Katie S.

Arevalo

Ms. Joshi

Pre-English

7/2/2017

Audience Analysis

This paper is geared as an educational tool for all but as a call for organizations to be centered.

While Organizations are being called on for actions it is important that all people focus

organizations and entities who know child abuse first hand. Hopefully the organizations that deal

with child abuse already have an interest in children who face emotional, mental, and physical

developmental issues. I intend to have them shift their focus, through study analysis, to one that

is both combats the issue and serves as a preventative method. The audience is specifically

organizations because I feel they will have the most manpower and experience to get the job

done. For a while now people have been helping children facing child abuse but not much has

been done on the preventative end. Organizations that work to end child abuse will already feel

convinced as far as the cause goes but the strategy may feel overwhelming because of the critical

planning that goes into providing trainings. This puts a lot of pressure on these organizations

because they surely have their hands full with dealing with the aftermath of abuse. Despite this,

this paper will encourage them to take preventative measures such as trainings. All in the attempt

to provide for the wellbeing of children facing injustice. This paper overall also aims to provide

some insight for all people dealing with children. The reality is that children all over the world

face child abuse and the ability of third parties to identify it could be what saves a child. This

means that educators, parents, organizations, academia, and others should all look at this paper as
a call for them to be aware of their surroundings and take on the responsibility to help a child in

need.
 The Realities of Child Abuse

Child abuse is not to be taken lightly, this paper will look at several instances of child

abuse. The instances inserted here are for the purposes of education that result in actionable

change capable of saving children from different forms of abuse. In my experience child abuse

began before my ability to critically think about the things around me, before I knew what it

meant to demand respect for myself. I learned that physical and emotional abuse was okay before

I learned what it felt like to be cared for. The worst part of it all, I was at the hands of someone I

loved. Telling people wasnt an option, if I did I risked losing or being separated from my abuser.

At that point all I knew was that this person was my parent, my loved one, still someone who in

the larger sense supported me, provided for me, and even in a way loved me. For this reason I

argue that third party interventions are key to stopping child abuse. My abuse lasted for several

years and took a toll on me in every developmental way possible. I struggled with building

relationships, with my mental health, and more importantly I struggles with knowing that I had

protected an abuser; the realities of a child abuse victim are a lot more complex than can be

explained. What I do know is that if it werent for the intervention of school counselors who I

couldn't stop from calling CPS even when I wanted to, I would not be at a place in my life where

I can talk about child abuse as something that is real and needs addressing.

Approximately 5 children die every day because of child abuse (11 Facts About Child

Abuse). It is very difficult for many people to understand how child abuse could go unreported.

This is the case whenever we have injustices, people will be full of questions in an attempt to

understand the complexity of the situation, and while I agree that third parties are important in

cases of child abuse; I must say that the only people properly equipped to answer questions and
clarify obscurities around child abuse are those who have dealt with it first hand. Looking at

child abuse through this framework allows us to center those most affected by this iniquity.

Unfortunately we have allowed ourselves as a society to overlook this massive injustice for the

fear of intervening with parenting. Parents have spanked their children for ages as a form of

discipline and the state has long had its reservations on whether or not it should tell parents how

to go about their parenting, While there is little question that, in the context of the family unit,

some children have always been subject to abuse it has not been perceived as a national problem

requiring state intervention and the formulation of a public policy (Guyer, pg. 75-76). In little

time many advancem more cases of child abuse are being looked into by media and more

organizations have organized themselves in ways that can stop child abuse, the federal

government has created a definition for child abuse - An act or failure to act which presents an

imminent risk of serious harm" (Child Welfare Information Gateway), and even states have

created definitions through which they can hold others accountable to the safety of all children.

All of these efforts deserve recognition for those who pushed for change, but as great at this is

we are still seeing child abuse rates that are all too high. One of the reasons child abuse remains

entirely too high can be attributed to the silencing of victims. Often times child abuse victims are

being abused by someone they know or a loved one, this makes it extremely difficult for said

victim to shed light on their situation. I cannot emphasize enough the need for third party

interventions in cases of child abuse, some states have made specific mandates for reports;

Maryland for example has created a list of individuals who are mandated to report instances of

abuse A report is required when a mandatory reporter has reason to believe that a child has been

subjected to abuse or neglect (Child Welfare Information Gateway). Knowing that children can
be very easily intimidated and coerced into silence the need for laws that mandate reports are of

the utmost importance if we intend to ever provide the kind of protection children deserve

(Culp-Ressler).

In this paper I will look at three distinct violations caused by child abuse and the effects it

bears on said child. Through an analysis of research on students experiencing child abuse this

paper aims to establish that the impact on children through abuse is in fact worth organizing

against. Through this analysis I will look at the individuality, psychology, and development

outcomes of children facing child abuse. I argue that child abuse is an inhumane act through

which the individuality, psychological well being, and development of children is put at risk; for

this reason organizations with first hand experiences in child abuse cases should provide new

forms of communication for parents and children.

First I would like to establish that children are in fact people and have a right to their

bodies and overall well being. Despite the need for parenting, children are not property, they are

individuals with rights. The word child refers to, A young human being below the age of

puberty or below the legal age of majority, as defined by Oxford Living Dictionaries. While it is

true that parents give birth to their children and require assistance of those parents or guardian in

order to survive, it does not make parents the owners of said child. This means that children, just

like anyone have the right to be protected by the law from abuse and maltreatment, in the

International Journal of Children's Rights, David Archard argues that one of the reasons parents

feel domain over children is based on paternalism, which asserts that those who are competent

to make choices may choose on behalf of those who are incompetent to do so (pg. 298). Now,

the fact that children have someone to make decisions for them is not a negative thing, the issue
comes into play when parents feel the need to aggressively instill their decision making skills

onto their children. The act of abusing another human being, which children are, should never be

condoned.

Children facing child abuse, especially over a long period of time, learn certain behaviors

as being normal; eventually the abuse they are experiencing takes on a psychological

toll.Jennifer E Lansford and others explore child physical maltreatment to determine its effects

on the psychological, behavioral, and academic aspects of the victim's life through a study

conducted between 1987 and 1999 with 585 children randomly selected from the Child

Development Project. The surveys taken throughout the study showed that 69% of those children

were mistreated before even entering kindergarten (Lansford, etal.) The survey found that,

Adolescents maltreated early in life were absent from school more than 1.5 as many days, were

less likely to anticipate attending college compared with non maltreated adolescents, and had

levels of aggression, anxiety/depression, dissociation, posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms,

social problems, thought problems, and social withdrawal (Lansford, etal.) The study proves

that child abuse can take a toll on the child that takes on behavioral and psychological problems

that will affect the child later in life. The temporary obedience that a parent may gain from

hitting their child does not outweigh the impacts the child will experience at that moment and

later in life.

There are certain ages when we are in huge aspects of development as humans, 0-18 in

particular are crucial times for mental development. These are also the years in which we begin

to establish ourselves as people with values, experiences, and identities. If those three factors are

combined with abuse, than no matter the value of the experience, chances are that the child will
remain at risk. I would like to go back to this idea of instilling values in children at an early age,

there are many people who see hitting their children as a way to make their kids understand

certain rules. For example, if your child steals from a store continuously even after you have

warned them about why it is wrong and you hit them for stealing, the argument is that you are

teaching them a lesson about the seriousness of stealing and disobeying rules. While this seems

reasonable, there is also another side to it where parent is instead teaching first that violence is a

good way to force people to change their ways, and second that it is acceptable for another

person to lay hands on them. Not only has that child learned to disrespect others but they are also

being trained to disrespect themselves. Lack of self respect can lead to lack of self confidence

and the mental toll continues, no wonder Lansfords team found that children facing abuse at an

early age are more likely to face issues all throughout their adolescence and adulthood.

There are also people who argue that the way in which a person chooses to parent their

children is up to their discretion since they know the child the best and that spankings are used to

teach lessons. In Spanking Can Be an Appropriate Form of Child Discipline Jared Pingleton

talks about the way in which administered spankings can effectively guide children towards a

healthy lifestyle. While some parents abuse their children without any kind intention, many of

the parents who hit their children are not doing it out of malice intent, Unfortunately, each of us

enters this world with desires that are selfish, unkind, and harmful to others and ourselves.

Spanking, then, can be one effective discipline option among several in a parents tool chest as

they seek to steer their children away from negative behaviors and guide them toward ultimately

becoming responsible, healthy, happy adults (Pingleton). Pingleton mentions that speaking to

children at such a young age may not be effective, thats when spanking comes in handy. He does
specify that the spankings shouldnt be excessive and should be reserved for instances of

disobedience. This leads me to explore throughout this paper, if physical contact is the only form

of understanding children have at an early age then isnt it true that physical abuse is the only

form of communication they will pick up at that age if it's the only thing we give them thats

effective?

Children are an essential part of society, we depend on youth to build a future for the rest

of the world. It is their values, experiences, and morals that will shape the world. We should by

all means protect them from physical, emotional, and mental violence. Despite the many ideas of

what productive discipline looks like, we cannot ignore the multitude of studies that point

towards a negative impact on development caused by child abuse. This being said we cannot

assume every parent is equipped with the parenting skills needed in order to properly instill

values and obedience in a child without hitting them, for this reason organizations should provide

trainings. They have a front row seat to this violence and can create alternate ways of parenting

using the volunteered perspectives of people who have experienced violence. Talking about child

abuse is not by any means easy but it is necessary, having organizations lead those discussions

will make it easier to make those discussions productive, actionable, and inclusive.
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