Empathy

 This involves puting oneself in other people's shoes

 It is the ability to imagine what life is like for another person even in a
situation one is not familiar with
 It is understanding and internalizing their circumstances and finding ways
to lessen the burden by sharing with them rather than
condemning/looking down on them
 It also involves supporting the person soo that they can make their own
decisions and stand on their own

PEER RESISTANCE

 It means standing for one's values and beliefs in the face of conflicting
ideas/ practices from peers
 It is resisting the temptation of going along with the crowd
 Friends can come up with unacceptable and dangerous suggestions and
may put pressure on their peers to accept
 Desist from things that you think that are wrong
 Be able to defend your decisions
 It involves assertiveness, empathy, interpersonal relationships, and the
ability to compromise on issues without compromising your principles,
being able to cope with potentially threatening /risky situations in
interpersonal relations
 It is closely linked to conflict management and refusal skills

NON VIOLENT CONFLICT RESOLUTION

  it is connected to interpersonal relations, negotiating skills and coping
with stress and emotions
 They are inevitable and sometimes necessary but the skill of non violent
conflit resolution insures that such conflits don't become distractive
 Usually if you respect yourself and others it is easier to avoid conflits and
resolve them

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

 It is essential in human relations

 It means being able to express ourselves both verbally and non verbally in
ways that are appropriate to our cultures and traditions
 It means being able to express our opinions, desires, needs and fears
 It includes listening skills and understanding how others are
communicating as well as realising how one communicates in different
ways

CRITICAL THINKING

 Ablity to analyze information and experiences in an objective manner

CREATIVE THINKING

 It contributes both decision making and problem solving by enablimg us

to explore the available alternatives and consequences of our actions/non
action
  There is no one way of doing things and human life is not static therefore
people should come up with new things

DECISION MAKING

 The skill helps us to deal constructively with decisions about our lives
 It is a process not an event
 An individual is frequently confronted with serious decisions in regard
with relationships, future life and other matters one mist make choices
but at the same time be aware of the consequences one's choice
 It is important to weigh the consequences before making a decision have
a framework of working through these choices and decisions using
available information

PROBLEM SOLVING

 It enables us to deal constructively with problems that we face in life

 It is related to decision making and requires use of many other skills
 It is only through practise in making decisions and solving problems that
children and adolescents can build the skills necessary to make the best
choices in situations that they face
 Significant problems left unresolved can cause mental stress and give rise
to accompanying physical strain
 Problem solving is q series of steps defining problem, coming up with diff
solutions, weighing the pros and cons, chose the best solution
CHILD ABUSE

Children's rights

 Every child has an inherent right to life and survival invluding protection
from hiv and aids zĺ
 Every child have a right to freedom of thought conscience and religion
 Every child have the right to protection from sexual exploitation and abuse
 Every child have the right to health and healthcare
 Every child have a right to education which develops the child's personality
and talents to their fullest potential
 Right to leasure and play
 Protection from harmful traditional practices
 Protection from violence,injury or abuse
 Protection from mental abuse
 Freedom of expression
 Protection from performing any work that is likely to interfere with the
child's education
 Responsibilities along with the rights
 To have identification particulars

Who is a child

 A person under the age of 16 and includes an infant

WHY CHILD ABUSE IS AN ISSUE?

 Society have been troubled by maltreatment of children

 Children were sold to slavery, kuzvarira, kugaranhaka or used as a source of
labour
 In the olden days this was taken as normal but today we look at it as abuse
 These family systems goes into school system
  A behavior problem presented by a child is symptomatic of dysfunction
within the family system
 Teachers, parents and church ministers alike believed that the only cure
amongest children was to use the rode
 Abuse can be perpetrated by anyone even the parents abusive parents
come from all walks of life rich and poor, educated and uneducated, all
races and religious backgrounds

WHAT IS CHILD ABUSE?

 Maltreatment of children
 Proportion of harm to children that results from human action

CATEGORIES

 Sexual abuse/exploitation
 Physical abuse/violence
 Emotional abuse/psychological
 Neglect

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT ABUSE

 Abusive parents are disadvantaged

 They are fundamentally and incurably abnormal , psychotic, criminal or
retarded (no race/class is over represented in sexual abuse)
 Child abuse is very rare (under reporting is massive and covering up is very
prevalent

SEXUAL ABUSE
  Involvement of dependent, Developmentally immature children and
adolescents in sexual activities that they do not fully understand to which
their unable to give concent that violet the family social taboos/family roles

CATEGORIES OF SEXUAL ABUSE

INCESTS

 People who are biologically related eg father and daughter

 Incests ties on blood relations
 Families and community reacts differently to incests if a report is made it
rarely results in family support/ successfully criminal prosecution
 Incests makes professionals very uncomfortable because it may go for long
without surfacing
 There is long standing active/passive family collusion and support
 Family may resist the existing family relationships
 Fear public retribution
 Fear of losing friends and family
 Result in the imprisonment
 Public shame
 It may come to public attention during a dramatic change in a family
situation such as adolescent rebellion/delinquent acts, pregnancy, infection
by an sti, psychiatric illness/family quarrels
 Incest victims see themselves as defenseless, worthless, guilty abd
threatened at all sides

Paedophilia

 Situation whereby adults use children who have not yet reached puberty as
sex objects
 It involves an adult's non violent sexual contact with a child and may consist
of genital fondling, genital viewing
Molestation

 Involves behavior such as touching, fondling, kissing and masterbation

"chiramu"

Exhibitionism

 This refers to exposure to genitals by an adult male

Rape

 Sexual/attempted intercourse without one's consent of the victim

 Girls under 12 cannot consent according to zim laws

Statutory

 Sexual intercourse with girls under 16 with girls above 12 but with their
consent by law they are presumed to have not consented

Sexual Sadism

 This refers to infliction of bodily injury as a means of obtaining sexual

excitement

Child pornography

 Production and distribution of material involving minors in sexual acts

Child prostitution

 Involvement of children in sexual acts for profit

Indecent assault

 Refers to assault of an indecent character on male or female children eg

fondling the sexual parts of girls or masterbating boys by adults
 Children under 16 cannot consent to this

Sodomy

 Sexual intercourse between 2 males it involves penetration of the other the

law finds consent irrelevant

Offering girl child to appease avenging spirits

 Shona custom wereby a girl is offered to an injured family

Kuzvarira

 Offering young girls for marriage

Chikwambo

 Practise were visible or invisible objects have been instructed to have sexual
intercourse with children

Genital mutilation
  Mutilation of young women sexual organs or penetration of young boys

Common beliefs about sexual abuse

 Victims of sexual abuse incourage it

 Victims do not tell the truth
 Victims enjoy the sexual activity
 Most abusers are strangers to victims
 Sexual abuse only happens to the poor

Emotional abuse

 Almost always occurs with physical abuse

 It can also occur with good physical care and can inflict just as much
damage eg a child may be continually terrorized/ criticized/rejected, making
the child feel unwanted, child feeling unloved

Physical abuse

 Beating, hitting, whipping and copperal punishments

 Physical abuse implies physically harmful action directed against the child
which may cause burns, head injuries, abdominal injuries, fractures
 It also involves giving hard work meant for adults and carrying heavy loads

Negligence

 Defined as a potion of harm to children that results from human inaction

that harm children
 It implies failure of a parent to act properly in safeguarding health, safety
and well-being of the child
  Neglect can also be physical when it includes nutritional neglect by not
giving enough food/ giving a bizarre diet
 Failure to provide medical care and shelter
 Abandoning the child and failure to supervise the child
 Signs of neglect can be life threatening eg a child's weight, height and head
circumference falls below of their age
 Neglected children show poor hygiene and emotional upset

Signs and symptoms of abuse

 Abused children stay continually as if they are taking nothing for granted
 They are always on the watch to avoid trouble or to try to please
 They constantly scan the environment for danger some of them tend to be fearful/shy
 In some cases they may be passive/ obedient
 Very sensitive to criticism/ rejection
 Not all children who are abused are complient and anxious to please others are negative,
aggressive and often hyper active as well
 Abused children have difficulty in recognizing and talking about their own feelings esp likimg,
loneliness, anxiety and pleasure, find it difficult to have fun
 Quick to find fault in other children and like to prescribe heavy/severe punishments
 To them the world is full with all potential danger
 Find it difficult to trust adults and other children as well
 They find relationships very difficult, they relate indiscriminately quickly making superficial
relationships but ready to discard them at the slightest sign of rejection

Behavior of school aged children

 Seek to cover up for parents by fabricating stories of how they got injured
 They are secretive about their plight as they fear to breaking up their families and because they
do not see how change is possible
 They covwr up injuries by wearing
 If sexually abused they rarely tell anyone
 Tend to be lonely and friendles
 They give up immediately
 Often perform poorly at communicating skills such as reading and writing
  Abused children have a tendency of running away from home
 They show sudden change in behavior
 Have difficulties in concentrating
 Have unexplained burns, bites, bruises, fractures or black eyes
 Absence from school
 Steal food/beg
 Constantly dirty and severe bad odour
 Lack sufficient clothing for the weather
 Abusing alcohol other drugs
 Difficulty on seating
 They may report nightmares/ bed wetting
 Sudden change in appetite
 Falling pregnant, contacting an STI

How to help an abused child who discloses to you

 Properly deal with the allegations of the abused child "remain calm"
 Handle the situation correctly inorder to make the child feel safe enough to report the abuse to
the authorities
 Reassure the child they dd nothing wrong it z nt their fault and will not be punished
 Offer comfort and tell the child you will assist
 Ensure safety of both you and the child
 Allow the child to express themselves in the language their comfortable with
 Tell the child that you can't keep the information secret
 Report the abuse immediately to the authorities

What shouldn't do as you help the abused child

 Interrogate
 Make suggestions
 Act shocked, disgusted or doubtful of their story
 Accuse them of lying/ try to change their mind
 Blame the child
 Use words that my frighten the child, rape
 In order to effectively assist the abused child a team of people need to be involved friends and
family, child psychologist, medical doctor, a faith leader when appropriate, family of the abused
child need treatment

What can be done to prevent child abuse

  Teach children about their rights
 Educate parents about abuse
 Report cases of abuse to the authorities
 Volunteer your time
 Assist vulnerable children and their parents
 Displine your children thoughtfully
 Never displine your child when upset
 Give yourself time to calm down
 Be a naturing parent
 Use your actions to show your children and other adults that conflicts can be solved

Drugs and alcohol abuse

 drug any substance other than food that is purposely introduced in the body
to change normal body functions eg it can change the mood/behaviour of
an individual
 Drug abuse- it is the use of illegal or use of legal drugs when it is
detrimental to the health and well being of the human being
 Drug misuse- use of prescription drugs for purposes other than for which
they were prescribed for greater amounts than prescribed
 Addiction- compulsive uncontrollable dependency on a substance, habit or
practise to such a degree that seization causes severe emotional and
psychological reactions
 Alcohol- is a psycho active drug that depresses the central nervous system
 Side effects- they are unwanted results that are not related to the major
purpose of the drug eg after taking a drug one may feel drausy,headache or
nose
 Withdrawal illness- it is uncomfortable perhaps toxic response of the body
as it tries to maintain haemostasis in the absence of the drug
Factors that promote the abuse of drugs

Individual factors

 Genetic pre-disposition

Inherited vulnerability studies of alcoholics show that genetic factors do play some
role in alcohol abuse

 Personality traits attitudes and beliefs- studies have shown that children
who are easily bored and need continual activity are likely to take drugs .
Personality traits such as resistance for authority hv been reported as drug
abusers
 Interpersonal skills and self esteem-drug abusers are often deficient in
interpersonal skills they are likely to score lower in tests that measure well
being tolerance to others and achievement . Have low esteem than those
who do not abuse them when people lack positive experiences in school ,
work, relationships and valid aspects of community involvement they may
attempt to compensate through chronic drug use

Environmental

 Home and family- drug abuse that begins in childhood is often associated
with the home and family children seem to be at greater risk when parents
exhibits poor management skills antisocial behaviour and even criminality in
many cases adult family members abuse drugs themselves/ tolerate those
who do so. Such behaviour creates a fertile ground for children to abuse
drugs
 School - children from disorganised or socially muladjucted families often
have difficulties in adjusting to the organised environment of the school an
undesirable home environment contributes to poor performance and poor
 social development failure at school leds to low esteem, aggressive
behavior. These factors may led to truancy and drug experimentation
 Peers - some people take drugs through peer influence it is unlikely for a
student to remain an active member of a peer group and abstain from drug
use while other members abuse them. The pressure to join in can be too
powerful to resist

Community

 Drug availability, drug education, treatment and rehabilitation vary among

communities. Drug use rates differ from one community to another were
drug abuse is common/readily available the more likely people use or abuse
them
 Youth sub culture- they experiment with drugs and this is likely to use drugs
on a very large scale
 Modelling and advertisements some youths copy friends and family
members and take drugs on the same vein athletes,musicians and
celebrities also serve as models of behaviour they are used to advertise
alcohol, coffee, tobacco etc. Also participate in events sponsored by these
brands as a result the youth copy them which leds to abuse.
 Self medication movement people's ability to engage in medical self
management makes drug use easier and more socially acceptable than in
the past the regular use on the counter and prescription medication fosters
drug misuse and abuse

Commonly abused drugs

 Narcotics- heroin, epium, codeine, methadone,
 Organic solvents- glue, cleaning fluids,
 Stimulants- cocaine, rivaling
 Hallucinogens- lsd, dmt, atropine
 Cannabis- weed,hashish
Stimulants

 They excite or increase the activity of the central nervous system

 They alert the cental nervous system by increasing the heart rate blood
pressure and rate of brain function
 The users feel uplifted and they don't feel tired

Effects

 Speed up the heart and breathing

 Cause BP
 One may experience decreased appetite
 Users may experience sweating, Headaches, blured vision dizziness and
sleeplessness
 Cause physical collapse
 Cause moodiness,restlessness qnd anxiety

Nb these disappear when drug use seizes

Depressants

 Called sedatives. They slow down the central nervous system on the
positive side they relax muscles,release feelings of tension and worry and
bring on sleep.
 Slow down the heart and reducing BP

Effects
  Produce tolerance in abusers as well as psychological and physiological
dependence
 Decrease alertness
 Cause confusion, irritability, poor coordination and lack of judgement
 Loss of appetite, sleep disorders, nausea and addiction
 In extreme cases they may lead to death if taken during pregnancy they
may cause birth defects and behavioural problems among infants

Hallucinogens

 They produce hallucinations

 They are perceived distortion of reality
 These drugs ulterior mood, thought and senses of vision, hearing, smelling
and touch eg Hearing a colour, smelling music or touching a test

Effects

 Perceptual distortions, confusion and adjutation

 Impaired memory,anxiety, loss of coordination, panic and Irrational thought
patterns
 Violent behaviour
 Increased heart beat and rise in BP
 Users may experience chills, fever, loss of appetite, nausea

Cannabis

 Scientific name of marijuana

 Most widely used elicit drug among college students
 It have been implicated as contributing to a number of traffic accidents
 When the leafy material and small stems are dried and crushed users can
smoke the mixture in cigarettes and pipes
  It can be smoked, drunk or eaten
 Resins collected from scrapping the flowering tops of the plant yield a
marijuana product called hashish which is smokes in pipes It is stronger
than marijuana the chemical produce a psycho active Effects is called
tetrahydrocannabind (thc) does not desolve in water and cannot be easily
flashed out of the body thc collects in blood and fatty cells the highest
concentration of fatty cells is in the brain, liver, lungs and reproductive
organs
 In these cells marijuana acts as a poison thc can remain in a body for upto
30 days

Effects

 Time seems to pass slowly

 Lower body temperature but increases blood pressure and heart beat
 Visual perception may change
 Stimulate appetite
 Reduce person's control over behaviour others become talkative but others
become quiet and withdrawn
 Some lose willpower and motivation
 Withdraw from social and academic activities
 Cause psychological dependence on drug
 Affect memory making it difficult to recall and pay attention
 Reaction time slowed
 Impaired driving ability
 For pregnant women it leds to decreased birth weight
 Damages the lungs, immune system and reproductive organs
 Cause sterility
 Lung cancer, birth defects

Inhalant
  Class of drugs that includes a variety of volatile (quickly evaporative)
compounds that produce unpredictable drug like effects in users and
feelings of euphoria they may become aggressive anesthetic gases,
petroleum products, glue, paint thicker

Effects

 Damage the cardiovascular system and respiratory system They may cause
Impaired thought processes
 Violent behaviour and stupor
 Liver damage, lung, kidney and brain
 May cause death

Narcotics