Increasing Awareness of Child Abuse :: Violence Against Children

In recent years, child abuse has become, for the first time, an issue worthy of much attention. Child abuse happens everywhere; it is deeply embedded and practiced in many various cultures and geographical locations. Everyone has his or her own opinion on the significance of child abuse. To some, abuse merely is a topic that people have become obsessed with. Many people believe that abuse is only an extreme word for good discipline. These people are blind to the seriousness of child abuse. There are several very negative effects that spur from child abuse. These effects are anything but healthy in reference to the development of a child abused in any way. Many parents, in every culture, use child abuse as a method of conditioning their children to behave well. They use severe negative reinforcement too punish their children. These parents only see the immediate effects of child abuse. Naturally, if a child is beaten for doing something wrong, they will learn not to do it again. However, abused children tend to develop many problems later in life. In some cases, abused children will avoid growing close to people. They feel more comfortable trying to hide all of their pain and suffering. An approach like this to building relationships can lead to a lack of the true sense of intimacy and trust. A child will isolate themselves from others and experience severe loneliness. Abused children are more likely to bully other children around, isolating themselves from their peers (Judith 117). They sometimes fall into the pattern of befriending people who will only betray and cause them more pain. Abuse to a child can be a source of very painful experiences. Children often handle these experiences in the wrong way. Sometimes, these children try to ignore these painful feelings, which makes it difficult to learn how to cope with them. This behavior may lead to confusion and high stress. Children often become lost in the wavering maze of feeling little or no emotion, then switching to being overwhelmed with emotion and not knowing how to handle their feelings. These children may become psychologically unhealthy due to their emotionally instability (www.childabuse.com). Someone that was abused as a child is more likely to become an abusive parent than someone who was not (Judith 221). In this way, abuse can carry on from generation from generation. These families have unhealthy relationships. Family members frequently lack the love, caring, and friendship that everyone needs.