Daeshianna McCants

RWS II 1305
Sean P. Garcia
3/27/2016
Child Abuse
Child abuse, we all know about but also dont know anything about. It is always
talked about but there isnt something done about it. According to Child abuse statistics and
facts every year more than 3.6 million referrals are made to CPS. The united states lose about
four to seven children every day to child abuse and neglect. There are five different types of
child abuse and the most common one is physical abuse (28.3%) and next is sexual abuse
(20.7%) As a whole we dont see how big of deal it is and how we lose young kids everyday
due to the abuse caused. In 2014, state agencies found an estimated 702,000 victims of child
maltreatment. This paper will inform you a little more about child abuse and its history
starting with the law and when it was put into play.
Throughout history, before there was any protection for child abuse, the government
made sure there was protection for animals. In 1810, a woman was prosecuted for murdering
her new born child but she was found not guilty because she was insane. In 1869, a father
was prosecuted for putting his blind son in a cold cellar during winter; the defense council
argued that parents have the right to raise their kids the way they want. Massachusetts had a
law as early as 1642 that would remove kids from parents who basically did not train their

children properly. And it doesnt end there, in 1847, Mary Ellen Wilson (9) was turned over
to the citys Department of Charities after her father died and her mother could not afford to
care for her anymore. A couple named Mary and Thomas McCormack were her new parents.
Mary mistreated Mary Ellen, she would beat her every day. A neighbor in the tenement they
moved too had noticed the cries of the child and told Methodist mission worker Etta Angell
Wheller who then tried to seek legal protection for the child. She was the one who found the
leader of the American society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and asked him to
help get the child out of the danger she was in. On April 21, 1874, Mary Connolly was found
guilty of felonious assault and was sentenced to one year of hard labor in prison.
Moreover, after Mary was rescued, they created the nongovernmental charitable
devoted to child protection called The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Children. Soon after, in 1962, an article on the American Medical Association described that
if there were any symptoms of child abuse, then it was mandatory report it. Within 10 years,
every state had a mandatory reporting law, and in 1974, the federal law came up with the
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act which was made to eliminate child abuse, and
provide shelter and other protective services. If it wasnt for the case of Mary Ellen, no one
knows when there would have been a law that would protect children, especially the ones old
enough to speak, and the too young ones to defend themselves.
Furthermore, have you ever heard about what they do in China? They kill
women and disabled kids to maintain a strong race without overpopulation. They also did
this in Hawaii, and Japan. According to some of the information I did research on, I learned
more about child punishment all over the world and it varies between cultures. For example,

in the United States we dont do what they do in China, Hawaii, and Japan to help with the
overpopulation. A lot of families that are not from the United States believe that hitting their
children is a way to show them love and the harder the children get hit, the more the parents
love them. But how? That is something terrible. Patrick So, a psychotherapist for the New
York City School Board said ''In Asia, your child is considered to be your property and you
can do whatever you want.
In my last paper, I mentioned about the African American history when it came to
beating their kids. It was a practice learned from the time of slavery. The white man would
beat their slaves, not feed them, and treat them as if they were not human. Slave mothers
would beat their children in order to show their master that they can follow in their
footsteps and beat children. Mothers did that in a way of protection for their little ones
because they did not want the slave owner to beat them and end up hurting them to the point
of death. Today, some African American families have carried on this practice because of
trigger happy cops, meaning all the deaths of young black men in the hands of white police
officers.
The response to hearing about these practices between these specific groups is
considered child abuse and something needs to be done about it. Yes, parents are allowed to
whoop, beat, spank, hit, etc. their children but there has to be on to a point where it goes too
far and there should be categories that measure what falls into child abuse regardless if it is a
culture matter or not. Child abuse is wrong, and no child should be beaten to a physical harm
that would make them feel threaten throughout their entire lives because eventually, the

individual is going to have psychological problems and their future could be a complete
disaster.
To continue, there is not a specific community in which child abuse operates within,
because it is something that happens everywhere but varies throughout the world. Child
abuse occurs at every socioeconomic level, across all ethnic and cultural lines, within all
religions, and at all levels of education. A lot of neglect does happen in some of the homes
of rich people since the majority of the parents are never home or they are too busy to pay
attention to their kids. Military children can be even more at risk for child abuse and neglect
because of many stressors their parents are facing (Viki.) Negelect in the lower class is usual
because some parents, single mothers do not have enough to provide for their kids or some
get lost in the streets and dont worry about what goes on with their kids. There are times
parents dont mean to neglect their children because some become mentally or physically
unable to care for their children.
There are no arguments for child abuse because it is a terrible act and nobody should
be for something as cruel as this. Now, there are tons of augments that are against it. One of
the biggest arguments about child abuse is some child abuse leads to child death. Earlier I
mentioned each day 5 kids die to the cause of child abuse and they are usually under the age
of 4. Not only does child abuse have an effect on the kids now but it has a long time affect
too. Some kids that were sexually abused when they were younger sometimes grow up to
being child molesters. Overall no child deserves to be abused there is a point where a
whooping does become abuse. Yes, parents are allowed to discipline their kids but there is a
point when it goes too far. At one point in history teachers were allowed to beat their students

with a paddle, in due time they stopped allowing that. That is something I dont think should
have ever been allowed, a teachers job is to teach, yes discipline is something to teach to but
not physically.
In conclusion we should all pay closer attention to child abuse as well as report it if
we know someone doing it. Everyone even kids under the age of 4 deserve an equal chance
at everything. If you happen to know a kid or someone who has gone or going through child
abuse help them out by getting them some help! Kids are the future and if a lot of them grow
up in a bad environment, their future may not be as bright. Everyone is important and no kid
should ever feel like they are not worth anything.

Reference Page
D. D. (n.d.). Reasons to Prevent Child Abuse | Prevent Child Abuse Indiana. Retrieved
March 28, 2016, from http://pcain.org/more/reasons/
Myers, J. E. (2006). Child Sexual Abuse. Child Protection in America, 104-128.
Myers, J. E. (2006). Reducing Abuse And Neglect. Child Protection in America, 157-172.
V. (n.d.). 5 Reasons People Don't Report Child Abuse. Retrieved March 28, 2016, from
http://www.military.com/spouse/relationships/5-reasons-people-dont-report-child-abuse.html
Zhao, Y. (2002, May 29). Cultural Divide Over Parental Discipline. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/29/nyregion/cultural-divide-over-parental-discipline.html
https://www.childhelp.org/child-abuse-statistics/
http://www.childabuse.org/facts