Stop the Hate

Child abuse is reported every ten seconds in the United States. In 2001 in Iowa the DHS reported 25,696 cases, finding only that 8,920 cases were ruled abuse, which means that 16.8 Iowa children per 1,000 suffered from abuse. Of those 8,920 cases, only 29 were determined to be emotional abuse. This has dropped since 1998, when emotional abuse accounted for 6% of all victims suffering child abuse. Child abuse has been on the rise for the past ten years.

I am here to tell you about the least understood form of abuse, yet it is the most prevalent and can be the most destructive of all types. It accompanies other forms of abuse but also may occur on its own. Emotional abuse is described as, any attitude or behavior, which interferes with a childs mental health or social development. Rejecting or refusing to acknowledge a persons presence, value or worth is the most common type of emotional abuse. Isolation, which is physical confinement is a way to make the child think he/she is not wanted.

Terrorizing a child and inducing terror or fear upon them is also one of the main types of emotional abuse. Yelling, screaming, name-calling, shaming, and telling them they are bad, worthless, or lazy are just a few examples of how easy it is to emotionally abuse a child. Corrupting your child into accepting ideas or behaviors that are not appropriate is also emotionally toying with the childs mind. Insulting, ridiculing, imitating and infantilizing are all ways of degrading a child. All of these types of emotional abuse are seemingly based on power and control. There are numerous reasons why children get abused, and not just by parents, but siblings too.

Nearly one-third of women in prison reported abuse as children, with males being 14% of inmates reporting abuse in childhood. This brings me to my first cause. A persons background. If the abuser, has had deprivation he/she is more likely to continue it. Parents who were abused dont know any better because thats how they were raised. Therefore, they punish their kids the way that their parents punished them.

When a child sees or hears a family member being abused they also are victims of emotional abuse. So the cycle repeats itself over and over. Like in any situation, drugs and alcohol play a big part in the causes of abuse. Also if the parent is sick (mentally) or has disorders, is another issue of cause. Nearly one-half of substantiated cases of child neglect and abuse are associated with parental alcohol or drug abuse.

It is also estimated that one in every four children in the United States is living in a household with an alcoholic adult. In conclusion to alcohol and drugs abuse, brings up the situation on why that happens. Stress, brought on by a variety of social conditions raises the risk of the children being abused. Poor parenting skills and inappropriate expectations of child are reasons why parents harm their children. There are more reasons, such as the child might be handicapped or have a disorder, they might have been an unwanted pregnancy, which by any means people should not harm their children.

Most abusers dont get involved in the community and suffer from social isolation. Marriage problems sometimes lead to the children, and are unfortunately taken out on them. Most parents love and dont want to harm their child but they tend to have less patience and less mature personalities. Some parents claim they dont know the difference between discipline and abuse which has raised many questions about what is right and wrong in raising children in todays age. The way a familys structure is set up is a questionable cause also. Believe it or not siblings cause abuse also.

Everyday siblings fight, yell, scream, call each other names and this brings down ones self-esteem and knowledge of being wanted and loved. People over look this issue the most and say kids will just be kids. But gaining power and control at a young age is very dangerous for generations to come. Emotional maltreatment can and does happen in all types of families, regardless of their background. Along with the causes come the effects.

They range from short term to long term. First of all, victims experience guilt, and think it is their fault that they are being harmed. The family members appear cold and rejecting. Parents might be effected and blame or put the children down. Emotional abuse can result in serious emotional and/or behavioral problems, including depression,

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