Child Abuse and Neglect Essay -- Violence Against Children

Every day, about five children in the United States are murdered by a parent or caretaker. In 2014, more than 3 million reports of child abuse were made in the United States involving more than 6 million children. Child abuse kills more children in America than does accidental falls, choking on food, suffocation, or fires in the home (Newton). As if these statistics weren’t horrifying enough, they are inaccurate in relaying the actual number of children that have fallen victim to child abuse in the United States. The sad reality is child abuse is severely under-reported in the United States. Most abused and neglected children never come to the attention of government officials. Victims almost never speak of their abuse for fear of retaliation from their perpetrator (Newton). Even if the abuse has been reported, the victim will often deny the offense took place. This is especially prevalent in cases of abuse, in which the victim shows no physical injury (Thompson). The main reason children do not speak of their abuse or just flatly deny that their abuse had occurred is due to their lack of comfort within the situation. It is very uncomfortable for a child to accuse a parent or caretaker of abuse or neglect. The child can also feel an intense amount of shame and can become very withdrawn and secretive, in regards to their abuse. It is much easier for the child to take the abuse and allow their cries to go unanswered. The most common pattern of abuse is a child vic...