Child Abuse

Today's Issues

Kimberly A. McCabe, Daniel G. Murphy

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781315401287
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Droit
• Subtopic: Droit pénal

The purpose of this book is to attempt to explore child abuse from a contemporary perspective in terms of its multiple elements, victims, and criminal justice responses. This text will: (1) begin to address the needs of those studying child abuse from a cultural perspective; (2) provide a general profile of today's perpetrators of child abuse as well as conditions that may facilitate the abuse; (3) provide information on current modes of child abuse; (4) provide discussions on long-term consequences for adult victims of child abuse; and, (5) provide details in terms of criminal justice responses to child abuse in the United States and internationally.

1
CHAPTER

Introducing Child Abuse

Our government has a role in the protection of children. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 2010, originally signed into law on January 31, 1974, is one of the most significant pieces of legislation to guide agencies, both nationally and internationally, in the protection of children.

In 2013, Child Protective Services in the United States received over 3 million referrals of possible cases of child abuse involving over 6 million children (Children’s Bureau 2014). International estimates of child abuse include over 500 million known cases of abused or neglected children (UNICEF 2012). Whether the information is national or international, the abuse of children creates consequences not only for the child but also for the society. In the United States, approximately 1600 children die each year as a result of abuse or neglect at a rate of nearly 2 children per 100,000 children in the national population. Internationally, the number of child fatalities due to maltreatment is unknown; however, estimates suggest that the number of incidents is significant. Most child maltreatment deaths result from physical abuse or neglect. Historically, common perpetrators of child maltreatment deaths included fathers, mothers, and mothers’ boyfriends. Currently, friends met within the online community are now often included as common perpetrators; however, in general, perpetrators of child abuse and neglect still include fathers, mothers, boyfriends, siblings, and other family members with the majority of the cases of child abuse perpetrated by someone known and close to the child. Hence, stranger danger is, for the most part, a myth, and although the phrase is simple and rhythmic for ease of memory, it often leaves children with the notion that only strangers will hurt them.

Developed countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom have been active in addressing child abuse. Unfortunately, these proactive approaches have been limited or nonexistent for some parts of the countries and in many countries outside the United States or United Kingdom. In particular, for many individuals within some countries, children are still viewed as property, and, as property, they are often unprotected against their owners and without the privilege of government protection. This is the reality for child abuse at the international level.

Examples of child abuse are found and described in many historical texts. In the Old Testament, where children were considered the property of their father, Abraham intended to sacrifice his son Isaac. Again, in the Hebrew Bible, the Pharaoh of Egypt ordered the death of all male infants in an attempt to protect the position and power of his own throne. In addition, after fleeing his biblical home, Lot had sexual relations with both of his daughters. Finally, within Mosaic laws, child sacrifices were prohibited; thus, one must acknowledge that, as laws exist to limit or prohibit an action, the action of child sacrifice was not uncommon within the time period.

In ancient Greek society, pederasty was socially recognized as the sexual relationship between an adult male and a young (usually early teen) male. In these societies, age was not a factor, only consent.

In the Victorian era, sex with a child prostitute was allowed. This child-to-adult sexual activity was often viewed as a necessary evil as it satisfied a man’s desire for sex without burdening his wife (Malinowski 1927).

Finally, in early American colonies, girls as young as nine were married to men with parental or, in the absence of parents, community consent. Today, children are abused through a variety of modes to include sex and labor trafficking (McCabe and Manian 2011; McCabe 2008).

Child Abuse Defined

In general, child abuse is the maltreatment of our children. Specifically, the phrase child abuse refers to victimizations that are generally divided into four categories: (1) physical abuse, (2) sexual abuse, (3) emotional abuse, and (4) neglect. Children may be the victims of one type or all four types of abuse; thus, child abuse rarely refers to a mutually exclusive category of abuse. The definitions related to this book are physical abuse—the nonaccidental injury of a child by a person or a caretaker (Crosson-Tower 2010); sexual abuse—the sexual exploitation of or sexual activities with a child (McCabe 2003); emotional abuse—a pattern of psychologically destructive behavior targeted toward a child (Garbarino et al. 1986); neglect—the failure by a caretaker to provide for a child’s basic needs of survival (Bartollas 2000); child trafficking—the recruitment, transfer, harboring, or receipt of a child for sex or labor by threat or use of force (McCabe 2008); and age of consent—the age at which a person is considered to be competent to consent to sexual activity.

Child Fatalities

The most rare yet most serious outcome of child abuse and neglect is the death of a child or a child fatality. In the United States, there are approximately four child deaths per day at the hands of their abusers (Children’s Bureau 2014). In the majority of those cases, the abuser is a family member. In addition, children who are abused are more likely to later take their own life or commit suicide; hence, child abuse has not only a direct causal relation with child fatalities but also an indirect relationship with child fatalities.

This text is dedicated to the issues of child abuse and neglect. However, for this text to not first address the most tragic of consequences in child abuse—child fatalities—would be a mistake for all who are interested in eliminating child abuse. Thus, child fatalities are discussed briefly. For clarity, a child fatality is defined as the outcome of death for a child caused by an injury to the child or resulting from the physical abuse or neglect of that child and may include injuries by the abuser or the child.

In the United States and other developed countries where attempts to protect and support the rights of children have been in place for decades, a child fatality from abuse seems unlikely. However, child fatalities occur every day. In the United States, as is the case everywhere, younger children are the most vulnerable to death from abuse and neglect. In fact, 70% of child fatalities in the United States are children under the age of three (Children’s Bureau 2014). For most of these young victims, neglect is identified as the cause of death.

The abusers of these young victims, in most cases, are the primary caregivers or the mothers. This stands to reason as very young children are rarely outside of the care of their mother or primary caregiver. Thus, child fatalities of the very young are often the result of opportunity, and, by proximity to the child, the opportunity is for the mother.

As the child ages, the cause of death for these child fatality victims often shifts from neglect to physical abuse. In addition, as the child ages, the father or both parents are more likely to be included among the list of the abuser(s). Estimates suggest that at least 80% of the cases of child fatalities involve a parent(s) as the abuser(s) (Children’s Bureau 2014). In addition, approximately 60% of the victims of child fatalities are male, leaving one to wonder if socialization has left American society with the notion of interacting more gently with female children.

The majority of child fatalities are classified as a result of either acute maltreatment or chronic maltreatment. Fatalities that result from a specific incident of abuse or neglect are considered cases of acute maltreatment. Fatalities that resulted from injuries or neglect over an extended period of time are considered chronic maltreatment (Brandon et al. 2014). In other words, child fatalities may result from abuse over time or one incident of victimization. In addition, and increasingly more common, a child fatality may be the outcome of a self-inflicted injury or action. In considering the cases of child fatalities, which result from neglect over time, many involve starvation. Battered child syndrome is also a type of chronic maltreatment. Unfortunately, in many cases of child fatalities from chronic child abuse, the abuse did not continue unnoticed. Estimates suggest that approximately 40% of all child fatalities involve chronic maltreatment that was known to either the medical community or Child Protective Services (Walsch 2005).

When considering the cases of child fatalities that occur as a result of one incident of victimization or acute maltreatment, the incident is often a result of physical abuse and is oftentimes categorized as shaken baby syndrome or Munchausen syndrome by proxy. For the younger child fatality victims, the child’s brain is injured from violent shaking (shaken baby), or the child dies from apnea/smothering or starvation (Munchausen). Shaken baby, Munchausen, and battered child are all discussed in detail in Chapter 2.

For the older victims of child fatalities, physical abuse often occurs in the form of punches, kicks, and strikes with a weapon by their abuser. However, there are cases of child fatalities that result from specific victimizations such as child trafficking for internal organs (Vinkovic 2010; McCabe 2008), which are also discussed later in this text.

Finally, child fatalities often occur at the hands of the child. Although these statistics are rarely counted in the official child abuse numbers, suicide by a child victim of abuse or neglect is not uncommon (Tischler et al. 2007). Nationally, suicide is the second leading cause of death for children ages 10–18 in the United States. As far as the demographic characteristics of child suicide victims are concerned, the majority is male, and the majority suffers from a mental or addictive disorder. In addition, children who commit suicide are often loners, suffer low self-esteem, have a close relative who also committed suicide, and may identify themselves as a part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. In fact, rates suggest that 1 out of 100,000 children commit suicide annually. Many reasons for these suicides include child abuse and neglect (McCabe 2003). In fact, over time, children from dysfunctional homes, with a history of child abuse, or negative school experiences such as bullying (also discussed later in this text) are at a higher risk for suicide. Unfortunately, as these young individuals have survived the sexual or physical abuse of their childhood, their decisions to commit suicide are not often identified as an outcome of child abuse. Regardless of when the abuse occurs within the child’s life, child fatalities, the most serious of outcomes, are an important aspect of child abuse.

History of Child Abuse

Plato suggested that children with physical or mental handicaps would only weaken the species and urged parents to kill, and dispose of in secret, their defective children (Wallace 1999). In 17th-century Germany, infants were thrown into pools of water to determine their strength or worthiness; infants who did not surface were not rescued (Damme 1978). In England, the bodies of children have been found buried in foundational landmarks such as the London Bridge (Sorel 1984). Today, the remains of children are still being found in landfills and in trash containers across the world, especially in countries such as China, which at one time placed severe tax penalties on families producing multiple children (Crosson-Tower 2010). Hence, child abuse has existed throughout history and continues today.

The history of child abuse in America can be studied in terms of three time periods. The first time period started from early colonial America to a young girl in New York named Mary Ellen Wilson and the 1875 New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NYSPCC). The second time period spans from 1875 to the early 1960s. The third time period began in 1962 and includes today (Myers 2010). Prior to 1875, children were simply the property of their parents without protection under the laws of the country unless there was a case of horrendous abuse. In 1874, horrendous abuse became front stage in America.

Mary Ellen Wilson was an eight-year-old girl in New York City in 1874. She was beaten and starved by her guardians on a regular basis. This abuse continued, and there were no legal means of protection for Mary Ellen (Riis 1892). When legal authorities finally intervened, they did so, however, without child protective legislation but under the umbrella of Prevention...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Author
• 1 Introducing Child Abuse
• 2 Physical Abuse
• 3 Sexual Abuse
• 4 Emotional Abuse
• 5 Neglect
• 6 Theoretical Explanations for Child Abuse
• 7 Child Trafficking
• 8 Child Abuse and Technology
• 9 Criminal Justice Responses to Today’s Child Abuse
• Appendix A: Human Trafficking—Country Demographics as Related to Tier Classification
• Appendix B: Internet Crimes Against Children, 2008 and 2014 (Abridged Report)
• Appendix C: Contact Information for Child Abuse Organizations
• Index