Child Abuse: Types of Abuse & How to Spot Them

 

 

Abuse can happen to a child at any age, from birth to when they have left school. It can happen in well-off families and in poor families; it can happen to black children and white children; it can happen to able-bodied children and to children with disabilities.

 

Abuse can happen because of the way adults or other children and young people behave towards a child; it can also result from adults failing to provide proper care for the children they look after. One child may suffer different kinds of abuse at the same time

 

 

 

 

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This is when someone physically hurts or harms a child. Hitting, squeezing, biting, or twisting a child's arms or legs, can cause injuries like bruises, grazes, cuts or broken bones. Sometimes, someone burns a child, perhaps by holding a part of their body against something very hot or by scalding. Violently shaking a baby can cause brain injuries, which can lead to permanent disability. Poisoning a child, perhaps by giving them alcohol or drugs, and deliberately making them ill is also physical abuse.

 

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Neglect can result when adults fail to meet the physical or emotional needs of the children they are responsible for. All children need food, clothing, warmth, love and attention, in order to grow and develop properly.

 

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This is when someone forces a child to take part in sexual activity which the child does not really understand and to which the child is not able to give informed consent. The abuser may use different methods to persuade the child to cooperate, like bribery, threats or physical force. Sexual abuse can take many different forms, from touching to intercourse. Often, there will be no physical signs. It can happen to boys as well as girls. Sexual abuse can have long-lasting effects: some children who have been abused in this way go on to abuse other children; some find as they grow up that they are unable to have close relationships with other people; others deliberately harm themselves because they feel so bad about what has happened. Children who are being sexually abused often tell an adult they trust -that person must be prepared to listen, hear and take action.

 

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Emotional abuse occurs when a child's basic needs for love, security, praise and recognition are left unmet. It may result in a child becoming withdrawn, nervous, unhappy or lacking in confidence; a child may be isolated and find it difficult to make friends, perhaps because they don't behave like other children.

 

Emotional abuse may happen when an adult constantly behaves in an uncaring or hostile way towards a child, perhaps by bullying, rejecting, frightening, criticising or scape-goating the child. An adult may behave in an inconsistent way all of the time so the child never knows what reaction to expect. Some adult carers can be very possessive or over protective towards a child. In severe cases, children may be subjected to cruel treatment and punishment like being locked up in cold dark surroundings. Basic needs like food, drink and warmth may be withheld or have to be 'earned'. 

 

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