Today, child abuse and neglect is widely recognized as a major social problem and policy issue in the United States and throughout much of the world. During the last 50 years, the United States and many of the world's nations have responded to child abuse and neglect with legislative efforts, a variety of programs and interventions, and organizational efforts to identify, respond to and prevent the abuse and neglect of dependent children. Today, there are innumerable local, national and international organizations, professional societies and advocacy groups devoted to preventing and treating child abuse and neglect.

While international concern about child maltreatment is relatively new, child abuse and neglect is not a recent phenomenon. The maltreatment of children has manifested itself in nearly every conceivable manner--physically, emotionally, sexually and by forced child labor (Ten Bensel, Rheinberger and Radbill, 1997). Historians have been able to document the occurrence of various forms of the mistreatment of children back to the beginnings of recorded history. In some ancient cultures, children had no rights until the right to live was bestowed upon them by their fathers. The right to live was sometimes withheld by fathers, and newborns were abandoned or left to die. Although we do not have the means to know how commonplace abandonment or killing was, we do know that infanticide was widely accepted among ancient and prehistoric cultures. Newborns and infants could be put to death because they cried too much, because they were sickly or deformed, or because of some perceived imperfection. Girls, twins and children of unmarried women were the special targets of infanticide (Robin, 1980).

Many societies subjected their offspring to survival tests. Some Native Americans threw their newborns into pools of water and rescued them only if they rose to the surface and cried. German parents also plunged children into icy waters as a test of fitness to live (Ten Bensel, Rheinberger and Radbill, 1997). Greek parents exposed their children to natural elements as a survival test.

Survival tests and infanticide were not the only abuses inflicted by generations of parents. From prehistoric times to the present, children have been mutilated, beaten and maltreated. Such treatment was not only condoned but was often mandated as the most appropriate child-rearing method. Children were, and continue to be, hit with rods, canes and switches. Boys have been castrated to produce eunuchs. Girls have been, and continue to be, subjected to genital surgery or mutilation as part of culturally approved ritual. Colonial parents were implored to "beat the devil" out of their children (Greven, 1991; Straus, 1994).

Summing up the plight of children from prehistoric times until the present, David Bakan comments that "Child abuse thrives in the shadows of privacy and secrecy. It lives by inattention" (Bakan, 1971).

Worldwide, there is no universally agreed upon definition of what constitutes child abuse (or child maltreatment), although each country has its own definition of child abuse. In its broadest sense, the term child abuse refers to any harm, physical or emotional, that is done intentionally to a child. Abuse may include physical assault, sexual exploitation and verbal or emotional assault. Some states include the presence of controlled substances in a child at birth or in the child's home as a form of child abuse. No state bans corporal punishment as of this writing, although some states prohibit extreme corporal punishment.

Child abuse also encompasses child neglect, which is the most common form of child maltreatment, and which can lead to severe injuries or even fatalities among infants and young children.

Traditionally, child abuse has been limited to the actions of a parent/guardian or other person responsible for a child's welfare. Crimes committed against children by strangers or by other children were not, strictly speaking, known as child abuse. More recently, however, child abuse statutes in many states have expanded their state laws to encompass teachers, day-care workers and others who are responsible for the out-of-home care of children.

References:

1) Bakan, D. The Slaughter of the Innocents. Boston: Beacon Press, 1971.

2) Greven, P. Spare the Child: The Religious Roots of Punishment and the Psychological Impact of Physical Abuse. New York: Knopf, 1990.

3) Robin, M. "Historical introduction: Sheltering arms: The roots of child protection." In E. Newberger, ed. Child Abuse. Boston: Little, Brown, 1980, pp. 1-41.

4) Straus, M. A. Beating the Devil out of Them: Corporal Punishment in American Families. New York: Lexington Books, 1994.

5) Ten Bensel, R. L., M. Rheinberger, and S. X. Radbill. "Children in a world of violence: The roots of child maltreatment." In M. E. Heifer, R. S. Kempe, and R. D. Krugman, eds. The Battered Child. 4th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997, pp. 3-28.

	Essay on Elder Neglect
	Elder Neglect Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Elder Care and Abuse. Current estimates suggest that 1 million to 2 million American's older than age 65 have been abused, neglected, or exploited by someone with whom they have placed their trust. Although standards may vary across cultures regarding the level of respect, attention, and support provided to the elderly, all cultures recognize the increased vulnerability that occurs with aging. Elder neglect occurs when the increased needs of the elderly are unmet by a designated caretaker. The specific legal definition of "elder neglect" varies from state to state. However, all generally define it as the failure of an individual to provide the basic necessities needed for mental and physical health. This includes a failure...
	Essay on Elder Neglect »
	Essay on Elder Maltreatment
	Elder Maltreatment Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Elder Care and Abuse. Many types of family violence have been recognized, including child abuse, wife abuse, and, more recently, elder abuse. All forms of family violence are at epidemic levels in the United States, yet considerably less investment has been made in reducing elder abuse than child and wife abuse. Elder abuse, like other forms of maltreatment in families, can take several different forms. The National Elder Abuse Incidence Study (NEAIS) of 1996 defined domestic elder abuse--that is, elder abuse perpetrated by members of the family or household--as including the following forms of maltreatment: (1) physical abuse--any form of physical aggression that could result in bodily injury, physical pain...
	Essay on Elder Maltreatment »
	Essay on Elder Abuse
	Elder Abuse Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Elder Care and Abuse. Elder abuse is a term that has both specific and general meanings. Specifically, the term refers to volitional acts (acts of commission) of physical, sexual, or psychological violence perpetrated against individuals over age 65 by family members or other individuals in positions of trust, such as health care providers. The term is not usually used to denote acts of violence perpetrated against elders by strangers. The term is also used, generally, as a cover term to denote, by commission or omission, an array of harmful acts perpetrated against elders by intimate others including neglect, exploitation, and abandonment. In recent years, researchers have advocated the use of the term...
	Essay on Elder Abuse »
	Essay on Elder Care
	Elder Care Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Social Issues. At both ends of the life course, infancy and old age, the question of care is paramount. Not only do discussions revolve around the quality of care available to assist with the needs of these groups, but costs and moral obligations compound the debate. Just as young parents must decide whether to place a child in day care or find an alternative so that the child may be cared for at home, adult children and their aging parents must decide how best to care for the aged. Is home care by a family member or skilled nursing care in an institutional setting most appropriate? Often families agonize over the decision of how to care for their loved one. Many times, financial limitations determine...
	Essay on Elder Care »
	Essay on Controversies in Elder Abuse
	Controversies in Elder Abuse Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Social Issues. Although it is generally accepted that abuse is a problem in the culture that needs to be eradicated, the paths to decreased violence are often contradictory. Often experts suggest that one cannot end abuse without knowing the causes of abuse. Elder abuse shares some links with domestic violence causes in general, but because of the intergenerational nature of the abuse, there are some important differences. Another area of controversy involves whether gender plays a role in the status of both victim and perpetrator. Other questions remain as to the best course of action when dealing with older persons who have been abused and the role that the state plays in providing...
	Essay on Controversies in Elder Abuse »
	Essay on Elder Abuse: Definition and Types
	Elder Abuse: Definition and Types Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Social Issues. Elder abuse is a serious issue that affects families and society. Elder abuse involves the acts of commission (abuse) and omission (neglect), as do other definitions of domestic violence. Unlike spouse and child abuse, which were defined as key social issues in the 1960s, elder abuse did not surface as a social problem until the late 1970s in congressional hearings examining the status of aging in the United States. The awareness generated through government and the media brought attention to the phenomenon. There are many questions about the prevalence of elder abuse and the vulnerability of certain categories of elders to abuse. One thing that makes elder abuse difficult...
	Essay on Elder Abuse: Definition and Types »