CHILD ABUSE,

FORMS OF MANIFESTATION,
EFFECTS AND THE SOCIAL
ACTORS INVOLVED

CONF. UNIV. DR. AVRAM

FLORENTINA OLIMPIA
 CONTENTS

THEORETICAL
01 APPROACH OF THE
PROBLEM

03 CONCLUSIONS

02 TYPES OF ABUSE
 WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF CHILD ABUSE?

The global report on health and

violence defines four different forms of
child abuse: emotional abuse, physical
abuse, sexual abuse, neglect (World Report
on Violence and Health. Geneva, WHO,
2002).
Forms of abuse can include each other, so that
sexual abuse includes physical/emotional
abuse, while physical abuse includes
emotional abuse or neglect.
 01

THEORETICAL
APPROACH OF THE
PROBLEM
 Defining child abuse is an essential element for
understanding and studying its phenomenology.
There are many definitions developed over time and
tested by researchers specialized in the field.

Child abuse is a complex phenomenon, which

permanently affects the development of the individual: in the
long term, abuse makes the adolescent and then the adult
vulnerable, generating dysfunctional feelings, behaviors,
ways of thinking or interpersonal relationships in everyday
life.
Placed in the area of what Anthony Giddens called in his sociology treatise
(2000, p. 175) "the invisible face of the family“, child abuse causes
existential changes that are all the more severe when it occurs at a
younger age and maintains for a longer period. It is worse when young
adults with such a history start a family and things begin again, in the
same ways, with their children.

We do not discuss the maturing role of some conflicts between parents and
children, especially in the case of teenagers, a fact that signifies the
recognition of the barriers between generations and the limits that
children have in understanding the complexity of everyday life (Marcelli,
Braconnier, 2006, p. 514).
 The main concepts underlying this research will be defined, very briefly, as
follows (Bonea, 2015):

economic abuse
physical abuse

social abuse
psychological abuse

exploitation sexual abuse

neglect attachment disorder

 DEFINITIONS OF TYPES OF ABUSE:

Economic
abuse: means that the minor does not have access to the main resources he needs to survive: clothes, food, travel
money to school (where applicable), etc. (Bonea, 2011: 138).

Psychological
abuse: represents continuous terrorizing, blackmailing with various things, nicknames, degrading
the minor. Any type of abuse, neglect or attachment disorder is immediately reflected in the
child's psychocognitive and social plan
(Howe, 2005: 107–109).

Sexual abuse: having sexual relations of various types, unwanted, misunderstood and devoid of any
meaning for the child. He cannot defend himself or express his agreement. Pedophilia is quite
often discussed (Vigorello, 2001) by researchers precisely in order to be able to stop or, at least,
treat the problem and the psychosocial and relational consequences that the minor remains
with in the short and long term (Finkel, 2009: 269).
Physical abuse : involves hitting with hands, feet or any other objects considered to be dangerous and
hurt the child, in the interest of causing pain and various injuries (Ionescu, 2001: 28–31).

Social abuse: the child is not allowed to have relations with other children of his age; is confined to the
house; is isolated; and precisely the isolation allows, very well, all the other types of abuse
defined above (Tolan, 2017: 11).

Neglecting: means not paying attention to the child. Total or even partial indifference to it.
Lack of attention is neglect. The child is not properly cared for, defenseless, unfed, unwashed,
etc. All these quickly lead to the physical and mental degradation of the child, a fact that is
immediately noticeable (Fontes, 2006: 42–43).
Exploitation: is the trafficking or sale of the child, forcing him to work to obtain
various objects or money for the abusive adults. Using the child, forcing
him to do certain things or work or to assist an adult in performing
various jobs
(Bonea, 2012: 125–126).

Attachment disorder : the deficient attachment between parent and child and vice versa, leads to
behavioral, psychological, social, cognitive, relational deviance of the
child in the short term and in the long term (in adult life). The child lies
that he has no trusted adult, that he is not protected, loved and cared for.
From birth, the parent-child attachment must be a very important
component of its growth and development from all perspectives
(Almgren, 2005: 219), (Bonea, G. V., "Deviance. Viziuni contemporanea", 2015).
02 TYPES OF ABUSE
 EMOTIONAL ABUSE
- mental action on the child, single or repeated, negligent or hostile attitude,
other behaviors of the parents or caregivers that cause the child distortions
of self-esteem, loss of self-confidence and that complicate the process of
development and socialization of the child. The following forms of
emotional abuse are more frequently encountered: rejection, isolation,
terrorizing, corrupting, ignoring.

Emotional abuse is a chronic action by parents or other caregivers, which damages or prevents the
development of a positive self-image of the child. It is an intentional behavior of an adult, who offends,
mocks, ironizes, devalues or humiliates the child in significant moments, affecting his self-image and
psychological balance. This form of abuse represents one of the most harmful attacks by the adult on the
development of self-awareness and the subsequent social evolution of the child.
 Emotional abuse does not refer to singular situations, in which the child is rejected by a preoccupied
and tense parent, during a short period of time, but aims at a stable behavior, which defines the relationship
between the two, which does not leave physical traces, but it is all the more dangerous. This makes emotional
abuse difficult to prove. The emotionally abused child feels that he is not wanted and loved, experiences
isolation, terror, refusal, aggression.

The child is rejected as a being, his positive or negative experiences are ignored, strict rules are imposed
on him, the necessity of which he does not understand, he is isolated from others. He faces serious emotional
problems and survives by internalizing the image provided by the abusive parent.

The repertoire of emotional abuse includes various ways, easy to identify in the child: mistrust, hostility,
aggressive manifestations, social inhibition, adaptation difficulties, inability to play or express oneself through
play. All this is caused by subjecting the child to humiliation, refusing his gestures of affection, showing
preference for other siblings, refusing to reward or congratulate the child for his success, banning playing with
other children, banning school and free time activities, cultivating mistrust towards those outside the family,
forcing the child to participate in activities he fears, threats, destructive actions towards his property, etc.
 Here are other signs of emotional abuse: shyness, mistrust, anxiety, hetero- and autoaggressive tendencies, social
inhibition, communication difficulties. We also add the fact that the threats of various punishments, of abandonment or
expulsion from home of one of the children are also transmitted to the other siblings. Another form is that resulting from the
child's exposure to violence, hostility and hatred between adults. Long before his mental development allows him, this child
assumes the burdensome responsibility of taking care not only of himself, but also of his parents, giving up on living his
childhood.

As an adult, he will face problems related to identity - awareness of personal value and sexual identity
(Killen, ibidem, p. 34).
If the parents divorce, the child may continue to be abused by being forced to take one side or the other, without being able to
ask for and obtain information that would help him overcome the confusion he is experiencing , or he will develop feelings
of guilt, because he was on the side of one of them, or, even more dramatically, he will be the object of a kidnapping. There
are not rare cases when the abuse of substances (alcohol, drugs), by parents unable to manage their lives, is transmitted to the
child who lives next to them. He will end up considering himself guilty for the decay of his parents and will have a distorted
perception of himself and the world around him. Along with the emotional consequences, which lead to difficulties in
adapting to a new environment (lack of initiative and creativity, anxiety, the tendency to separate even in adulthood), there
are also social effects, which can push the child towards a criminal career: running away from home, thefts, acts of
vandalism, etc.
 NEGLECT – chronic inability of the parent/caregiver to meet the child's basic needs,
such as the need for food, clothing, shelter, medical care, educational
opportunities, protection and supervision. The most serious forms of
neglect are:

Failure to ensure adequate Failure to provide appropriate Disinterest in the Depriving the child of affection.
nutrition for the child's clothing. child's health.
developmental needs.

Housing with inadequate space Insufficient supervision. Lack of concern for the child's Child abandonment.
and hygiene. education.
 ABANDONMENT or AGGRESSION THROUGH REJECTION

Can manifest itself in various degrees and forms, starting from concealed abandonment, in which the parents
behave as if the child does not exist, neglect him, do not give him any kind of attention, the child is rejected, and his
development needs are ignored, to physical abandonment, when one of the parents leaves the child or, in case of divorce,
considers him an obstacle to the formation of his new family; we also find this situation in the case of minor girls who
become pregnant, who are abandoned by both partners and parents, having great difficulties in raising and educating the
future child. (Păunescu, 1994, p. 95)

Disguised abandonment includes a diverse range of more or less visible behaviors, from inadequate feeding of the
child, lack of concern for his hygiene, to the inability to engage emotionally in the child's upbringing and to build
positive relationships with him. The media abounds in images of children raised in unsuitable living conditions, dirty,
uncared for, unfed, with tattered and unwashed clothes, whose bodies are invaded by lice and diseases, left unattended
for hours, which complete a grotesque picture of carelessness, of the parents' lack of education, concern for tomorrow.
 In families with several children, the eldest takes on the role of an adult early on, trying to cope with the tasks related
to raising and educating the younger siblings, thus avoiding childhood, a stage absolutely necessary for a harmonious
subsequent development. Neglected children have characteristics that are easy to observe: they are considered very good,
they are shy, they withdraw from the aggression of others, they never try to assert themselves, they usually play alone, they
prefer to stay in large groups of children, but they do not make friends. On the other hand, rejected children are very active,
talkative and argumentative, (Gheorghe Florian, Mihaela Puşcaş) always try to get close to others, they don't cooperate when they
play, they don't share the things they own, they often attract attention by behaving inappropriately for the situation (Schaffer,
2005, p. 118).

School counselors increasingly draw attention to a form of emotional abandonment, specific to societies centered on
consumption and rapid material accumulation, which mainly conjugates the verb "to have" to the detriment of "to
be": parents' excessive preoccupation with accumulating goods as expensive (prestigious) as possible and with
providing their children higher-level material means is achieved at the expense of the care and warmth that children
need during the period of growth and internalization of social norms and values.

"Children need support from adults, to whom they show a strong attachment...“ (Mitrofan, 2008, p. 282).
 PHYSICAL ABUSE - the deliberate assault of the child by the adult in whose care he is, or by
any other person, causing injuries or poisoning the child.

Most often, physical abuse involves:

Beatings with the hand or with an Exposure to hard work that exceeds the
object (hose, cable, rod) applied to child's physical capabilities.
Putting the child
any part of the body on his knees
Hair and ear pulling

Tying the child, shaking him Causing burns or

Shaking the child or hitting him with objects poisoning
 SEXUAL ABUSE - training the child in an activity carried out with the intention of
producing pleasure or satisfying the needs of an adult or another child,
who, by age and development, is in a relationship of responsibility, trust
or power.

Child sexual abuse can take several forms:

Sexual abuse with contact:

Molestation
With penetration (without penetration)

– with the penis, finger or with various objects – caressing intimate areas, kissing, forcing the
of the vagina, mouth, anus child to touch the intimate parts of the abuser.
 Non-contact sexual abuse:

Involvement of the child in the production of pornography

Voyeurism – forcing the child to
expose himself naked, looking at – employing, using, inducing, attracting or coercing a child to
the genitals or other parts of the engage or assist another person in explicit or simulated sexual
child's body (including when he
behavior, for the purpose of producing a visual image of such
takes a shower or is undressed).
behavior.

Exhibitionism – the exposure of Incitement to prostitution – engaging a child in a sexual relationship, or

the genitals in front of a child, in other sexual activities, in exchange for a sum of money or other
including the intentional services (food, clothes, medicine, affection, etc.).
exposure of children to the sexual
acts of other people (including
the acts of parents or other
persons entrusted with the care of Sexual harassment – unwanted sexual advances, requests for sexual
children). favors and other verbal conduct of a sexual nature.
03 CONCLUSIONS
1.

The harmonious development of the child can be

irreversibly disturbed by the abuses exercised by the
parents or the persons who take care of him. Abusive
practices can generate pathological learning, which
permanently changes the structure of the personality
and, consequently, alters the quality of human
relationships and the conception of people and life.
 2.

The persistence, for a long time, of the child in a

relationship with an abusive adult can cause him to
play roles inappropriate for his age and, as a result,
disrupt his progressive socialization process,
appropriate to his physical and mental level.
3.

If the higher needs of the young child (for knowledge, for

friends, for exploration, for beauty, for progress, etc.) are rarely or
not at all satisfied by the parents, they will disappear and will
never become reasons for the actions of the adolescent and the
adult in life. Instead, the basic needs (for food, protection, health,
sex), which were satisfied accidentally or conditionally, will
become dominant reasons in the life of the child and the future
adult. Finally, the needs satisfied abnormally or in unusual ways
will, under certain conditions, become unconscious motivations,
which will regulate the entire life of the person in question and
those who depend on him (Klein, 2001, p. 346).
 4.

Although they have rights, minors rarely appear in

statistics, only when their presence is needed to give
meaning to the events in which adults are involved.
 5.
The problem of abuse committed by adults against
children must be considered at the same time a
problem of victimology, of public health and social
suffering, with everything this entails: studies and
research, coherent statistics, training of specialists,
early education programs for parents, sufficient funds,
appropriate legislation, etc.
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THANKS!
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