Acknowledgement

It would be impossible to more than scratch the surface in

the form of acknowledgements to the many individuals who
have helped me in completing this project. However, some
have contributed so much that their names literally jump off
the pages of my mind and demand recognition
I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to
Afsheen ma’am as well as our principal, Parag sir who gave
me the golden opportunity to do this wonderful project on
the topic “Child Abuse” which helped me in doing a lot of
research and i came to know about so many new facts.
I would be remiss and even ungrateful if I did not
acknowledge the help given to me by my friends and parents
to complete this project within the limited time frame.
Table Of Contents
Sr. No. Content Pg. No.

1. Acknowledgement
2. Introduction
3. Causes
4. Symptoms
5. Effects
6. Solutions
7. Conclusion
8. Online Case Study
9. 2nd Online Case Study
10. Case Study
11. Bibliography
 Introduction
Child abuse or child maltreatment is physical, sexual,
and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or
children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may
include any act or failure to act by a parent or a caregiver that
results in actual or potential harm to a child, and can occur in a
child's home, or in the organizations, schools or communities
the child interacts with.
The World Health Organization distinguishes four types of child
maltreatment: physical abuse; sexual abuse; emotional (or
psychological) abuse; and neglect.

Physical abuse
The WHO defines physical abuse as:
Intentional use of physical force against the child that results
in – or has a high likelihood of resulting in – harm for the child's
health, survival, development or dignity. This includes hitting,
beating, kicking, shaking, biting, strangling, scalding, burning,
poisoning and suffocating. Much physical violence against
children in the home is inflicted with the object of punishing.
Sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a form of child abuse in which an
adult or older adolescent abuses a child for sexual
stimulation. Sexual abuse refers to the participation of a child in
a sexual act aimed toward the physical gratification or the
financial profit of the person committing the act.
Psychological abuse
In 1995, APSAC defined it as: spurning, terrorizing, isolating,
exploiting, corrupting, denying emotional responsiveness, or
neglect" or "A repeated pattern of caregiver behaviour or
extreme incident(s) that convey to children that they are
worthless, flawed, unloved, unwanted, endangered, or only of
value in meeting another's needs." Psychological maltreatment
is the most challenging and prevalent form of child abuse and
neglect.

Neglect
Child neglect is the failure of a parent or other person with
responsibility for the child, to provide needed food, clothing,
shelter, medical care, or supervision to the degree that the
child's health, safety or well-being may be threatened with
harm. Neglect is also a lack of attention from the people
surrounding a child, and the non-provision of the relevant and
adequate necessities for the child's survival, which would be a
lack of attention, love, and nurturing.
CAUSES OF CHILD ABUSE
 history of child abuse or neglect during their own
childhood
 having a substance use disorder
 physical or mental health conditions, such as
depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD)
 poor parent-child relationships
 socioeconomic stress from financial issues,
unemployment, or medical problems
 a lack of understanding about basic childhood
development (expecting children to be capable of
tasks before they’re ready)
 a lack of parenting skills to help cope with the
pressures and struggles of raising a child
 a lack of support from family members, friends,
neighbors, or the community
 caring for a child with intellectual or physical
disabilities that make adequate care more
challenging
 family stress or crisis caused by domestic violence,
relationship turmoil, separation, or divorce
 personal mental health issues, including low self-
confidence and feelings of incompetence or shame
 SYMPTOMS
a. Unexplained injuries, such as bruises, fractures or
burns
b. Injuries that don't match the given explanation
c. Sexual behavior or knowledge that's inappropriate for
the child's age
d. Pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection
e. Delayed or inappropriate emotional development
f. Loss of self-confidence or self-esteem
g. Poor hygiene
h. Lack of clothing or supplies to meet physical needs
i. Rebellious or defiant behavior
j. Self-harm or attempts at suicide
k. Depression, anxiety or unusual fears, or a sudden
loss of self-confidence
l. Frequent absences from school
 EFFECTS OF CHILD ABUSE
1) Physical disabilities
2) Learning disabilities
3) Suicide attempts or self-injury
4) High-risk sexual behaviors or teen pregnancy
5) Low self-esteem
6) Difficulty establishing or maintaining relationships
7) Behavior disorders
8) Depression
9) Anxiety disorders
10) Post-traumatic stress disorder
 SOLUTIONS TO PREVENT CHILD ABUSE
Each day more than five children die as a result of abuse or
neglect. On average, a child abuse report is made every 10
seconds for a total of approximately 3.3 million child abuse
reports annually. Childhelp has developed the following child
abuse prevention guidelines to help keep your child, or a child
you care for, from becoming a statistic.

 Participate in your child’s activities and get to know your

child’s friends.
 Teach your child to use their voice to allow them to
prevent abuse in their own life.
 Ask questions; for example, when your child tells you he
or she doesn’t want to be with someone, this could be a
red flag.
 Listen to them.
 Be aware of changes in your child’s behavior or attitude
and inquire into it.
 Teach your child what to do if you and your child become
separated while away from home.
 Be alert for any talk that reveals premature sexual
understanding.
 Pay attention when someone shows greater than normal
interest in your child.
 Make certain your child’s school or day care centre will
release him/her only to you or someone you officially
designate.
 If you come to know about any child abuse cases, report it
to National Child Abuse Hotline.
CONCLUSION
Preventing child abuse is not simply a matter of parents doing a
better job, but rather it is about creating a context in which
“doing better” is easier. Enlightened public policy and the
replication of high-quality publicly supported interventions are
only part of what is needed to successfully combat child abuse.
It remains important to remind the public that
child abuse and neglect are serious threats to a child’s healthy
development and that overt violence toward children and a
persistent lack of attention to their care and supervision are
unacceptable. Individuals have the ability to accept personal
responsibility for reducing acts of child abuse and neglect by
providing support to each other and offering protection to all
children within their family and their community. As sociologist
Robert Wuthnow has noted, every volunteer effort or act of
compassion finds its justification not in offering solutions for
society’s problems but in offering hope “both that the good
society we envision is possible and that the very act of helping
each other gives us strength and a common destiny”
(Wuthnow, 1991: 304). When the problem is owned by all
individuals and communities, prevention will progress, and
fewer children will remain at risk.
 ONLINE CASE STUDY
Name and Surname: Daria
Date and place of birth: Rupea (11 years old)
Date of the assessment: 2015
Daria (11 years old) is the daughter of D. A. and D. M., in December
2015 she was a rape victim. Currently, the child is under protective
measures at D.G.A.S.P.C. or emergency placement at the Center for
Community Services, Rupea.

Daria declared that one day, when "I was losing a lot of blood... my
mother washed me and and said to G. (the rapist uncle) that she was
going to take me to the hospital the next day ..." Because during the
psychological evaluation we found out that Daria was exposed to
numerous traumatic and critical situations and she was exposed to
situations of neglect by her mother, it was considered necessary to
keep the child in a safe environment, and for a period of time, visits
from the mother were limited. Also, given the effects that sexual
abuse has on the development of a child - depressive states, anxiety,
low self-image, emotional disorders, relationship problems,
development of inappropriate sexual behaviour when the child
becomes an adult, etc., Daria should be included in an intensive
program of psychological counselling.

Psychological assessment

The discussions with the child and the psychological evaluation took
place at the Centre for Community Service and were made in the
presence of a psychologist. In 2015 (immediately after the abuse)
took place the first contact with the child to carry out the
psychological assessment, but Daria had a depressive dispositional
mood, with frequent episodes of crying, the accommodation in the
center had not been yet created - the girl was visited almost daily by
her mother and relatives (maternal grandmother, godmother of the
child).

Psychological instruments

The psychological observation, history, semi structured clinical

interview, Standard Raven Matrices, Rey test memory, language,
perception, projective techniques (Person Test, House test, Family
test).

Conclusions of the assessment

The girl sets a good contact with the assessor, building a therapeutic
relationship based on emotional security, unconditional acceptance
and trust. She communicates easily with the relationship potential
broadened in time, collaborating well to the evidence.

Some deficit to maintain and mobilize attention.

Low Mnemonic capacity at retaining and reproducing information in

MSD; Recalling events of MLD with slight hesitation or repetitive
defence caused by emotional trauma.

Weak intellect (at the border with the laminar intellect) based on the
lack of age appropriate stimulation

Emotions - mixed emotional disorder with anxiety-depressive and

maladaptive components, post-trauma. She presents an increased
emotional liability, low resistance to frustration, excessive crying,
being easily influenced. Volitional and motivational level raised,
supported during the task
The psychosocial maturation level - immaturity, low capacity for
integration in the community, low adaptability to the new
environment, low self-image, interacting problems, the development
of a age-inappropriate sexual behaviour.
 nd
2 Online Case Study
Six year-old girl, the second of four children in her family, was brought to
the University Medical School Hospital by her stepmother with loss of
consciousness and a story of falling from a sofa. Physical examination
revealed absence of pupillary light reflex with fixed, dilated pupils, and
absence of breathing and pulse. She was intubated but did not respond
to cardiopulmonary resuscitation. She was pronounced dead after thirty
minutes of resuscitation. Postmortem examination of the child was
performed one day after death, which revealed numerous different
colored old and new bruising between 0.5-1 cm on her neck, chest,
back, and lower extremities, a red-purple old bruise of 1 cm over her
right eyebrow, another red-purple old bruise of 0.5 cm on the right side
of her forehead, and an old wound with dried scabbing of 6 cm at the
back of her left shoulder. In internal examination, there was a
widespread red new ecchymosis on the internal surface of her occipital
scalp and over the vertex, and a linear occipital fracture. There were also
occipital subdural hemorrhage, subarachnoidal hemorrhage at the left
temporal lobe, and brain edema. The cross sections of her lungs were
edematous, and there was a laceration at the right renal capsule. The
cause of death was brain damage due to blunt head trauma. The eyes
were not removed for retinal examination. Forensic report was filed with
the police department.

At the end of the forensic investigation, her stepmother confessed that

she slammed the child against a wall because of bedwetting. After the
stepmother hit the child's head against the wall, she also kicked her until
the child became unconscious. To resuscitate her, stepmother took her
to the bathroom, shook her by the shoulders and wetted her head by the
use of a hose. The girl slipped from her hand and hit her head against
the wall again, which started wheezy breathing but she did not gain
consciousness. The stepmother was convicted with involuntary
manslaughter in Criminal Court. On appeal, seven months later, she was
acquitted. There was no report filed with Child Protective Services. None
of the other siblings was assessed for possible abuse. No expert witness
was invited to trial.
 CASE STUDY
Name and Surname: abc
Date and place of birth: Maharashtra (8 years old)
Date of the assessment: 2019
Abc (8 years old) was repeatedly raped by her stepfather and her
mother didn’t know about that. One day, one of her neighbours
heard the screams of abc and contacted the Arpan counsellors as
they were not sure whether to report it to the police or not. The
Arpan counsellors immediately started working on the case and
informed the concerned authorities too.

The counsellors did not observe any changes in the behaviour of Abc
but she had some nightmares and irregularity in sleeping cycle due
to the trauma. She also had certain physical damages due to the
pain.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_abuse
2) https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/child-
abuse/symptoms-causes/syc-20370864
3) https://www.healthline.com/health/causes-of-child-abuse
4) https://www.childhelp.org/story-resource-center/child-abuse-
prevention/
5) http://www.afahc.ro/ro/afases/2016/SOCIO/BALAN.pdf
6) https://adoption.com/wiki/Abuse_and_Neglect:_Conclusion_a
nd_References