CHILD ABUSE


Since 1983, Child Abuse Prevention Month has become institutionalized nationwide. Each year in April, organizations such as the BSA join forces to promote public awareness of child abuse and its prevention.

What is Child Abuse?
Child abuse can be defined as an injury or pattern of injury to a child that is non accidental. There are four types of abuse:

physical, emotional, and sexual abuse and neglect.

What Is the Extent of the Problem?
In 1996, more than 3 million children were reported for abuse and neglect to child protective service (CPS) agencies in the United States. Almost 1 million of the cases were substantiated by CPS as child maltreatment.

Approximately three children die each day as a result of abuse and neglect.

It is likely that many cases of abuse go unreported. Parents who grew up with abuse may abuse their children because they are not aware of alternative parenting techniques, or they think abusive parenting is normal. Constant criticism or neglect of a child's emotional needs can have devastating effects on a child but often goes unreported and unnoticed by society.

How Does the Problem Affect Society?
Child development theory suggests that the relationships a child develops in the first year of life provide a basis for the child's future emotional and social development. Disruptions in the bonding process or lack of interaction and nurturing may result in significant problems later in terms of school readiness, antisocial behavior, and interpersonal relationships.

Childhood histories of abuse and neglect are commonly reported by many adult criminals, juvenile delinquents, teenage drug addicts, and prostitutes.

Adults who have experienced abuse often find it difficult to develop or maintain close relationships; experience sometimes overwhelming or unmanageable feelings of sadness, fear, and anger; depend on alcohol, drugs, or food to cover feeling of humiliation, shame, and low self-esteem; and experience physical ailments, sexual problems, and other signs of trauma.

Adults who have been abused may find it difficult to parent effectively, hold a job, or build healthy interpersonal relationships.

What Are the Costs?
It is estimated that for every $3 spent on prevention, we save at least $6 that might have been spent on child welfare services, special education services, medical care, foster care, counseling, and housing for juvenile offenders.

When children are not allowed to grow up into healthy, functioning adults, society experiences a tremendous loss in human potential.

What Can We Do?

Get the youth of the neighborhoods and communities you serve registered in the safety of the age-appropriate Scouting program.

Make sure every adult volunteer, concerned parent, and BSA youth member receives BSA Youth Protection training.

As a BSA professional, be an advocate in the community for child abuse prevention.

For more information, contact the national Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, 332 South Michigan Avenue, Suite 1600, Chicago, IL 60604; phone 312-663-3520 Web site: http://www.childabuse.org.




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