).ChildAbuseHasManyPotentialImpacts.Retrieved

October17,2015,fromhttp://www.asca.org.au/WHATWEDO/Resources/General

Information/Impactofchildabuse

AmericanHumaneAssociation.(2013).ChildPhysicalAbuse.RetrievedOctober17,2015,from

http://www.americanhumane.org/children/stopchildabuse/factsheets/childphysical

abuse.html

OfficeofJuvenileJusticeandDelinquencyPrevention.(2011).TraumainformedCarefor

ChildrenExposedtoViolence:TipsforTeachers.RetrievedOctober17,2015,from

http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/defendingchildhood/legacy/2011/09/19/tips

teachers.pdf

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