What is child abuse? Do we all know about it? We talk of children requiring basic needs like education, food, shelter and LOVE. But if instead they gain hatred and ill treatment, how are they to act in that situation? First and foremost, I would like to define the categories in which child abuse can be bounded. What do we understand by child abuse? Only sexual abuse or physical torture? Well, there is a little more to add to it. The deprivation of proper medical care, hygienic conditions, lack on attention- everything is included in the entity.
In a shocking revelation, a government commissioned survey in India has found that more than 53% of children in India are subjected to sexual abuse, but most don’t report the assaults to anyone. Physical abuse is characterized by physical injury (for example, bruises and fractures) resulting from punching, beating, kicking, biting, burning, or otherwise harming a child. Any injury resulting from physical punishment that requires medical treatment can be considered abnormal and abusive. Emotional abuse is the most difficult form of child maltreatment to identify. Emotional abuse includes acts such as scapegoating and belittling or omissions –as in never praising the child or withholding love, by the parents or other persons responsible for the child’s care. This kind of abuse can cause, or could have caused, serious behavioral, cognitive, emotional, or mental disorders.
These types of abuses can often be checked upon. But what about sexual abuse? CSA or child sexual abuse, as heinous as it sounds, is the worst form of abuse. Imagine a man of 26 raping a 10 month old infant? What do you dismiss this as- a case of mental dis balance or a case of sexual frustration? It is really heartening to see children becoming scapegoats for people who want to satisfy their sexual needs. The grave problem does not end here. It is further more complex. The child doesn’t know what he/she is undergoing. And sometimes, or rather most of the times, he/she is given to the abuser by his/her own parents. Too, ashamed to say anything or rather comprehend anything, the child bears this endless torment day after day. This sort of abuse leads to many problems which break his/her confidence and belief in humanity and himself. I do not know how to infer anything. What would mark a change? Awareness? There is already a lot of it. I guess if adults do not understand how to love children correctly, this problem will continue to dwell.