CHILD ABUSE

BY:
MILANOEZZA MAE A. MACATANGAY
IV-DAGOHOY
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE

TOPIC: CHILD ABUSE IN THE PHILIPPINES

I. DEFINITION OF TERMS
A. Child Abuse
B. Department of Social Welfare and Development
C. Emotional Abuse
D. Neglect
E. Physical Abuse
F. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
G. Sexual Abuse
H. Stress
II. CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILD ABUSE
A. Physical Abuse
B. Emotional Abuse
C. Neglect
D. Sexual Abuse
III. CLASSIFICATION OF CHILD ABUSE
A. CATEGORY A: DELIBERATE, PREMEDITATED CHILD ABUSE UNDERTAKEN FOR GAIN
B. CATEGORY B: IMPULSIVE ILL TREATMENT RESULTING FROM ADVERSE SOCIETAL AND
PERSONAL PRESSURES
C. CATEGORY C: MILD ILL TREATMENT UNIVERSAL IN ALL SOCIETIES
IV. CAUSES OF CHILD ABUSE
A. Substance Abuse
B. Disabilities
C. Domestic Violence
D. Untreated Mental Illness
E. Lack of Parenting Skills
F. Stress and Lack of Support
V. EFFECTS OF CHILD ABUSE
A. Physical Impairment of the Child and Death
B. Mental and Emotional Impairment of the Child
C. Disorganized Attachment
D. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
VI. CONCLUSION
VII. RECOMMENDATION
VIII. BIBLIOGRAPHY
 INTRODUCTION

Violence against children continues to be a pressing problem and such violence is often
manifested in the form of abuse. Research clearly shows that 1% to 15% children in the world becomes
the victim of the child abuse.

Child abuse is one of the most hateable crimes in the human history, because this perpetration
not only gives birth to everlasting suffering and pain to the victim personally but his or her families are
also the victim and they have to bear the negative effects of the disaster throughout their lives.

In this mechanized era, newspapers and magazines are full of the stories of child abuse. Due to
the increased awareness, laws have been passed requiring public officials such as community health
personnel and teachers to report suspected abuse. Policies are also in place outlining the correct
response to child abuse. It is reassuring   that people are becoming more aware of the problem and
more willing to report suspected abuse due to a heightened awareness. However, despite the
increasing global awareness of children’s rights, there continues to be numerous documented cases of
child abuse.

This study is intended to find out what Child Abuse is all about. Specifically, it sought to
answer the following questions:

1. What is Child Abuse?

2. What are the characteristics of Child Abuse?
3. What are the classifications of Child Abuse according to degree and motive?
4. What are the different causes of Child Abuse?
5. What are the different effects of Child Abuse?
6. How are you going to prevent Child Abuse?
7. How can you help an abused or neglected child?
 OUTLINE

TOPIC: CHILD ABUSE

I. DEFINTION OF TERMS
A. Child Abuse
B. Department of Social Welfare and Development
C. Emotional Abuse
D. Neglect
E. Physical Abuse
F. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
G. Sexual Abuse
H. Stress
II. CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILD ABUSE
A. Physical Abuse
B. Emotional Abuse
C. Neglect
D. Sexual Abuse
III. CLASSIFICATION OF CHILD ABUSE
D. CATEGORY A: DELIBERATE, PREMEDITATED CHILD ABUSE UNDERTAKEN FOR GAIN
E. CATEGORY B: IMPULSIVE ILL TREATMENT RESULTING FROM ADVERSE SOCIETAL AND
PERSONAL PRESSURES
F. CATEGORY C: MILD ILL TREATMENT UNIVERSAL IN ALL SOCIETIES
IV. CAUSES OF CHILD ABUSE
A. Substance Abuse
B. Disabilities
C. Domestic Violence
D. Untreated Mental Illness
E. Lack of Parenting Skills
F. Stress and Lack of Support
V. EFFECTS OF CHILD ABUSE
A. Physical Impairment of the Child and Death
B. Mental and Emotional Impairment of the Child
C. Disorganized Attachment
D. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
VI. CONCLUSION
VII. RECOMMENDATION
VIII. BIBLIOGRAPHY
 I. DEFINITION OF TERMS
To fully understand the study, definitions are used in the following terms:

A. Child Abuse

It refers to causing or permitting any harmful or offensive contact on a child’s body; and, any
communication or transaction of any kind which humiliates, shames, or frightens the child.

B. Department of Social Welfare and Development

It pertains to the executive department of the Philippine Government responsible for the

protection of the social welfare rights of Filipinos and to promote social development.

C. Emotional Abuse

It refers to acts or the failures to ct by parents or caretakers that have caused or could cause
serious behavioural, cognitive, emotional, or mental disorders.

D. Neglect

The term pertains to the failure to provide for the child’s basic needs. 

E. Physical Abuse

The word refers to the inflicting of physical injury upon a child.

F. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

It pertains to anxiety disorder occurred after a major traumatic event that involved the
threat of injury or death.

G. Sexual Abuse

It refers to the inappropriate sexual behaviour with a child. 

H. Stress

It refers to the forces from the inside or outside world affecting the individual.

“Child Abuse: Child Abuse definition, prevention, neglect,  types, treatment, articles”,
http://www.indianchild.com/child_abuse.htm

“Department of Social Welfare and Development (Philippines)”,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Social_Welfare_and_Development_(Philippines)
II. CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILD ABUSE

A. PHYSICAL ABUSE

It is an injury resulting from physical aggression. Even if the injury was not intended, the act
is considered physical abuse. The injury from physical child abuse may be the result of
beating, slapping, or hitting, pushing, shaking, kicking, or throwing, pinching, biting, choking,
or hair-pulling, burning with cigarettes, scalding water, or other hot objects or severe
physical punishment. Some signs of physical child abuse are burns, bite marks, cuts, bruises,
or welts in the shape of an object, resistance to going home and fear of adults.

B. EMOTIONAL ABUSE

It is any attitude, behaviour, or failure to act that interferes with a child's mental health or
social development. It can range from a simple verbal insult to an extreme form of
punishment. Emotional abuse is almost always present when another form of abuse is
found. Surprisingly, emotional abuse can have more long-lasting negative psychiatric
effects than either physical abuse or sexual abuse. Other names for emotional abuse are
verbal abuse, mental abuse or psychological maltreatment or psychological abuse.
Emotional child abuse can come from adults or from other children, parents or caregivers,
teachers or athletic coaches, siblings, bullies at school or elsewhere or middle- and high-
school girls in social cliques.

C. NEGLECT

Neglect is a type of child abuse that is an act of omission or of not doing something. It is a
pattern of failing to provide for a child's basic needs. A single act of neglect might not be
considered child abuse, but repeated neglect is definitely child abuse. There are three basic
types of neglect; physical neglect, educational neglect, and emotional neglect. Physical
Neglect is the failure to provide food, clothing appropriate for the weather, supervision, a
home that is hygienic and safe, and/or medical care, as needed. Educational neglect is the
failure to enrol a school-age child in school or to provide necessary special education. This
includes allowing excessive absences from school. Emotional Neglect is the failure to
provide emotional support, love, and affection. This includes neglect of the child's emotional
needs and failure to provide psychological care, as needed. Some signs of child neglect are
clothing unsuited to the weather, being dirty or not bathed, extreme hunger and apparent
lack of supervision.

D. SEXUAL ABUSE

Sexual abuse of a child is any sexual act between an adult and a child, including penetration,
intercourse, incest, rape, oral sex, and sodomy. Other examples include fondling, violations
of bodily privacy, exposing children to adult sexuality, and commercial. Regardless of the
 child's behaviour or reactions, it is the responsibility of the adult not to engage in sexual acts
with children. Sexual abuse is never the child's fault. Sexual child abusers can be fathers,
mothers, siblings, or other relatives, childcare professionals or babysitters, clergy, teachers,
or athletic coaches, foster parents or host families of foreign-exchange students, neighbours
or friends or strangers. Some signs of sexual child abuse are inappropriate interest in or
knowledge of sexual acts, seductiveness, avoidance of things related to sexuality, or
rejection of own genitals or body, either over compliance or excessive aggression and fear of
a particular person or family member.

Margaret G. Smith, Rowena Fong, “The Children of Neglect: When No One Cares”, New York: Routledge,
2004.

David M. Cooper, “Child Abuse Revisited: Children, Society, and Social Work”, Philadelphia: Open
University, 1993.

“Types of Child Abuse”, http://www.healthyplace.com/abuse/main/types-child-abuse/menu-id-52/

“Child Abuse and Neglect: Recognizing and Preventing Child Abuse”,

helpguide.org/mental/child_abuse_physical_emotional_sexual_neglect.htm

“Stress, Bad Economy no Excuse for Child Abuse”, http://www.suite101.com/content/stress-bad-

economy-no-excuse-for-child-abuse-a238527
 III. CLASSIFICATION OF CHILD ABUSE

A. CATEGORY A: DELIBERATE, PREMEDITATED CHILD ABUSE UNDERTAKEN FOR GAIN

This involves seriously harmful acts against children and should be recognised in all
countries as one of the most serious of crimes. For the victim, abuse involves unimaginable,
unbearable suffering; for the perpetrator it is deliberate and premeditated; it results in gain
or gratification for the perpetrator who may become habituated to abuse, particularly
sexual abuse. The abuser is not mentally ill, as legally defined. Child abusers are fully aware
of their actions; they know they face retribution if detected. They establish plausible,
elaborate explanations for their children’s injuries to avoid detection, weaving faint strands
of truth into a lattice of lies

B. CATEGORY B: IMPULSIVE ILL TREATMENT RESULTING FROM ADVERSE SOCIETAL AND

PERSONAL PRESSURES

Category B is where the ill treatment, although not premeditated, would be regarded by
“any reasonable person” as excessive because of the degree of physical or emotional harm.
Characteristically, this occurs when parents are themselves under great pressure or
depressed, having difficulties with relationships, and lacking family or other support. The
actions are impulsive, thoughtless, and selfish. The parent lashes out at his/her child when
the child is demanding attention, crying or screaming. The parent is frustrated and unable to
cope with the additional stress. Alcohol or drug dependence is often part of the response of
the parent to the stress and sometimes contributes to the ill treatment. The act may cause
very serious injury, and occasionally death, especially in infants or young children.
Sometimes a parent is ignorant about the extent of damage the impulsive act may cause.

C. CATEGORY C: MILD ILL TREATMENT UNIVERSAL IN ALL SOCIETIES

All loving and caring parents occasionally ill treat their children. Facing a degree of adversity
is essential for development; adverse experience equips children to cope with the realities
of life, and teaches caution and that everybody has failings. Unlike the other categories of ill
treatment described above, category C is culturally dependent. The defining feature for
category C is for the ill treatment to bemild, acknowledged, and mitigated by love and care.
Included are the reflex smack of the badly behaved child; the frustrated aggressive shout
that stuns the childthe derogatory remark that demeans hurtfully; and conscious
“disciplinary” acts accepted by some societies as normal or necessary/

Oliver C. S. Tzeng, Jay W. Jackson, Henry C. Karlson, “Theories of Child Abuse and Neglect: Differential
Perspectives, Summaries, and Evaluations”, Westport, CT: Praeger, 1991.

Faye F. Untalan, Crystal S. Mills, “Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Child Abuse and Neglect”, Westport,
CT: Praeger, 1992.
“Classification of Child abuse by motive and degree rather than type of injury”,
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1719448/pdf/v088p00101.pdf
 IV. CAUSES OF CHILD ABUSE

A. Substance 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.

B. Disabilities

Children who are ill, disabled, or otherwise perceived as different are more likely the target of
abuse. It is because of the society’s response to the disability, rather than the disability itself.
Families with children with disabilities can experience additional stressors including the feeling
unprepared to handle the care of disabled child and also the difficulty in accepting the child as
being different. Children with disabilities may be perceived as less valuable than other children.
Discipline may be punitive more punitive and accompanied by lack of respect.

C. Domestic Violence

Witnessing domestic violence is terrifying to children and emotionally abusive. Even if the
mother does her best to protect her children and keeps them from being physically abused, the
situation is still extremely damaging.

D. 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 anger
without understanding why.

E. 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. 

F. Stress and Lack of Support

The parent or caregiver that is already stressed out by a variety of social condition, when she or
he get home from work might be triggered to violence. They turned stress into anger and rage
onto their kids.

Neil Gilbert, ”Combatting Child Abuse: International Perspectives and Trends”, New York: Oxford, 1997.
Judy Barker, Deborah T. Hodes, “The Child in Mind”, A Child Protection Handbook, London, p.30

Jenny S. Macrohon, “Traditional blamed for increased child abuse”, The Philippine Journal, April 18,
1997, Volume X, no. 060, p.1 & 6.

“Child Abuse: How to recognize battered children”, Philippine Times Journal, February 25, 1991, Volume
IV, no. 10, p.14.

“Defrocked priest charged with child sex abuse”, Manila Bulletin, June 7, 2002, Volume 354, no. 7, p.4.

“Cause of Child Abuse”, http://www.echeat.com/essay.php?t=26312

“Causes and Effects”, http://www.infoplease.com/Ce6/society/A0857276.html

Child Abuse, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/child_abuse

“Prevent Child Abuse”, http://member.preventchildabuse.org/site/DocServer/maltreatment.pdf

 V. EFFECTS OF CHILD ABUSE

A. Physical Impairment of the Child and Death

Small children are especially vulnerable to physical injury such as whiplash or shaken infant
syndrome resulting from batteries.

B. Mental and Emotional Impairment of the Child

It includes generalized anxiety, depression, truancy, shame and guilt, or suicidal and
homicidal tendencies or to engage in criminal activity, promiscuity and substance abuse. It
will encourage the child to lie, resent, fear and retaliate instead of loving, trusting and
listening.

C. Disorganized Attachment

Core feelings of being worthless or damaged may be developed.  It is associated with a

number of developmental problems, including dissociative symptoms. The child will alienate
himself or herself from the rest and be a recluse. He or she will exclude might exclude the
abuser from his adult life. For example, he or she will not invite them to his or her wedding
or will not allowed any contact with his or her children.

D. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Some parents may encounter difficulty with their infant and young children’s needs and
normative distress which may in turn lead to adverse consequences for their children’s
social emotional development. When a child grown up, the child probably carry on the
family tradition and abuse his or her children.

Neil Gilbert, ”Combatting Child Abuse: International Perspectives and Trends”, New York: Oxford, 1997.

Judy Barker, Deborah T. Hodes, “The Child in Mind: A Child Protection Handbook”, London: Routledge,
2004.

“Ramos signs law banning child labor”, Philippine Daily Inquirer, ovember 10, 1993, Volume VIII, no. 336.

Lourdes Molina Fernandez, “Child abuse: more cases, or better reporting?”, Inalaya, December 18, 1991,
Volume X, no. 334, p.5.

“Causes and Effects”, http://www.infoplease.com/Ce6/society/A0857276.html

Child Abuse, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/child_abuse

“Prevent Child Abuse”, http://member.preventchildabuse.org/site/DocServer/maltreatment.pdf

VI. CONCLUSION

In Today's Philippine society we fail to address several issues that need to be solved.
Unfortunately, child abuse is one of the major issues that our country is plagued with, yet we
neglect to bring this to the attention of the entire nation. It is often over looked because everyone
has a different view of what exactly defines child abuse.

To set the record straight there are four basic forms of child abuse, emotional abuse,
neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. Child abuse can also be classified according to degree and
motive such as deliberate, premeditated child abuse undertaken for gain, impulsive ill treatment
resulting from adverse societal and personal pressures and mild ill treatment universal in all
societies.

While child abuse and neglect occurs in all types of families even in those that look happy
from the outside, children are at a much greater risk in certain situations. Some of the causes are
substance abuse, disabilities, domestic violence, untreated mental illness, lack of parenting skills,
stress and lack of support.

All types of child abuse and neglect leave lasting scars. Some of these scars might be
physical, but emotional scarring has long lasting effects throughout life, damaging a child’s sense of
self, ability to have healthy relationships, and ability to function at home, at work and at school.
Some effects include disorganized attachment and post traumatic stress disorder.

Child abuse is more than bruises or broken bones. While physical abuse is shocking due to
the scars it leaves, not all child abuse is as obvious. Ignoring children’s needs, putting them in
unsupervised, dangerous situations, or making a child feel worthless or stupid are also child abuse.
Regardless of the type of child abuse, the result is serious emotional harm.
VII. RECOMMENDATION

Based on the cited conclusions, the researcher came up with the following recommendations:

1. Parents must have dignified their obligations for their children by acquiring sufficient
knowledge, skills and parenting abilities.  If you or a loved one is in an abusive relationships,
getting out is the best thing for protecting the children. In such cases, parenting classes, therapy,
and caregiver support groups are great resources for learning better parenting skills. Caring for a
child with a disability, special needs, or difficult behaviours is also a challenge. It’s important to
get the support you need, so you are emotionally and physically able to support your child.
2. Recognizing abusive behaviour in you and break the cycle of child abuse by learning what is age
appropriate and what is not, developing new parenting skills, getting professional help and
learning how to get emotions under control.
3. Help an abused or neglected child by reporting or referring it to Department of Social Welfare
and Development. Remember, you can make a tremendous difference in the life of an abused
child, especially if you take steps to stop the abuse early. The best thing you can provide is calm
reassurance and unconditional If you have a gut feeling that something is wrong, it is better to
be safe than sorry. Even if you don’t see the whole picture, others may have noticed as well, and
a pattern can help identify child abuse that might have otherwise slipped through the cracks.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. BOOKS

Oliver C. S. Tzeng, Jay W. Jackson, Henry C. Karlson, “Theories of Child Abuse and Neglect: Differential
Perspectives, Summaries, and Evaluations”, Westport, CT: Praeger, 1991.

Faye F. Untalan, Crystal S. Mills, “Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Child Abuse and Neglect”, Westport,
CT: Praeger, 1992.

Neil Gilbert, ”Combatting Child Abuse: International Perspectives and Trends”, New York: Oxford, 1997.

Judy Barker, Deborah T. Hodes, “The Child in Mind: A Child Protection Handbook”, London: Routledge,
2004.

Margaret G. Smith, Rowena Fong, “The Children of Neglect: When No One Cares”, New York: Routledge,
2004.

David M. Cooper, “Child Abuse Revisited: Children, Society, and Social Work”, Philadelphia: Open
University, 1993.

B. JOURNALS

Jenny S. Macrohon, “Traditional blamed for increased child abuse”, The Philippine Journal, April 18,
1997, Volume X, no. 060, p.1 & 6.

“Child Abuse: How to recognize battered children”, Philippine Times Journal, February 25, 1991, Volume
IV, no. 10, p.14.

“Defrocked priest charged with child sex abuse”, Manila Bulletin, June 7, 2002, Volume 354, no. 7, p.4.

“Ramos signs law banning child labor”, Philippine Daily Inquirer, ovember 10, 1993, Volume VIII, no. 336.

Lourdes Molina Fernandez, “Child abuse: more cases, or better reporting?”, Inalaya, December 18, 1991,
Volume X, no. 334, p.5.

C. INTERNET

“Child Abuse: Child Abuse definition, prevention, neglect, types, treatment, articles”,

http://www.indianchild.com/child_abuse.htm
“Department of Social Welfare and Development (Philippines)”,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Social_Welfare_and_Development_(Philippines)

“Types of Child Abuse”, http://www.healthyplace.com/abuse/main/types-child-abuse/menu-id-52/

“Classification of Child abuse by motive and degree rather than type of injury”,
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1719448/pdf/v088p00101.pdf

“Child Abuse and Neglect: Recognizing and Preventing Child Abuse”,

helpguide.org/mental/child_abuse_physical_emotional_sexual_neglect.htm

“Stress, Bad Economy no Excuse for Child Abuse”, http://www.suite101.com/content/stress-bad-

economy-no-excuse-for-child-abuse-a238527

“Conflict in Families Chiefly to Blame - causes of child abuse - Brief Article”,

findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1272/is_2651_128/ai_55500417/
“Cause of Child Abuse”, http://www.echeat.com/essay.php?t=26312

“Causes and Effects”, http://www.infoplease.com/Ce6/society/A0857276.html

Child Abuse, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/child_abuse

“Prevent Child Abuse”, http://member.preventchildabuse.org/site/DocServer/maltreatment.pdf

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

 
This dissertation would not have been possible without the guidance and the help of several individuals
who in one way or another contributed and extended their valuable assistance in the preparation and
completion of this study.

First and foremost, my utmost gratitude to my guardian, Sasa, whose sincerity and steadfast
encouragement I will never forget. She has been my inspiration as I hurdle all the obstacles in the
completion this research work.

I am heartily thankful to my instructor,Mam Geron whose encouragement, guidance and support from
the initial to the final level enabled me to develop an understanding of the subject;

To Ate May who had kind concern and consideration regarding my academic requirements and for her
unselfish and unfailing support;

To Ate Belet for the insights she has shared;

To the Batangas National High School library for being accommodating to my queries; and

Last but not the least, to my family, friends and the one above all of us, the omnipresent God, for
answering my prayers for giving me the strength to plod on despite my constitution wanting to give up
and throw in the towel, thank you so much Dear Lord.