Child Abuse

Do you know????
After centuries of being shoved under the carpet, the truth is out. And we, as
Indians, should stop, hold our breath, drop our heads in shame, and
introspect.
Here are the prominent facts:
India has the largest number of children (375 million in the world, nearl!
"#$ of its population
%&$ of Indian children are victims of ph!sical, emotional, or se'ual abuse (or
read it as ever! ( out of 3
)ew *elhi, the nation+s capital, has an abuse rate of over ,3$
,&$ of the crimes are perpetrated b! famil! members
-o!s face more abuse (.7($ than girls (%5$
/ith these statistics it0s hard to imagine someone intentionall! hurting a
child, !et nearl! a million children are abused ever! !ear 1ust in India alone.
And these are onl! the reported incidents of child abuse 2 man! more cases
are unreported and undetected, often because children are afraid to tell
somebod! who can help.
3oda! we the students of class 44 com. ta5e this opportunit! to stand up
de6antl! against the gruesome crime of child abuse and portra! the pathetic
state of children in our countr! and safeguard their innocence.
What is Child Abuse?
7hild abuse happens when a parent or other adult causes serious ph!sical or
emotional harm to a child.In the 8nited 9tates, the laws de6ning what
constitutes child abuse var! from state to state, but generall! spea5ing, child
abuse can ta5e these forms:
ph!sical abuse
se'ual abuse
neglect and abandonment
emotional or ps!chological abuse
3he most serious cases of child abuse can end in death. 3hose who survive
ma! su:er emotional scars that can linger long after the ph!sical bruises
have healed. ;ids who are abused are more li5el! to have problems building
and maintaining relationships throughout their lives. 3he!0re also more li5el!
to have low self<esteem, depression, thoughts of suicide, and other mental
health issues.
How Do You Know Something Is Abuse?
3here are lots of forms of abuse 2 including hitting, constant screaming and
!elling, or being touched se'uall!. A 5id who is being abused can e'perience
di:erent t!pes of abuse or one 5ind. It helps to understand the di:erent t!pes
of abuse: ph!sical, se'ual, verbal or emotional, and neglect.
=h!sical abuse: =h!sical abuse is hitting hard with a hand or an ob1ect li5e a
belt, especiall! hits that leave bruises or cuts. 9ha5ing, pushing, cho5ing,
painful grabbing, and 5ic5ing also can be ph!sical abuse.
9e'ual abuse: >ur bod! has private parts. If an adult or another 5id touches
a 5id0s private parts or tells a 5id to touch his or hers, it is se'ual abuse.
/hen this happens, the person might tell the 5id that this touching is a secret
and that not to tell an!one. -ut a 5id does not have to 5eep this secret. 3ell a
trusted adult, or more than one, until someone helps !ou.
?et me e'plain with the e'amples of good touches and bad touches. /e all
5now what a good touch feels li5e. A good touch might be a hug from !our
mom or dad, a snuggle with !our grandma for a stor!, or a cuddle with !our
pet. -ut some touches feel bad or confusing. @our bod! is !ours and !ou
should be able to tell people when !ou don0t li5e them to touch !ou. Aven if
!ou don0t mind doing it or are curious, or want to ma5e that person feel
happ!, se'ual touching between adults and 5ids is not >;.
Berbal or emotional abuse: 3his 5ind of abuse can happen without touching. It
can be verbal abuse if someone !ells all the time, calls the 5id mean names,
or threatens to leave the 5id or have him or her adopted. All 5ids deserve to
have adults in their lives who love and support them as the! grow up. It0s
common for parents get angr! with their 5ids once in a while, but if there0s
!elling, punishing, and threatening too much of the time, a 5id can start
feeling reall! bad about himself or herself. It0s reall! important to tell a
trusted adult this is happening.
=h!sical neglect: )eglect happens when 5ids live in a home where the adults
don0t give them basic stu: that all 5ids need 2 li5e food, clean clothes, and a
bed to sleep in. /hen parents or careta5ers neglect 5ids, the 5ids ma! not
get baths, sleep under warm blan5ets, or get chec5ups or medicine when
the! need them.
It can be hard for a 5id to tell someone that he or she is not getting these
important things. A parent or caregiver might have troubles such as losing a
1ob, having famil! problems, or using alcohol or drugs. -ut no matter wh! it is
happening, a 5id needs to tell someone. 3hen, the 5id can start getting the
stu: he or she needs and the parent or caregiver can get help, too.
What should a child do if he/she is abused?
9ometimes the toughest thing about feelings is sharing them with others.
9haring !our feelings helps !ou when !our feelings are good and when the!
aren0t so good. 9haring also helps !ou to get closer to people !ou care about
and who care about !ou.
Cocusing on @our Ceelings
@ou can0t tell !our friends what0s inside !our bac5pac5 if !ou don0t 5now
what0s in there !ourself. Ceelings (which lots of people also call DemotionsD
are the same wa!. -efore !ou can share them with an!one, !ou have to 6gure
out what feelings !ou have.
Ea5ing a list of !our feelings can help. @ou can do this in !our head or b!
writing it out on a piece of paper or even b! drawing pictures. Is something
bothering !ouF *oes it ma5e !ou sad or angr!F *o !ou feel this emotion onl!
once in a while or do !ou feel it a lot of the timeF
Why alk About You! "eelings?
3he wa! a person feels inside is important. It can be reall! hard not to tell
an!one that !ou0re feeling sad, worried, or upset. 3hen, it0s 1ust !ou and
these bad feelings. If !ou 5eep feelings loc5ed inside, it can even ma5e !ou
feel sic5G
-ut if !ou tal5 with someone who cares for !ou, li5e !our mom or dad, !ou
will almost alwa!s start to feel better. )ow !ou0re not all alone with !our
problems or worries. It doesn0t mean !our problems and worries magicall!
disappear, but at least someone else 5nows what0s bothering !ou and can
help !ou 6nd solutions.
@our mom and dad want to 5now if !ou have problems because the! love !ou
and the! want to 5now what0s happening in !our life. -ut what if !ou don0t
want to tal5 with mom or dadF 3hen 6nd another trusted adult, li5e a relative
or a counselor at school. Ea!be this person can help !ou tal5 with !our mom
and dad about !our problem or concern.
How to alk About You! "eelings?
>nce !ou 5now who !ou can tal5 with, !ou0ll want to pic5 a time and place to
tal5. *oes it need to be private, or can !ou tal5 with !our brother and sister in
the roomF If !ou thin5 !ou0ll have trouble sa!ing what0s on !our mind, write it
down on a piece of paper.
If the person doesn0t understand what !ou mean right awa!, tr! e'plaining it
a di:erent wa! or give an e'ample of what0s concerning !ou. Is there
something !ou thin5 could be done to ma5e things betterF If so, sa! it.
7onclusion
A child is the most wonderful and pure creation of Hod.HeIshe should not feel
guilt! for being mishandled.Jather the! should stand up against the abuse
and ma5e a clarion call against all who have dared to shatter their innocence
and ma5e them stand at the threshold of shame and pain.the famil!,the
educator and the societ! all pla! an important role in averting such a
situaation. /e all need to assess the situation aand bring about positive
changes to ensure that the children do not lose their smile.