Child Abuse

Unfortunately, numerous children are being physically abused each year no matter their gender, ethnicity, or age. Those who physically mistreat children can dramatically change the adolescent's life causing long-life damage physically and emotionally. Without all the abuse, a child can grow up healthily and live the life they deserve without living in fear. This growing evil, physical child abuse, can be prevented to decrease the amount of children being physically and emotionally scarred each year so that their futures would be ensured safe.

Statistics show that thousands of children die each year from physical child abuse. From the 50,000 reports made each year by various citizens, physical abuse is labeled the second most reported form of abuse. In my opinion, this is outrageous because adults should be aware of their actions and know not to harm others, especially children under the age of 18. They have no right to mistreat a child under any circumstances. According to reports in 2002, over 2.6 million claims of child abuse were reported on the welfare of over 4.5 million juveniles all over the United States. Sixty-seven percent of those claims had enough proof for an investigation, which meant that there were about 896,000 victims. Consequently, it would have meant that about 2,450 children were abused each day. It is quite depressing to know that this many children are harmed daily. Without ever realizing how many are actually being harmed, "an average of nearly four children die every day as a result of child abuse of neglect (1,400 in 2002) (Iannelli)."

When it comes to who is most likely to be abused, all children-- no matter gender, race, or age-- have an equal amount of chance of being a victim. According to statistics in 2002, "one-half of all victims were White (54 percent), one-quarter were African American (26 percent), and one-tenth (11 percent) were Hispanic. American Indian or Alaska Native children accounted for 2 percent of victims, and Asian-Pacific Islanders accounted for 1 percent of victims (Iannelli)." However, younger children are more likely to be targeted compared to older minors. Since youngsters are more helpless when it comes to self-defensive, it is unfair as to how they are targeted more often compared to the older children. Of all the abuse related deaths, 41 percent were younger than one year old, and 76 percent were younger than four years old. No one can exactly point out who will be the next victim; it simply befalls on a helpless child at any given time of day.

There are countless signs of physical abuse that one can look for when a child is suspected of being mistreated. Bruises can be discovered all over in strange areas or in the shape of a hand, finger, or belt. Doctors are also able to discover bone fractures not visible to the eye. Wearing long sleeves or clothes that barely reveal any skin and refusing to dress out during physical education may also be signs of child abuse. Furthermore, physical child abuse can "lead to severe brain damage, disfigurement, blindness, crippling, and death (Goldenring)." Witnessing these symptoms and immediately contacting officials such as the police can help save a life or change the juvenile's future completely. There should be no reason for a child to hide this signs anyways. If they are a victim, they should alert adults immediately to seek help. Why should the children be afraid? Once the abuser has been identified, then I am sure drastic measures would be taken to prevent more abuse. Physical child abuse can leave a variety of markings that will then lead to emotional damage.

Not only can child abuse affect an adolescent emotionally, but it can also scar them for the rest of their life. After being physically abused, the victim can end up being suicidal, aloof, aggressive, depressed, or frightened. Anxiety or fears cause them to have trouble in school, to worry that they were the wrong ones, or to feel unloved and rejected. In the future, physically abused children can become abusive parents themselves, have trouble with personal relationships, and have an alcohol addiction. Several minors may also grow up as "low-achievers, runaways, drug abusers, prostitutes, and incarcerated individuals (Krazier)." While the victims grow up to have little