What Is Child Abuse

Lesson Goal: At the end of the lecture the participants
would be able to enhance their knowledge, attitude and

skills in dealing with abused children to provide efficient
and effective delivery of service.
Learning Objectives:
1. To know who is a child;
2. To identify the common signs and symptoms of
abuse in a child
3. To create awareness as to the features of an abuser
WHO IS A CHILD?
Source: RA 7610
• A person who is
 Below 18 years of age
 Above 18 years of age who
has a mental or physical
disability that renders him.
 Unable to care for himself
fully
 Unable to protect himself
from cruelty, abuse, neglect,
exploitation & discrimination
WHAT IS CHILD ABUSE?
Source: RA 7610
• Refers to the maltreatment, whether habitual or not, of

the child which includes any of the following:
 Psychological and physical abuse, neglect, cruelty,
sexual abuse and emotional maltreatment.
 Any acts by deeds or words which debases, degrades
or demeans the intrinsic worth and dignity of a child as
a human being.
 Unreasonable deprivation of his basic needs for
survival, such as food and shelter or;
 Failure to immediately give medical treatment to an
injured child resulting in serious impairment of his
growth and development or in his permanent
incapacity or deaf.
Common Forms
of Abuse
a) SEXUAL ABUSE
• Child sexual abuse refers to sexual abuse
of a child by an adult, or some other person
significantly older or in a position of power
or control over the child, where the child is
used for sexual stimulation of another
person.
Physical Signs of Sexual Abuse:
• Bed wetting
• Waking up during the night sweating, screaming or
shaking with nightmares.
• Masturbating excessively.
• Showing unusually aggressive behavior toward
family members, friends, toys, and pets.
• Complaining of pain while urinating or having a
bowel movement, or exhibiting symptoms of
genital infections such as offensive odors, or
symptoms of a sexually transmitted disease.
• pregnancy
• sexually transmitted infections
• Showing unusual fear of a certain place or location.
Withdrawing from previously enjoyable activities,
like school or school performance change.
• Asking an unusual amount of questions about
human sexuality.
b) PHYSICAL ABUSE
• Child physical abuse is the intentional
infliction of injury on a child. In most cases,
the person causing the abuse is a family
member or caregiver.
Generally, physical abuse is characterized by
physical injury, such as bruises and fractures that
result from:
• Punching
• Beating
• Kicking
• Biting
• Shaking
• Throwing
• Stabbing
• Choking
• Hitting with a hand, stick, strap, or other object
• Burning
Physical Signs of
Physical Abuse:
• Has unexplained burns, bites, bruises, broken bones, or

black eyes
• Has fading bruises or other marks noticeable after an
absence from school
• Seems frightened of the parents and protests or cries when
it is time to go home
• Shrinks at the approach of adults
• Reports injury by a parent or another adult caregiver
Consider the possibility of physical abuse
when the parent or other adult caregiver:
• Consider the possibility of physical abuse when the parent

or other adult caregiver:
• Offers conflicting, unconvincing, or no explanation for the
child's injury
• Describes the child as "evil," or in some other very
negative way
• Uses harsh physical discipline with the child
• Has a history of abuse as a child
Is corporal punishment the same as
physical abuse?
• Corporal punishment, the use of physical force with the intent of

inflicting bodily pain, but not injury, for the purpose of correction or
control, used to be a very common form of discipline: most of us
know it as spanking or paddling. And many of us were spanked as
children without damage to body or psyche.
• The widespread use of physical punishment, however, doesn’t make it

a good idea. Most child-care experts have come to agree that corporal
punishment sends the message to children that physical force is an
appropriate response to problems or opposition. The level of force
used by an angry or frustrated parent can easily get out of hand and
lead to injury. Even if it doesn’t, what a child learns from being hit as
punishment is less about why conduct is right or wrong than about
behaving well — or hiding bad behavior — out of fear of being hit.
c) CHILD NEGLECT
• Child Neglect is defined in terms of failure

to provide for the child's basic needs, such
as of adequate food, clothing, shelter,
supervision, or medical care.
There are three basic types of neglect.
Physical Neglect Failure to provide adequate food, clothing, or hygiene
Reckless disregard for the child’s safety, such as inattention to hazards in
the home, drunk driving with kids in the car, leaving a baby unattended
Refusal to provide or delay in providing necessary health care for the child
Abandoning children without providing for their care or expelling children
from the home without arranging for their care
Educational Failure to enroll a child in school

Neglect Permitting or causing a child to miss too many days of school
Refusal to follow up on obtaining services for a child’s special educational
needs
Emotional Neglect Inadequate nurturing or affection
Exposure of the child to spousal abuse
Permitting a child to drink alcohol or use recreational drugs
Failure to intervene when the child demonstrates antisocial behavior
Refusal of or delay in providing necessary psychological care
Some signs of child neglect:
• Clothes that are dirty, ill-fitting, ragged, and/or not suitable for
the weather
• Unwashed appearance; offensive body odor
• Indicators of hunger: asking for or stealing food, going through
trash for food, eating too fast or too much when food is
provided for a group
• Apparent lack of supervision: wandering alone, home alone, left
in a car
• Colds, fevers, or rashes left untreated; infected cuts; chronic
tiredness
• In schoolchildren, frequent absence or lateness; troublesome,
disruptive behavior or its opposite, withdrawal
• In babies, failure to thrive; failure to relate to other people or to
surroundings
d) EMOTIONAL ABUSE
• Emotional abuse - involves behavior that
interferes with a child’s mental health or social
development: one website calls it “the systematic
tearing down of another human being.” Such
abuse can range from verbal insults to acts of
terror, and it’s almost always a factor in the other
three categories of abuse. While emotional abuse
by itself doesn’t involve the infliction of physical
pain or inappropriate physical contact, it can have
more long-lasting negative psychological effects
than either physical abuse or sexual abuse.
Examples of emotional child abuse include:
Belittling or shaming the child: name-calling, making negative

Verbal abuse comparisons to others, telling the child he or she is “no good,"
"worthless," "a mistake."
Habitual blaming: telling the child that everything is his or her
fault.
Withholding Ignoring or disregarding the child
affection Lack of affection and warmth: Failure to hug, praise, express
love for the child
Extreme These are actions that are meant to isolate and terrorize a child,
such as tying the child to a fixture or piece of furniture or
punishment locking a child in a closet or dark room.
This involves causing a child to witness or participate in
Corruption inappropriate behavior, such as criminal activities, drug or
alcohol abuse, or acts of violence.
Emotional Effects of Child Abuse
• Low self-esteem
• Depression and anxiety
• Aggressive behavior/anger issues
• Relationship difficulties
• Alienation and withdrawal
• Personality disorders
• Clinginess, neediness
• Flashbacks and nightmares
Behavioral Effects of Child Abuse
• Problems in school and work
• Prostitution
• Teen pregnancy
• Suicide attempts
• Criminal or antisocial behavior
• Alcohol and drug abuse
• Eating disorders
• Spousal abuse
CHARACTERISTICS OF
ABUSER
• was abused as a child
• abuses alcohol/ drugs
• socially isolated
• poor relationship with spouse
• believes child enjoys sexual contact
• believes sexual contact expresses familial love
• possessive and jealous of the victim
• is abnormally attentive to the victim
• low self-esteem
• poor impulse control
CHARACTERISTICS OF
ABUSER
• DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT THE
CHILD
– cares more about what will happen to him or her than what
happens to the child
– is not bothered by child’s lack of basic necessities nor the child’s
behavior due to his/her negligence
• DESCRIBES THE CHILD AS BAD, DIFFERENT, EVIL
• immature
• depressed
• socially isolated
• mentally retarded
• threatens the child
- with severe punishment
- with abandonment
CITYANTI-CHILD ABUSE
NETWORK (ACAN)
Services extended to survivors:
• Comfort giving, counseling
• Educational / Financial Assistance
• Referrals:
 BGH-WCPU
 BGH-Psych Dep’t.
 PNP
 Prosecutor’s Office/ Cawed’s Law office
 Silungan Center/ Consuelo Home
 Sunflower Children’s Center
 Life skills / livelihood assistance to families

What Is Child Abuse

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Lesson Goal: At the end of the lecture the participants

would be able to enhance their knowledge, attitude and

• Refers to the maltreatment, whether habitual or not, of

• Has unexplained burns, bites, bruises, broken bones, or

• Consider the possibility of physical abuse when the parent

• Corporal punishment, the use of physical force with the intent of

• The widespread use of physical punishment, however, doesn’t make it

• Child Neglect is defined in terms of failure

Educational Failure to enroll a child in school

Belittling or shaming the child: name-calling, making negative

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