Christian P.

Gonzales, TCP-A

Educ-104, (September 27, 2020)

Let’s Start Now!

Can you hear those whispers? Very haunting whispers? Can you hear the cries? Can you feel the
trembling? Child abuse nowadays is everywhere. Violence occurs in all countries, regardless of race,
culture, religion, social and economic situation.

Why does child abuse happen? What are the reasons for these evil doings? There are many forms of
child abuse, including neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, exploitation and emotional abuse. We are
going to discuss more about the causes and prevention of this particular issue.

According to Cambridge dictionary, Child Abuse means a behavior in which adults intentionally treat
children in a cruel or violent way. There are main factors that leads to child abuse/violence, namely,
Domestic Violence, Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Untreated Mental Illness, Lack of Parenting Skills, and
Stress and Lack of Support.

First, Children who are part of households where there is frequent Domestic Violence are prone to
becoming victims of abuse themselves. Second, Parents who have a history of alcohol and drug abuse
have more potential to abuse a child. Third, an Untreated Mental Illness is a common cause of child
abuse since a parent might be suffering and he/she would make the child as an instrument to release
his/her tension. Fourth, Parents who are lacking of Parenting Skills have the risks of hurting or abusing
their kid/s. They would often feel that they can’t manage a child well, so, hurting them would be the
kind of discipline they are going to reinforce. And lastly, Stress and Lack of Support. Divorces,
relationship issues, financial worries and job-related problems are the main reasons why one would feel
stress and would feel unsupported. Parents find it difficult to face these stresses and as a result, they
would throw these tensions over their children.

How could we stop this? Since the world is very cruel, I think there is nothing we can do to stop it, but
there are many things we can do to prevent it. By setting rules, we can educate people, parents, and
children more to prevent this abuse. First, as a caregiver or parent, we should recognize the signs of
abuse at the first place. Children might be suffering in silence, so, It’s always good to ask them to open
up and share to us. Second, Children are really good at imitating and they think, some unethical
behavior that they can see in and out of their homes, are acceptable. It is always good to opt for therapy
and counselling from an expert if our children are vulnerable to this kind of situation. Third, one should
spread knowledge about child abuse in our town or society. If we do this, it can help stop potential
abusers from doing abuses because it would make them realize that people around are aware of this
kind of issue. Lastly, educate children what ‘the good touch and the bad touch’ is. Through this, they
would be more sensitive to the different situation that might happen in the future. If they can identify it,
there is a big possibility for them to say “NO!” to the abuser.

We identified the reason why child abuse is happening and we also learned that there is more we can do
to prevent Child abuse from happening around us. Therefore, if we help hand on hand, we would
successfully overcome this issue and would give the children around the world the happiness that they
deserve. Let us start now!