Child abuse is any form of cruelty to a child. It is any behaviour that causes harm to a child. It can be physical, emotional, sexual, or in the form of neglect.
There are a number of things that we do to our children or fail to do for them, that can cause lasting pain and suffering. “Children have the right to be protected from all forms of violence. They must be kept safe from harm. They must be given proper care by those looking after them”All forms of cruelty to children are damaging. Of all cases of child abuse, only a small number involve total strangers. Children are far more likely to be abused by someone they know and trust, such as a parent, carer, other family members or family friend. Children from all walks of life suffer abuse; however some children are more at risk than others. These include children who are living away from home with other family members or strangers, children with disability as well as orphans who are living on the streets. African children can suffer additional risk because of many cultural and traditional practices which are harmful. Examples of such cultural practices include Female Genital Mutilation, using children as Domestic Servants, Widowhood and Inheritance rites, Child Marriages, reliance on extreme forms of Physical punishments as ways of disciplining children as well as the belief in and practice of Witchcraft and the accom- panying branding of children as witches or as possessed by evil spirits.
Although there are other categories and sub-categories, most forms of child abuse will fall under one or more of these.
PHYSICAL CHILD ABUSE:
Any intentional physical contact resulting in injury, pain or discomfort. It may include inflicting pain through beating, hitting, punching, kicking, putting pepper in the eyes or private parts, pouring hot oil on the body, forcing a child to take a cold shower in freezing weather, or to dip his hands in hot water, force-feeding a child by holding him down and forc- ing food into his mouth, refusing a child food as a form of punishment. It also includes forcing a child to undertake strenuous and excessive physical punishment like kneeling down straight, raising up the arms, bending over, carrying a heavy object – all for long periods of time.
EMOTIONAL CHILD ABUSE:
leading to severe effects on the child’s emotional well being and development. This includes verbally abusing or cursing a child, telling a child they are worthless or useless, shouting at, rejecting or with- holding love and affection from a child, humiliating, degrading or denying a child their worth and rights as human beings. The deliberate absence of a parent in a child’s life or preventing a child from having access to his or her parents is a form of emotional abuse. Forcing a naturally left-handed child to use their right hand is emotional abuse. It may also in- clude preventing a child from participating in normal social interaction, like not going out to play, forcing children to study non stop, without any form of recreation as well as witnessing other people being abused especially in the case of domestic violence.
SEXUAL CHILD ABUSE:
Having inappropriate sexual relationships with children. This happens when an adult pressurises, forces or tricks a child into taking part in any sexual activity. Such activities might include kissing, touching the young person’s genitals,or breasts, having full sexual intercourse with a child (rape), performing oral sex on a child or forcing a child to perform oral sex,encouraging a child to take part in the production of or to look at pornographic materials, sending letters, emails or text messages of a sexual nature to a child and encouraging a child to behave in sexually inappropriate manners. Children married off at an early age are also victims of sexual abuse as their roles as “wives” include having unprotected sex with their “husbands”. Female Genital Mutilation is also a form of sexual abuse as it involves mutilating a girl’s sexual organs.
NEGLECT CHILD ABUSE:
A persistent lack of proper care of children, the failure to provide them with proper nourishment, warmth, medical care, education, a safe environment and housing. It is the failure to act to protect a child from danger or risk of significant harm as described above. Adults who notice that children are being abused and neither say, nor do anything about it, are guilty of neglect. It is also when children are left without appropriate care and supervision.
Whether it is physical, emotional, sexual abuse or neglect, a child who is being abused may suffer more than one form of abuse at the same time. It is important for us as adults to be vigilant about the welfare of children in our community; in our families, our churches, our mosques, and in our friends’ homes, at weddings, naming ceremonies, funerals, parties, at all our gatherings and on the streets. There are children around us everywhere, suffering in silence and hoping someone will notice their plight and be bold enough to intervene. It is important for us to know what to look out for and to be able to identify a child who is suffering from or at risk of abuse. These are the signs or Indicators
PHYSICAL ABUSE
Due to the texture and colour of the skin, many bruises and other injuries to an African child might not be so apparent. In that regard it is important to be vigilant and be able to identify other signs of physical abuse including:
• Black, swollen eyes, broken bones
• Injuries that the child or their parent or carer cannot explain or explain unconvincingly
• Untreated or inadequately treated injuries
• Injuries to parts of the body where accidents
are unlikely, such as thighs, back, abdomen
• Bruising which looks like hand or finger marks • Cigarette burns, human bites
• Scalds and burns
EMOTIONAL ABUSE
Is more difficult to detect because there are no visible signs on the body. However, there other signs to look out for, including:
• Hyperactive or disruptive behaviour
• Extreme behaviour patterns – withdrawn/
aggressive/demanding
• Over adaptive behaviour, i.e.being too well
mannered
• Inhibited play
• Unusually fearful of consequences of actions
resulting in lying
• Threatening or attempting suicide
• Running away from home
• Usually the scapegoat of the family • Anorexic or bulimic, insomnia
• Low self esteem
• Poor peer relations
SEXUAL ABUSE
Children who are being sexually abused may show a number of physical and emotional changes. But remember that these signs do not always mean that a child is being abused there may be other explanations. Signs of sexual abuse can include:
• Pain, itching, bruising or bleeding in the genital or anal areas
• Genital discharge or urinary tract infections
• Stomach pains or discomfort walking or sitting • Sexually transmitted infections
• Pregnancy
• Vaginal/penile discharge
• Displaying sexualised behaviour, knowledge or
interests
• Insomnia, fear of the opposite sex, anxiety,
regressive behaviour (eg. bedwetting)
NEGLECT
There are occasions when parents find it difficult to cope with the many demands of caring for children. This is especially so for many African parents in the UK today with little or no access to friends and families who can provide support with child rearing. However, this does not necessarily mean that their children are being neglected. Neglect involves ongoing, severe failure to meet a child’s needs. Here are some signs of possible neglect:
• The child seems underweight and is very small for their age
• They are often dirty, are unwashed and have uncut and uncombed hair
• They have skin rashes, body odour and dirty thick nails
• They are poorly clothed, with inadequate protection from the weather
• They are always tired and lethargic and often doze off in class
• They are often absent from school for no apparent reason
• They are regularly left alone, or in charge of younger children
• They are not in school and there is no evidence of home-schooling arranged for them
• They are not registered with a GP or they are ill and are not taken to hospital
• The child is always hungry or steals food.
Ms Ribadu writes from Yola
