History
Child Abuse
Child abuse is when parents, relatives or caregivers of a child neglect or mistreat them physically, psychologically, emotionally and sexually. However, it does not always occur at home, sometimes, people in charge of children temporarily are potential abusers as well; examples include babysitters and school staff.
In the past, child abuse still existed but was not seen as a major issue because children were seen as miniature adults, hence, they were expected to act like grown-ups and when they did make mistakes, they were punished as seen fit and without taking consideration of their age and strength.
Fortunately, as the years passed, there were changes and people started treating children with care and allowed them to live their childhood. Moreover, it was only in 1889 that the government started taking action against people who were treating children unfairly and laws were passed to protect children and their rights.
In the section below, there will be an explanation of how children were previously treated, the laws and organisations which made campaigns providing support to abused children popular, and encouraged individuals to form more organisations offering different services in favour of children in need.
Child Treatment
Laws and policies
Organisations
Child Treatment
How children were treated in the past
- Back in the day, infants were viewed as normal adults and were expected to be capable to carry out the same tasks that all the adults were doing. It was also very common to see them smoking. They were seen as miniature adults and childhood was seen as something messy (Wilson, 1980). Children were also previously dressed in adult clothes as seen in many old paintings. It was speculated that children were treated as such because of high infant mortality rates; that is, parents would not be affectionate towards them as it was high likely for them to pass away (Ariès, 1960). Ariès also explained that childhood is a social construction whereby children were finally allowed to act their age when the quality of life improved as time passed and mortality rates decreased.
Laws and policies
Laws implemented to help abused children
- The first jurisdiction in favour of children against abuse was first created in Great Britain in 1889 as “The Prevention of Cruelty, and Protection of, Children Act 1889” also known as the Children’s Charter. This law enabled officials to apprehend people who abandoned, neglected or were treating their children cruelly. It also prevented begging and child labour. The Act was modified in 1894 to acknowledge mental abuse and denial of medical attention to a sick child as offenses; children were also allowed to present proof of abuse in court. Following this, other countries started passing laws to protect their children such as the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) in 1974 in the US (Stoltzfus, 2009) and the Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act (RA 7610), on June 17, 1992 in the Philippines. These laws have hence strengthened children’s rights and allowed them to lead safer lives.
Organisations
Campaigns to promote protection of youngsters
- Over the years, many organisations have been formed to help children from abusive families in different ways. For instance, foster care, therapy and support groups. Organisations such as the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children), ChildLine and CPS (Child Protective Services). These societies and campaigns have as objective to help children who have been harmed and heal them so that they are able to stand up for themselves. NSPCC provides educational programs, therapy and helplines; ChildLine is a helpline that runs 24/7 and the CPS develops safety plans, helps families which need assistance and acts immediately by removing children from homes where they are severely ill-treated and have unfit parents or caregivers.