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Violence against Children - Child Abuse and Child Sexual Abuse - Child abuse is the physical or psychological emotional mistreatment of children. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child. Most child abuse occurs in a child's home, with a smaller amount occurring in the organizations, schools or communities the child interacts with. There are four major categories of child abuse: neglect, physical abuse, psychological/emotional abuse, and sexual abuse.
Physical abuse is physical aggression directed at a child by an adult. It can involve striking, burning, choking or shaking a child. The transmission of toxins to a child through its mother (such as with fetal alcohol syndrome) can also be considered physical abuse in some jurisdictions.
The distinction between child discipline and abuse is often poorly defined. Cultural norms about what constitutes abuse vary widely: among professionals as well as the wider public, people do not agree on what behaviors constitute abuse. Some human service professionals claim that cultural norms that sanction physical punishment are one of the causes of child abuse, and have undertaken campaigns to redefine such norms. The use of any kind of force against children as a disciplinary measure is illegal in 24 countries around the world.
"Child Sexual Abuse" is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent abuses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of CSA include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities, indecent exposure of the genitals to a child, displaying pornography to a child, actual sexual contact against a child, physical contact with the child's genitals, viewing of the child's genitalia without physical contact, or using a child to produce child pornography.
Psychological / Emotional Abuse - Out of all the different forms of abuse, emotional abuse is the hardest to identify. This form of abuse includes name-calling, ridicule, degradation, destruction of personal belongings, torture or destruction of a pet, excessive criticism, inappropriate or excessive demands, witholding communication, and routine labeling or humiliation.
Some ways that victims of emotional abuse may react is by distancing themselves from the abuser, internalizing the abusive words, and to fight back by insulting the abuser. Emotional abuse can result in abnormal or disrupted attachment disorder, a tendency for the victim to blame themselves (self-blame) for the abuse, learned helplessness, and overly passive behavior.
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