Reporting Child Abuse and School Counselors - Research Paper Example

 Reporting Child Abuse and School Counselors Abstract This research will discuss the Role Of School Counselors In Identifying And Preventing The Cases Of Child Abuse. It will answer the question of: is it in the best interest of the child that school counselors report possible acts of child abuse or neglect, and how much of it is their business? It will explain how children are unsafe in schools and how school counselors can help them. The paper has used several sub-headlines for better understanding of the topic. The Literature Review of the paper will discuss how different writers highlighted the importance of school counselors in preventing child abuse. This section of the paper will also discuss what the different types of child abuse are and how school counselors can identify them. The Research Strategy section will explain how the study will be conducted. It will also provide the questions that have been selected for the study. Schools are the places outside the home where children have consistent and constant contacts. The purpose of the research study will be to explore the role of school counselors in reporting child abuse. School counselors are sympathetic toward abused children, but in some occasion if they are not trained and aware of legislation they shy in reporting the abuse. Though they are required by law to report suspected child abuse, a number of schools allow teachers to become certified without exposure to child abuse curriculum. For a moment, imagine that you are not yourself but instead a young boy or girl who has been left alone to suffer the brutal abuse. You have been kicked, punched, thrown into walls and beaten to the point that you can no longer feel the pain of new wounds that have embed themselves on your flesh. You are scared and alone and have no clue as to why your class fellows or any other person in the school show a constant anger towards you. What do you do, whom do you turn to, and what will happen if you cry out for help?  In this situation a school counselor is your only hope. But if he is shying in reporting the abuse, you will definitely be in a very difficult situation. Aims and objectives The aims and objectives of this study is to determine the importance of school counselors in regard to both obvious and assumed cases of child abuse. The study divulges into the importance of the school counselor and the steps that they should implement to not only determine if a child is in danger, but to properly alert the appropriate authorities. The study goes on to show the impact and influences that school counselors have on children that are facing abuse at home.   Literature review School counselors can play a great role in preventing child abuse in schools. Reporting abuse often becomes an ethical dilemma because of the difficult interactions in regard to several factors. These factors include diverse professional contexts, legal requirements, professional-ethical standards, and the conditions of suspected abuse. Child abuse is any maltreatment or neglect of a child that results in non-accidental damage or injury which is uncalled for. It transcended through generations and across race, class and ethnicity (Corby, 2005). Historical evidence tells that children were perceived as nothing more than property and were subjected to various forms of mistreatment. They are beaten, enslaved, prostituted and even killed at the hands of parents and guardians upon whom they are dependant. According to Gelles and Straus (1979a), "the family is perhaps the most violent social group and the home the most violent social setting, in our society” (p. 15). Every year, tens of thousands of children are distressed by physical, sexual, and emotional abuse or by caregivers who disregard them, making child abuse as recurrent as it is revolting. A child has a considerably higher chance of being killed or brutally injured by their parents than by any one else around them Collins and Coltrane (1995) highlight this point by saying that “for children, the home is often the most dangerous place to be” (p. 476 -477). Since the coining of the term The Battered-child Syndrome by Dr. C. Henry Kempe and Colleagues in 1962, child abuse and neglect has received remarkable publicity. The development of a variety of legislation and programs geared towards public education and the protection of children has in recent times drawn both regional and international attention to child abuse and neglect as a social problem. School counselors in various countries are usually not trained. A large number of child abuse cases are reported in Britain because there is a lower rate of literacy, people are less educated, have less opportunity, and are less financially developed. These schools rarely have trained school counselors. Consequently, most of the children give up their studies at an early age and start working with their parents in farming to support their forefather's land or in whatever their parent's occupation is (Schmidt, 2007). The explanation of child abuse has been influenced by different historical periods and many vary from place to place. Trained school counselors can be helpful in identifying the different cases of child abuse regardless of when and where they are located. Gelles and Straus (1979b) described child abuse as any “violence carried with the intention of, or perceived as having the intention of physically hurting the child” (p.336). This definition highlight that child abuse is the intentional violence to or sexual assault or exploitation of a child or the deliberate withholding of care. In spite of the fact that these two definitions are different, they both are similar in that they both emphasize the point of deliberate or intentional, which makes the act not accidental. Child abuse can be divided in to four major types —  physical, sexual, emotional or physical and neglect. In schools physical abuse is common. Physical abuse may be best described as any non-accidental physical harm by a person who has care, custody, or control of a child. This is the most noticeable form of abuse and these injuries can result from beating, pinching, kicking, biting, and burning. The signs of physical abuse are bruises on the body or of an unusual pattern, burns, and lacerations on the lip, eyes, face, gum tissue or the groin area, fractures of the bones, head and internal injuries such as the intestines, kidney, ruptured blood vessels and inflammation of the abdomen. School counselors can easily identify a suspected abuse. There are several behavioural indicators, which a child who has been physically abused may show, such as being wary of adult contact, extreme aggression, being afraid to go home, and by responding to questions in monosyllables (Cicchetti, 1989).The child may become very passive so as to avoid being noticed or become aggressive as a means of expressing anger and frustration. School counselors can be great help in reducing the number of physical abuse cases. Levine and Doueck (1995) are of the opinion that mandatory reporting can be proved as an essential toll against physical abuse. Another problem in schools is sexual abuse. This is usually most difficult situation for students to share their problems. School counselors have a great to play in these situations. Sexual abuse can be defined as any inappropriate sexual behaviour with a child. Kaplan (1998) describes sexual abuse “as forced, tricked, or coerced sexual behaviour between a younger person and an older person” (p.205). This type of abuse is the least reported and the perpetrator is usually male and the victim female. Physical symptoms of sexual abuse in children consist of bruises on the child’s bottom, inner thighs or genitals, genital bleeding, or irritation and difficulty walking. There can also be swelling, itching, and painful cuts in the genital or anal area. Genital discharges are often common as well as sexually transmitted infections and even pregnancy in adolescence. Child sexual abuse comprises touching and non-touching behaviours. School counselors can stop students from involving some unethical behaviour. Among them important are touching behaviours. There are different types of touching behaviours, including: 1) Touching a child’s genitals such as penis, testicles, breast, vulva, or anus for sexual pleasure or for other unnecessary reasons, 2) Making a child touch sexual organs of someone else or playing sexual games, 3) Placing some objects or body parts like fingers, tongue or penis inside the vulva or vagina, in the mouth or anus of a child. According to Abrahams (1992), teachers have great role in reducing number of child abuse cases in schools. Theories have been discussed and developed to make clear the complex nature of child abuse and neglect such as the psychological, intra-psychic, socio-cultural, family-situational, social learning, interactional and ecological to explain its happening. However, there are a number of factors, which contribute directly or indirectly to the curse of child abuse and neglect, but the socio-economic and cultural factor will be examined. It is necessary for school counselors to learn about these factors as they often play a large role in the abuse and neglect of children. (Kenny 2004, 1-7) Berliner (2002) says there are many factors that contribute to child abuse. Poverty can be correlated with many of the factors which contribute to child abuse and neglect. According to Gelles and Straus (1979a), "the data from a number of studies indicate that child abuse is more likely to occur in families of low socio-economic status” (p. 550). This is not to say that children form rich families are not abused, but rich families are better able to hide abuse. For example, families with the economic means are likely to go to private physicians who would be hesitant to expose their ‘respectable’ clients than a doctor who see a poor patient at the general hospital or the polyclinic. As a result, this generalization can be made since children of the poor are more likely to be victims of abusive parents. According to Beck and Ogloff (1995), recent times have seen a shift in its structure to more unclear and single parent families. It has been noticed that single parent households are likely to face a greater number of challenges in caring for children than other types of households due to the lack of financial support, therefore resulting in insufficient child care and social support (Fryer 1993, UNICEF and the Planning Institute of Jamaica 1991, Chunn 1980). These households are mostly headed by women and Diez 1998, found that where a household is headed by a woman it is more likely to be poor since there are a larger number of young children between the ages of 5 and 14. As well as the fact that women are more likely to be exploited in the labour force (p.12-21). Bailey, Branche and Le franc (1998) say that “single parenthood, especially when the parent is a poor mother, has been singled out in a number of studies as a very important factor for the repression and abuse of children” (p. 22). According to Bryant and Milsom (2005), schools counselors can easily identify students who come from their home with some problems. Bethea (1999) says joblessness is another socio-economic factor which is associated with child abuse. Work or lack thereof characterizes who we are, our roles and social status within the social fabric. Eitzen and Zinn (2003) explain that unemployment “may lead to poverty, low self-esteem and depression because of being a failure in a success oriented society” (p. 461). The jobless parent may be in a position where they cannot find a job because the government lacks the essential resources to provide adequate employment. The jobless person is generally homebound therefore increasing their interaction with the children. This contact is not always positive due to added pressures associated with unemployment and there is a higher risk of children being abused as a result. (Kenny 2001, 10-11) Crosson-Tower (2002) highlighted the role of educators in preventing child abuse. The writer argues that the issue of discipline is very controversial and often arises when considering the cultural factor that contributes to child abuse and neglect. According to Eitzen and Zinn (2003), “spanking is used by nine in ten parents and is considered legitimate and acceptable behaviour” (p.459). The society in general sanctions the use of this corporal punishment as a means of controlling children's behaviour even in the school environment therefore placing them at risk for abuse. Despite the fact that there is the disagreement that physical punishment can curb unwanted behaviour, it can therefore be argued that there is a thin line between physical punishment and abuse. The question is when does suitable punishment turn into abuse? There is no accepted answer for this question, so parents are usually left to decide hence placing children at they mercy. Finkelhor and Zellman (1991) are of the view that reporting of child abuse is very important, especially when school counselors are informed of it. Zastrow (2000) says that “a significant result of child abuse is that violence breeds violence” (p.215). When a child is growing up in an abusive household, evidence has shown that as these children become parents, there is a high chance they will become abusive parents. The abused or neglected child thinks that the dysfunctional behaviours are normal and often replicates it. According to Eitzen and Zinn (2003), "a relatively common trait of abusing parents is chronic alcohol consumption" (p.461). Alcoholism seems to be accepted as a cultural norm within out society. Alcohol is legal and readily assessable since it is locally brewed for local, regional and international consumption. Foreign exchange appears to be the main focus as opposed to the fact that it poses a special problem to children in terms of how it perpetuates abuse and neglect. Finlayson and Koocher (1991) say child abuse has its impact on whole society. From a systems viewpoint, child abuse and neglect can have adverse effects at all levels in society. These levels comprise the micro, mezzo and macro or in simple terms on the individual, familial and the community. A child who is a victim of physical, sexual or emotional abuse often experience several problem, which can persist throughout adulthood if not treated. Shaffer (2002) says that “children who are neglected or abused tend to display a number of serious problems, including intellectual defects, academic difficulties, depression, social anxiety, low self esteem, and disturbed relationships with teachers and peers"(p.568). A child who is physically abused tends to be aggressive or extremely passive so as to avoid attention. Neglected children are the ones who are more likely to fail academically than those who are physically or sexually abused. They are not likely to have close friends and may exhibit developmental delays such as failure to thrive syndrome and psychosocial dwarfism. Sickness or even death can result due to neglect. Children who experience emotional abuse may develop self-blame, impulsive behaviour, psychological problems, eating disorders and difficulty in bonding. Those who experience sexual abuse may be afraid, anxious, hostile, and suicidal and are prone to run away. Criminal behaviour and other anti-social behaviours such as drug abuse could be as a result of children being abused or neglected. Hackbarth and DeVaney (1994) say that reporting child abuse is very important because it does not only affect the life of a child, but also the whole family. Where the perpetrator is someone external to the family setting, abuse can cause anxiety and dysfunction within the family as members seek to manage. This can result in violence, hate, anxiety and exhaustion of resources, that reduces the family's capability to perform vital roles such as caring for members. Where the abuser is a family member or a close family friend, relationships are broken since the family member or child might have to leave the environment. Consequently bonds are broken and this can result in the collapse of the family system. The family can be isolated or stigmatized by the community in general if the abuse occurs at the hand of a family member. Hinson and Fossey (2000) are of the opinion that teachers should know how to identify a suspected abuse. They say the issue of child abuse and neglect also has its negative impact on the community. Where an abused or neglected child resorts to anti-social, criminal or deviant behaviour, it takes a negative toll on the society. Community resources can be depleted due to theft and destruction while organizations may be unable to perform is role due to dysfunction. The community can also be stigmatized by others who may view them as problematic. Therefore, the support networks can be harshly affected as it relates to the provision of support for its members. Kalichman (1999) says mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse can solve the problem. The writer is of the view that child abuse is common and needs to be not only acknowledged but curtailed. When the child abuse is conceived many people think of physical harm and nothing else. They think of external or internal bruises, burns, fractures, wounds or poisoning and do not conceptualize actions of sexual molestation or neglect. Blum (1974) and Helfer (1982) say that “prevention can occur at three levels, primary secondary and tertiary”. The primary level takes care of the general population and seeks to prevent the condition. At the secondary level, the service goes toward the high-risk groups to prevent the continuation of the situation and at the tertiary level the target is towards the victims with the aim at minimizing consequences and prevents reoccurrence. Methodology Participants for the research will be selected randomly from the membership database of school counsellors. Previous research conducted in the United Kingdom on the topic of child abuse have characteristically examined the reporting of child abuse cases by educators as a single group. School counsellors, as obligatory reporters, are a vital group of professionals commendable of further examination with regard to child abuse reporting practices (Bottoms, 1996). The child abuse reporting practices of school counsellors have distinctive standing within the school setting and this is the reason that they are different in their style with other mandated reporters and teachers. The counselors are on the forefront in connection with child abuse concerns in schools. They are also more likely to sustain long associations with a large number of their students. As comparison the other mental health professionals often have a short-term relationships with their clients. Therefore, school counselors naturally promote conditions in which students would be more probably to report abusive cases with them. Furthermore, school counselors are more familiar with the other micro-systems in the life of students, such as peers, neighbourhoods and family. Following questions have been selected for the study: 1. What are the child abuse reporting practices of school counsellors in Britain? 2. While making decisions about reporting or not reporting a child abuse case, what factors a school counselor considers? 3. Do school counselors feel confident while reporting a child abuse? 4. Do school counselors need further training for finding a suspected abuse?   Method The research questionnaire will be sent to sample of 500 school counselors all over the country who have been randomly selected from member databases of school counsellors. The counsellors are picked at random and without biased or prejudice. The databases that they will be selected from are forums that school counsellors can join for support and to gain more information and tidbits on how best to handle children. The purpose of using questionnaires will allow for simpler answering of the directed questions. Instead of receiving information that is irrelevant to the research, the study can pose the questions that do have a role in the project. Furthermore, the questionnaire will enable participants to remain anonymous; they also have the option to back out of doing the questionnaire if they feel that they are uncomfortable or unskilled enough to answering the questions.   Research Materials The questionnaire will be designed on the basis of the results of some previous studies. Some previous studies introduced a questionnaire looking at training of school counselors in child abuse, awareness of capability to recognise abuse, child abuse suspicions and reporting practices, obstacles for reporting, their role as an authority in child abuse reporting recommendations, and awareness of mandatory reporting legislation (Charlton, 2009) (Starr, 1991). The questionnaire will have 21 questions with three parts — the general idea of school counselor child abuse, experience in reporting of cases and awareness of child protection services. Research methods The database used to obtain information on school counselors for the survey were accessed via the individual schools as well as online and physical communities. To promote unity and offer advice and assistance, these databases exist to give school counselors support as they go about their jobs of helping schoolchildren. These databases continue information of the counselors in the school systems; the information is rather limited after that. To protect identities, especially in cases where something came from child abuse cases, the databases are set up to allow for privacy, though not so much anonymity. This helped to allow for a lack of bias when it came to picking the subjects of the study. The only possible problem that had been anticipated in regard to getting responses from school counselors was the lack of response, or many of the surveys not being returned. However, this was avoided by sending out more surveys to more school counselors than was was actually needed for the purpose of the research. In this way, I would have extras if need be, or there would be less of a chance that I would have less than I needed to complete the research. The implementation of surveys was due to their ease of use and the ability to provide the participants with the required information to the study. With surveys, the researcher can include all of the information that is truly relevant to the study as well as help direct the responses of the participants towards what can be used for the study. Other methods, such as interviews, can lead into gathering information that serves no purpose for the study, thus wasting time and resources. Ethnography could not have been used in this study as customs of various ethnicities are irrelevant to the purpose of this study. Even questionnaires would have prompted for more information than what was required to complete the research. Thus, the surveys were the best chance at obtaining all of the information required for the research assignment without being bombarded with irrelevant information. Ethical issues that might have arisen included the privacy of students that had gone to the selected counselors or the administering of advice from the counselors. Unless the child is in immediate danger, most counselors are under a privacy code that gives them no choice but to hold their tongues in regard to what students tell them. These issues are avoided through the use of the survey, which does not divulge into the privacy between students and school counselors. Conclusion It can be said that school counselors have a great to play for preventing child abuse and school is the place where abuse cases can be identified easily. 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