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Essay on Child Abuse throughout History
Child abuse consists of any act or failure to act that endangers a child's physical or emotional health and development. A person caring for a child is abusive if he or she fails to nurture the child, physically injures the child, or relates sexually to the child.Child abuse has been defined as an act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker that results in the death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or exploitation of a child or which places the child in an imminent risk of serious harm.
Child abuse laws raise difficult legal and political issues, pitting the right of children to be free from harm against the right of families to privacy and the rights of parents to raise and discipline their children without government interference.The exploitation of children at the hands of parents or custodians has a long history. For many centuries, this behavior was shielded by a system of laws that gave children few if any rights. Under English common law, children were treated as belongings owned by the parents and parents, mainly fathers, had immense scope over the treatment and discipline of children. This viewpoint was carried to the American colonies and incorporated into early laws in the United States.
Statutes make up one component of a state's child protective services; another factor, the child protective services agency, implements the statutes. Reporting statutes, which vary from state to state, require that certain professionals report suspected child abuse, whereas others, for example neighbors, are entitled but not required to. Other statutes define child abuse. Such as, in some states, physical abuse happens only when a child suffers a specified type of injury, while in other states; any severe damage that is not accidental in nature is considered abuse.......
