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CHILD ABUSE CASES IN MALAYSIA

Child abuse cases can be defined as intended or unintended to a child under the age of 18 by another person who maybe parents, relatives, or guardians. The types of child abuse include four main categories which are physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse.

According to the Social Welfare Department of Malaysia, the cases in Malaysia are getting serious. Each year at least 10000 children are reported as victims. The possible causes of child abuse are when the abuser has a basic inability to nurture on a consistent basis. Abusers lack coping skills, are often selfish, not understanding child development, have been abused themselves and sometimes on drugs or alcohol. The issue will give negative effects to society and the image of the country. Furthermore, this big problem will give serious impact on the child’s physical and mental health, well being and the development throughout their lives. Therefore, children will live in violence, harm, and exploitation. The solution to this problem are the government must organize child abuse preventing campaigns which help them to escape from abuse and also educate public to love the children.

In conclusion, children are the hope for the future of the country and the well being of children is very important. Children must have the opportunity to stay healthy and happily. Therefore, all people must cooperate to solve this problem to live in peace.

The Solutions of Child Abuse

As an individual and as a member of our community, we have the power to prevent child abuse and neglect. Here are some ways we can use to prevent child abuse. Firstly, organize prevention campaign. The government and non-government agency such as Social Welfare Department of Malaysia (WAO) must organize more child abuse prevention campaign to help parents or people to escape from abuse and also educate public to love the children. The organizations can have seminar and give brochure to public so that they can be more aware about child abuse cases in Malaysia.

Besides that, build the support programme that support families. The government and non-government also must build this programme to give the skill to parents on how to care and teach their children. For examples,  parents education, respite care services and community center programme can help parents to develop new parenting skill, especially they can learn how to manage and control their emotions. So parents must donate their time and money to join the programs.

Furthermore, report suspected and neglect. Community members must be concerned about their neighbour, know their neighbour names and the name of their children. As a community members also we must cooperate to call the police or report to local child welfare agency when a child is being abused or neglected. Therefore if community members doing so it can may save a child and families.

Moreover, the role of school counsellor is important. School counsellors or teachers must help to educate their students, give motivation and give advise if students have problem. Teachers also must be cooperate with parents through PIBG and plan some activities that involve parents and their children. So that it can make a good relationship between them. As a result child abuse cases can be prevented.

Lastly, the role of media. Electronic and print media must advertise about child abuse whether the causes, the effects or the signs if the child is being abused and give tips how to solve this problem. Media such as internet or television must show drama about child abuse, so that the parents and public are alert and more aware about this case.

• example image of solution child abuse:

                                         poster:

pamplet:

responsible of parents:

causes of child abuse

There are several factors which lead to cases of child abuse. Do not understand parents responsibility, mental illness, financial problem or unemployment, drug use and many more.

Lack of parenting skills. Some caregivers never learned the skills necessary for good parenting. Teen parents, for example, might have unrealistic expectations about how much care babies and small children need. Or parents who where themselves victims of child abuse may only know how to raise their children the way they were raised. In such cases, parenting classes, therapy, and caregiver support groups are great resources for learning better parenting skills.

UNEMPLOYMENT and FINANCIAL PROBLEMS. The 1975 National Family Violence Survey found rates of child abuse that were considerably higher among families suffering from unemployment than among those in which the husband was working full time. Families in which the husband was not working had a significantly higher rate of child abuse than other families This finding did not recur, however, in the 1985 survey, although wives of unemployed husbands did have a higher rate of abuse than wives of husbands working full time. Strauss said that this higher rate for wives might have been caused by added family stress because the father was unemployed. For more examples, when returning from heavy work, poor work environment and less salary, feeling and emotions may be unstable. Consequently, parents especially the father cannot control his anger and end with furious temper and harassment. Alcohol and drug abuse. Living with an alcoholic or addict is very difficult for children and can easily lead to abuse and neglect. Parents who are drunk or high are unable to care for their children, make good parenting decisions, and control often-dangerous impulses. Substance abuse also commonly leads to physical abuse.

Untreated mental illness. Parents who suffering from depression, an anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, or another mental illness have trouble taking care of themselves, much less their children. A mentally ill or traumatized parent may be distant and withdrawn from his or her children, or quick to be angry without understanding why.

Less aware from community.
Some people do not want to know what happen to their neighbourhoods. They just do their own work without being concerned about what happen to other families. Consequently , when the child is hit by their parents and crying, they just think that is a normal situation without expect something negative.

Others factors :

There are other factors which might lead to child abuse.

Domestic violence
When domestic violence is present, one parent may not be able to protect the child from another parent's abusive behavior because that parent is also being abused. Children may be harmed while trying to protect a parent from domestic violence or as a result of the violence.

Single parents.

The NI'S-3 study found that children of single parents were at higher risk of physical abuse of all types of neglect and were overrepresented among seriously injured, moderately injured, and endangered children. Typically, a single parent family has less income than a two-parent household and the single parent is trying to do the job of two parents. Thus, in the worst cases, their lack of adequate social and economic support may make the conditions ripe for abuse.

Low self-confidence.
Parents with low self-esteem are more susceptible to abusing their children because they often see themselves as worthless and may take out their feelings of inadequacy on their children.

effects of child abuse

Child abuse can give some negative effects to the children, family, society and country. Firstly, effect to the children are lack of trust and relationship difficulties. Usually, the children will face some situations where it is very difficult to learn to trust other peoples or know who is trustworthy in their life. Then, children also may act in a variety of ways when with the abusive parent. Some of them, will show an expression like fear, cry, low self-esteem, others are wary, while others may appear indifferent. They may also show their distress more generally in a variety of ways, such as indiscriminate attachment, anxiety and low self-confidence.
         Then, effect to the family is to make them feel anxiety and agitation when they meet their child's need for attachment to them. Beside that, the relation between parents and their child are disturbed, and no more love in that family. Sometimes, the children also never have some respect to their parents because of the abuse that they have done.
          The society also may have some effects because of the child abuse. Social problems in a society will increase such as run away from their home, free sex, baby dumping and others. The children who lack  attention from their parents, will find the freedom and try to do something that will destroy themselves. Beside that, lack of moral value in our society. Love, care and attention showed be encourage in our society.
          Lastly,the effect to the country are will cause bad image and the development of the country will be at risk because the good and excellent generation to monitor our country can't be found.

types of child abuse

There are several types of child abuse which include emotional child abuse, physical child abuse, sexual abuse, and child neglect. But the core element is the emotional effect on child. Children need predictability, structure, clear, boundaries, and the knowledge that their parents are looking out for their safety. Abused children cannot predict how their parents will act. Their world is unpredictable, frightening place with no rules. Whether the abuse is slap, a harsh comment, stony silence, or not knowing if there will be dinner on the table tonight, the end result is a child that feel unsafe, uncared, and alone.

1. Emotional child abuse

Sticks and stone may break my bones but words will never hurt me? Contrary to this old saying, emotional abuse can severely damage a child’s mental health or social development, leaving psychological scars. Example of emotional child abuse include: 

• Constant belittling, shaming, and humiliating a child 
• Calling names and making negative comparison to others 
• Frequent yelling, threating or bullying 
• Ignoring or rejecting a child as punishment, giving him or her the silent treatment 
• Limited physical contact with the child (no hugs, kisses, or other signs of affection). 
• Exposing the child to violence or the abuse of others, whether it be the abuse of a parent, a sibling, or even a pet. 

2. Physical child abuse

Physical abuse is any non-accidental injury to a child under the age of 18 by a parent or caretaker. These injuries may include beatings, shaking, burns, human bites, strangulation, or immersion in scalding water or others, with resulting bruises and welts, fractures, scars, burns, internal injuries or any other injuries. 

3. Sexual abuse

Child sexual abuse is the exploitation of a child or adolescent for the sexual gratification of another person. 

Its important to recognize that sexual abuse doesn't always involve body contact. Exposing a child sexual situations or material is sexual abusive, whether or not touching is involved. 

Examples of sexual abuse physical indicators: 

• Difficulty walking or sitting 
• Torn or stained/blood underclothes 
• Bruises 
• Swelling in genital are 
• Frequent urinary or yeast infections 

4. Child neglect

Neglect refers to the failure of a parent to provide for the development of the child – include health, education, emotional development, nutrition, shelter and safe living conditions. 

Example of neglect: 

• consistent hunger 
• poor hygiene 
• inappropriate dress 
• unattended medical problems 
• underweight and failure to thrive

Example image of child abuse: 

historical of child abuse

A recent study funded by Parton (2005), about the history of child abuse. He said one of the causes is violence in the family. According to Parton, in the patriarchal family system, violence towards wives and children was seen as mainly a private matter, and even in the latter half of the twentieth century police were reluctant to get involved in violence within a marriage, classifying incidents as 'just a domestic'. As women and children have been seen as individuals with rights, their right to safety from violence has also been recognised.

        In other hands, Ferri, Bynner and Wadsworth (2003) also said about the historiy of child abuse which are caused by changing family structures. According to him, divorce and birth outside marriage can cause their children to be neglected without their birth parents. Between 1961 and 1999, has been shown that lone-parent households increased from two percent to seven percent of all household.

        Beside that, the history of child abuse are described in Children Act in 1948. This legislation set up child care department in local authorities and created the social work role of 'child care officer'. It was a part of the post-war creation of a welfare state and embodied a belief that the state should take a positive and supportive approach to the family to ensure children were given the appropriate conditions in which to develop by Parton (1991).

        Furthermore, Winnicots (1951) describes when parenting becomes abusive. He introduces a concept of the good enough parents offers a more realistic and achievable standard for parents to aspire to. Views on 'good enough' parenting vary over time and between cultures. Even within one culture at a specific time, families vary a great deal, at the micro level, in how they express affection, administer discipline or deal with anger. There can be major difficulties, in practise in agreeing on the boundary between what is acceptable and what is unacceptable.

Definition

Child abuse can be defined as ways of some acts that relates to sickness and decrease a child's dignity. However, ideas of what is sickness and decrease child dignity varies over time, between cultures and people. Nowadays, child abuse is critical in our societies. According to Eileen Munro show is an academician in Social Policy in the Department of Social Policy (2007), there are four types of child abuse which are include physical, sexual, emotional and neglect abuse.

THE TYPES OF CHILD ABUSE

1. Physical Abuse

Physical abuse of a child is that which results in actual or potential physical harm from an interaction or lack of interaction, which is reasonably within the control of a parent or person in a position of responsibility, power of trust. There may be single or repeated incidents. 


2. Emotional Abuse
Emotional abuse include the failure to provide the developmentally appropriate, supportive environment, including the availability of a primary attachment figure, so that the child can develop a stable and full range of emotional and social competencies commensurate with her or his personal potential, and in the context of the society in which the child dwells.

Acts include restriction of movement, patterns of belittling, denigrating, scape-goating, threatening, scaring, discriminating, ridiculing or other non-physical forms of hostile or rejecting treatment.

3. Neglect

 Neglect is the inattention or omission on the part of the caregiver to provide for the development of the child in all spheres: health, education, emotional development, nutrition, shelter and safe living conditions, in the context of the resources reasonably available to the family or caretakers and courses, or has high probability of causing, harm to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual and moral or social development.

4. Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse is the evidenced by an activity between a child and an adult or another child who by the age or development is in a relationship of responsibility, trust or power, the activity being intended to gratify or satisfy the needs to the other person.

This may include but its not limited to the inducement or coercion of a child to engage in any unlawful sexual activity; the exploitative use of child in prostitution or other unlawful sexual practice; the exploitative use of children in pornographic performances and materials.

In the same way, according to Susan Tan work as intern in January 2010 in Wealth Mastery Academy said, child abuse can be defined as intended or unintended harm to a child by another person such as parents, relatives or guardians. There are four main types which are physical abuse, neglect, sexsual abuse and emotional abuse.