Safeguarding Children - Essay Example

?Table of Contents 0 Executive summary ...............................................................................................................3 2.0 Introduction........................................................................................................................... 3 3.0 Definition and categories of child abuse ...............................................................................4 4.0 Places, perpetrators and effects of child abuse ……………………………………………….4 5.0 Causes and/or contributors .............................................................................................................5 6.0 The likelihood of re-victimization by other perpetrators, including in adulthood: chances and possible reasons .............................................................................................................................5 6.1 Developmental and emotional difficulties associated with victimisation................................. 6 6.2 Disability among childhood victims .......................................................................................8 6.3 Perception of the childhood sexual abuse........................................................................ 8 6.4 Drug and alcohol abuse among victims................................................................................... 9 6.5 Social and physical morbidity in adulthood as a result of childhood victimization.................... 9 6.6 Unstable family set-up and greater residential mobility......................................................... 10 6.7 Economic challenges and poor social environment............................................................... 11 7.0 Conclusion.............................................................................................................................. 12 Critical analysis “Children who experience abuse in childhood are more likely to be re-victimised by other perpetrators, including in adulthood” 1.0 Executive summary This report makes an analysis on the claim of Radford et al (2001) that “children who experience abuse in childhood are more likely to be re-victimised by other perpetrators, including in adulthood.” The report approaches the topic systematically. To begin with, the paper briefly introduces the topic, defines child abuse and outlines its categories, potential places of abuse, perpetrators, effects, and its causes and/or contributors. This is followed by an extensive study on the chances and possible reasons of re-victimization among children/people who underwent various forms of childhood abuse at a younger age. The paper does not study each form of abuse separately but makes a general discussion of re-victimization but points out the potential abuses in each state. 2.0 Introduction Child abuse is one of the major issues that many societies including developed nations have not managed to phase out. Despite the many measures and laws enacted, reports of abandonment, mutilation, infanticide/infant killing and other forms of violence perpetrated against children are still high. A child can experience child abuse at a younger age and, in adolescence and even adulthood, a similar occurrence is also witnessed among the same individuals. This indicates that not only are children at risk of child abuse but also at risk of re-victimization by different perpetrators. This paper analyses the claims of Radford et al 2011 which state that “children who experience abuse in childhood are more likely to be re-victimised by other perpetrators, including in adulthood.” 3.0 Definition and categories of child abuse Herrenkohl (2005, 413) defines child abuse as any form of physical, emotional and sexual mistreatment or neglect of a child. These constitute child maltreatment, which can be are acts of omission or commission by the parents of a child or any other caregiver which lead to threat of harm, potential harm or actual harm to a child. This definition describes the four categories of child abuse namely physical abuse, neglect, child sexual abuse and emotional/psychological abuse. 4.0 Places, perpetrators and effects of child abuse Potential places for child abuse are the home of the child and the organisations, communities, or schools the child interacts with. At the most immediate environment, the potential perpetrators of child abuse include the caregivers, especially the mother. Also in this environment is the father, siblings and relatives living with or near the child’s family. Outside the family set up, potential perpetrators include teachers, external child care givers, strangers, and other people that they could interact with. Some of the effects of child abuse include ill health, malnutrition, physical and internal injuries, disrupted attachment development and at the extreme end, death. Such deaths could result as a direct outcome of the immediate abuse, intentional killing or contribution of child abuse to the factors leading to the death of the child. A close analysis of child fatalities resulting from abuse indicate that child abuse perpetrated by caregivers is the leading cause of child abuse fatalities. 5.0 Causes and/or contributors There is no single cause of child abuse and thus it is a complex phenomenon. Ross (1996, 589) explains that parents who abuse their spouses physically are likely to physically abuse their children than others to a higher degree. This is to say that in some cases, marital strife could lead to child abuse, especially where the act and the marital strife are caused by the abuser’s behavior. For example, a father who comes home drank and beats his wife and goes ahead to extend this anger to the children. According to Lesa (1999, 1577) and Eisenberg and Brown (1995, 73), there is a high likelihood that children born from unintended pregnancies will be neglected or abused. In relation to this, Hathaway et al (2000, 303) adds that such pregnancies are more likely to be the associated with marriages that are abusive as indicated by the reports of women on their abusive partners. Another major contributor to child abuse is drug and alcohol abuse. Studies conducted by Murphy et al (1991, 197) and Famularo et al (1992, 475) on the relationship between child abuse and drug and alcohol abuse found that parents with documented cases of alcohol and drug abuse are more likely to mistreat children. Other predisposing factors to child abuse include unemployment and financial difficulties, constant change of residence, and growing up with stepparents or foster parents. 6.0 The likelihood of re-victimization by other perpetrators, including in adulthood: chances and possible reasons The statement given by Radford et al 2011 implies that after a period of abuse, victims of childhood abuse are more likely to undergo similar or other types of abuses again both in their childhood and even in adulthood. It also implies that in the latter period of abuse, the perpetrators of abuse are not the same people who abused them in the first instance. Taking a moment and looking at this, it gives a picture of a series of child abuse with different child abusers involved at the different phases, with some extending into adulthood. This implies that there are certain factors that strongly come into play to make victims of child abuse more vulnerable to repeated abuses or re-victimization later in life. These factors can be derived from the above mentioned causes of childhood, at similar or different angles. 6.1 Developmental and emotional difficulties associated with victimisation Several studies have revealed that victims of child victimisation are more likely to experience re-victimization later in life. While researching on the effect of childhood abuse on the potential for later re-victimization, Hosser et al (2007) found out that those children who experienced childhood abuse were twice at the risk for later re-victimization in adolescence. They, therefore, asserted the existence of a positive correlation between victimisation in childhood and later victimisation in adolescents. Hosser et al (2007) suggested that the connection between childhood victimisation and later victimisation is partly due to Trauma Induced Offense Cycle described by Greenwald (2002, 329). This cycle can be compared with the hypothesis of Cycle of Violence. The Cycle of Violence hypothesizes that previous trauma and abuse make an individual react to new situations that trigger effects related to trauma with a higher sense of aggression, helplessness, fear and higher risk of exhibiting violent reactions and thus increasing sensitivity to trigger situations. In simpler terms, childhood victimisation makes children to be more sensitive to situations that could result to trauma associated with victimisation. The anxiety and fear they develop increases their chances of experiencing a violent outburst to these situations. However, this outburst does not always enable the individual to escape a re-victimization . Instead, it increases their likelihood of being re-victimised. Greenwald (2002) provided results revealing that abused children who exhibited aggressive behaviour in childhood showed much higher probability of experiencing re-victimization in adolescence compared to the control group of children. In its investigation, the Office for Victims of Crime (1988) realised that certain categories of children are targeted more frequently for child abuse than other children. This includes compliant, shy and lonely kids as well as those labelled as “bad kids.” In addition, it reveals that needy or emotionally disturbed adolescents are also targeted for abuses. This observation is important because children who experience childhood victimisation often develop many developmental and emotional difficulties later life in like anxiety, aggression and depression as mentioned above and this could significantly contribute to increased vulnerability to re-victimization later in life. In agreement to the findings of the Office for Victims of Crime Bulletin (2001) and Greenwald (2002) that victims of child abuse suffer from emotional difficulties from their ordeals, Meadows (2001, 15) explains that depression is a predictor of victimisation later in life. Meadows explains that being lonesome and dull normal among victims of childhood abuse increases the risk of re-victimization . The main reason for this is that people who are dull normal are normally assumed to have lower levels of IQ, and this perceived low intellectual status elevates their vulnerability to later victimisation. Another clear observation is that people who are classified as lonesome have been known to desire companionship, and seek intimate relationships with other people desperately to an extent that they are more likely to succumb to re-victimization . 6.2 Disability among childhood victims According to the American Psychological Association (2010), children with disabilities are at higher risk of child abuse, especially sexual abuse compared to their non-disabled counterparts. This happens especially if the disability directly impairs the perceived credibility of the child for example, mental retardation, blindness, deafness and physical handicaps. Such children are more likely to be abused from an early age by close people like family members and neighbours. Because of their low self-defence power, other people are likely to take advantage of this later in life and abuse them again. 6.3 Perception of childhood sexual abuse When children undergo sexual abuse, there are two likely responses. Either they could associate the sense of fear, harm, and threat with any subsequent sexual activity or they may associate affection, attention and gifts with the offering of sexual favours. Research has revealed that one of the behavioural consequences of traumatic childhood sexualisation is the tendency to move towards either of the two extreme perceptions of sexual behaviour. In other words, childhood sexual abuse could either result in a marked aversion of intimacy, and sex or alternatively, it could result to the development of promiscuous and compulsive sexual behaviour (Timms and Conners, 1992). Under the latter lifestyle, such persons are more likely to be exposed to multiple sexual partners both in adolescence and adulthood and both of these increases their chances of being re-victimised. Some are known to engage in commercial sex trading. Messman-Moore and Long (2002) explain that the more sexual partners encountered by an individual, the higher the likelihood of encountering a sexually aggressive male. This shows that persons who respond to their childhood traumatic sexualisation with promiscuity are at a danger of sexual re-victimization . 6.4 Drug and alcohol abuse among victims Another factor that could contribute to re-victimization is that some people who underwent childhood sexual abuse either as sodomy or rape, are likely to abuse drugs because of their inability to face their realities as they grow up (Briere and Runtz (1987, 372). In these states, they are highly predisposed to repeated acts of abuse because of their exposure to the company of socially abusive people or their weakened physical or cognition states. For example, while drunk or under heavy drug influence, a boy/man or a girl/lady could be sexually and physically abused. 6.5 Social and physical morbidity in adulthood as a result of childhood victimisation Coid and his colleagues conducted a study on sexual re-victimization among women. An analysis of the results of this study revealed that women who are sexually and physically abused in childhood are more likely to experience similar victimisations in adulthood. According to these researchers, childhood abuse is associated with many physical conditions and results to high rates of social, physical and even economic morbidity in adulthood (Coid et al 2001, 453). For example, children facing neglect are less likely to go far with academics, ending up with low-earning jobs and being married by low-class men. The rates of abuse are higher among this group of men than middle or upper class men. Some of the childhood experiences could have led to physical, emotional or physical handicap. Under such conditions, these women are more likely to experience sexual and physical abuse. According to Coid et al (2001, 453), experiences of sexual abuse do not occur in isolation. Instead, women who were victims of childhood sexual abuse are more likely to have unwanted sexual activities in adulthood which increases their chances of sexual abuse. 6.6 Unstable family set-up and greater residential mobility Another specific thing that generates risks of re-victimization relates to abusive marriages. Physical abuse in marriage is one of the leading causes of divorce or separation, and in most cases, the children move or remain with their mother. With time, the mother could get another husband or partners who could also abuse her physically and even extend this marital strife or relationship problems to the children by physically abusing them. If it happens that the mother and her current partner are drug and alcohol abusers, such men could take advantage of the intoxicated state of the mother to abuse the children physically and sexually and, boys and girls at equal risk of this. This can be confirmed by the study conducted by Murphy et al (1991, 197) and Famularo et al (1992) which link parental drug and substance abuse to child abuse. Famularo et al (1992, 480) investigated the types of child abuse under conditions of parental substance abuse. Their study revealed that over two thirds of child mistreatment cases involved parents who have problems with drug and alcohol abuse. The study specifically revealed a strong relationship between child physical abuse and parental alcohol abuse and child sexual abuse with parental use of cocaine. The likelihood of re-victimization resulting from the breakup of an abusive marriage is also backed up by evidences showing that non-biological like step parents, are up to 100 times more likely to abuse or kill a child compared to their biological parent. Roach (2011) explains that such actions result from the thought that using one’s resources to care for the biological child of another person interferes with efforts of enhancing one’s reproductive success and so the abuse is an indirect way of sending off or killing the child. Generally, step children are at higher risk of going through child abuse than biological children. This explains the conditions of children who had undergone child abuse early in life and later on, they grow up in a family set up composed of a stepparent. Although the forms of abuse may differ, a stepfather presents possible threats just like a stepmother. For example, a step mother could abuse the child physically, emotionally and neglect them while a stepfather could abuse the child physically, emotionally and sexually. 6.7 Economic challenges and poor social environment Separation from an abusive partner could result to economic challenges that could force the mother to move to slum areas with the children. Cases of child abuse are more rampant in slum areas compared to other areas. In these regions, child abuse is more likely to be perpetrated by strangers whom the child meets at various places, for example, going to school. The high rates of child abuse in slums are directly related to high unemployment rates and, drug and alcohol abuse. Under drug and alcohol influence, people tend to hurt children more compared to those who are sober. 7.0 Conclusion Extensive studies have been carried out on the issue of child abuse and the likelihood of re-victimization later in life. Although these studies did not take a similar approach or methodology, they all converge to a common conclusion that children who experience abuse in childhood are more likely to be re-victimised by other perpetrators in adolescence and even in adulthood. One thing that comes out very clearly is that the post trauma character of the victim greatly determines the possibility of being re-victimised. Those at greater risks of re-victimization generally tend to exhibit behavioural and emotional states that make them more vulnerable to repeated victimisation. This could include excessive sexual indulgence, aggressive reaction to potential threats, loneliness and dull normal states, drug and/or alcohol abuse and feelings of helplessness. In addition, the social environment and the state, structure and stability of the family after separation from an abusive partner also matters. For example, the presence of a stepparent, growing with foster parents, new abusive partner and, alcohol and drug use among biological and stepparents. References American Psychological Association (2010). Understanding child sexual abuse: Education, prevention, and recovery. American Psychological Association. Washington, DC. Briere, J. and Runtz, M. (1987). “Post sexual abuse trauma: data and implications for clinical practice.” J Interpersonal Violence. (2) pp 367–379. Coid J, et al (2001). “Relation between childhood sexual and physical abuse and risk of re-victimization in women: a cross-sectional survey.” Lancet. (9280) pp 450-454. Eisenberg, Leon; Brown, Sarah Hart (1995). The best intentions: unintended pregnancy and the well-being of children and families. National Academy Press. Washington, D.C. 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(2002). “The role of childhood sexual abuse sequelae in the sexual re-victimization of women: empirical review and theoretical reformulation.” Clinical Psychology Review. (23) pp 18-27. Murphy J. et al (1991). “Substance abuse and serious child mistreatment: prevalence, risk, and outcome in a court sample.” Child Abuse & Neglect 15 (3) 197–211. Office for Victims of Crime Bulletin. (2001). Working with victims of crimes with disabilities. U.S. Department of Justice. Roach, J. (2011). “Evolution and the Prevention of Violent Crime.” Psychology 02 (4) pp 393. Ross, S. (1996). “Risk of physical abuse to children of spouse abusing parents.” Child Abuse & Neglect 20 (7) pp 589. Timms, R. and Conners, P. (1992).Psychotherapy and Promiscuous Patient. Hartworth Press. Read More