CHILD ABUSE

Child abuse can be classified as-

i.  Child maltreatment is defined as intentional harm or threat of harm to a child by a person who is acting in the role of a caretaker.
ii.     Health care providers should care for children
iii.    Four types of child maltreatment are described:

a.      Physical abuse
b.      Sexual abuse
c.      Emotional abuse
d.      Child neglect

iv.    Child neglect is most prevalent form of child abuse accounting for more than 50% of cases. It is defined as failure to provide for a child’s basic, physical, emotional, educational and medical needs. The types are:

a.      Physical neglect is failure to provide adequate cloth, food, hygiene, protection, inadequate supervision with risk of harm to the child.
b.      Emotional neglect is failure to provide love, affection, security, emotional support and failure to provide a psychological care when needed, spouse abuse in presence of the child.
c.      Educational neglect is failure to enroll a child in the school or ensure school attendance, home school, failure to address specific educational needs.
d.      Medical neglect is refusal to seek or delay in seeking medical care resulting in damage or risk of child health.

v.      Emotional abuse is defined as a child abuse that results in impaired psychological growth and development. It is a repeated pattern of damaging interactions between the caregiver and the child that becomes typical of the relationship and conveys to the child that he is unheard or unwanted. Categories are rejecting (refusing to counsel), terrorizing (verbal assault or threat), ignoring (depriving essential interactions), corrupting (stimulating antisocial behavior), verbal assault (abusing or hammering), over pressuring (criticizing age-appropriate behaviors as inadequate).

vi.     Physical abuse and sexual abuse: Physical abuse invariably involves injury or trauma. Sexual abuse is defined as attempted sexual touching of another person without their consent and includes sexual act (rape, sodomy – oral-genital and anal-genital contact) or fondling. The generally accepted definition is when one engages in sexual activity in which he cannot give consent, unprepared for apprehension or an activity that violates law or social taboos of society. This includes fondling and all forms of oral-genital, genital or anal contact with the child whether the child is clothed or unclothed as well as in touching abuses such as exhibitionism or voyeurism or involving the child in pornography.