How Does Child Abuse Happen?

Child abuse, how it happens, how to recognize it, and how to stop it, has always been an area of interest for me. I was abused mentally, physically, and sexually as a small child. I was saved from the horrors in my life, but not before I was old enough for it to permanently scar me. My abuse has effected my entire life; it has affected how I am with people, my ability to have long term relationships, and worse than that, I have had nightmares since I was a kid.

Child abuse is widely occurring and can happen in any cultural, ethnic, or income group. Child abuse is defined as the emotional, physical, and/or sexual mistreatment of a minor.

Girls are ore often abused than boys. Approximately one in four girls will be abused, and one in eight boys. Approximately one in every twenty children will be sexually abused. Sexual abuse is defined as the intentional act of introducing a minor to sexual activity.

Something that some people do not know is that neglect is also a form of abuse. Neglect can be described as disregard for a child's well-being. There are a wide range of things that fall under the label of neglect.

Some of the things include: Withholding food and/or water, leaving a child in a hot/cold car, not keeping a child clean, and withholding medical care. These are just a few things that fall under neglect and abuse.

The reasons behind why someone abuses a child is not something that can be answered simply. I would not ever make excuses for an abuser, but I've always wanted to know why—why did my birth parents feel the need to harm me in the way that they did, or what is it that made them think it was OK?

One of the basic reasons that someone becomes an abuser is often because they themselves were abused as children. There are also those that say it happens when there is something wrong with the brain or a chemical imbalance in the brain. But while those are a few reasons, there are also those that are just evil and enjoy causing harm to others no matter who they are hurting.

I was born to someone that was pure evil—my birth father—and one thing that I didn't understand was how my mother could allow him to do what he did to me. It wasn't until I was adopted when I was seven that I learned the most likely reason my birth mother never acted. My birth mother was my birth father's step-daughter originally. My adoptive mom explained it to me that it was like Stockholm Syndrome; she had been abused mentally and physically for so long that she had no will to fight back or stop him. So one thing to always keep in mind when there is more than one abuser is that there is one person that is dominant and the other may not have the power or will to stop them or fight them. I do not make excuses, but these are things to keep in mind when you are thinking about abuse and why it happens.

We also need to do more to prevent it, as well as find more ways to recognize the signs of abuse. Teachers and doctors are taught to watch for signs and doctors do well with it and reporting, but most often it is teachers that have the most contact, and most teachers don't know the signs or do not pay enough attention.

In the next segment on this topic, I will write more on the signs that a child is being abused and how to handle it if you are worried that a child is being abused.