Child abuse is a wrongful and unlawful treatment of a child. A child according to law is a person under the age of 18. Child abuse could be physical, sexual, emotional, or psychological, or neglecting the child. Children are been abused regularly. And international body claims that 1 in every 5 children is been abused one way or the other. Most times it is termed as a discipline but in the case of it being so extreme, it is child abuse. Over the years more human rights movements and NGOs have reported more cases of children being abused by extended family members or step-parents than direct parenthood.
Physical abuse is a situation whereby a child is physically assaulted with most cases resulting in serious injuries both internal and external. It is usually the easiest detectable form of abuse because it could be seen with the naked eyes. Some small-minded people say it is discipline, but discipline doesn't have to leave scars on the child. There have been lots of cases of physically abused children, where the child who may have done something wrong is beaten with heavy objects and injured in the process. In cases where the injuries are severe and the child is brought to the hospital, the perpetrators usually lie about the source of the injuries to cover their tracks. However, further questioning of the child or witnesses has revealed that the child was abused. Physically abusing a child could be very dangerous because they could be injured beyond healing or even die.
Sexual abuse of children is a common one too, with more than half of the reported rape cases happening to underage children. Sexual abuse doesn't only affect the child sexually but also psychologically, as children or rather teens have committed suicide due to the shame or fear of stigmatization. Cases every year have clocked thousands of reported underage sexual assaults. Whether rape or sexual harassment, they are all child sexual abuse and with the help of people around and organizations, the perpetrators caught have been given lengthy sentences so they can't hurt anybody in a long time.
Here is the story of Ghislaine Maxwell, who becalled her accusers of having "faulty memories" as she faces trial for grooming underage girls for Jeffery Epstein.
Ghislaine Noelle Marion Maxwell is a British socialite known for her association with financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. She worked for her father Robert Maxwell, until his death in 1991 when he was found floating in the ocean when she moved to the United States and became a close associate of Epstein. Maxwell founded a non-profit group for the protection of oceans, "The TerraMar Project, in 2012." The organization announced the cessation of operations on 12 July 2019, a week after the sex trafficking charges brought by New York federal prosecutors against Epstein became public.
Epstein, 66, died in August 2019 from what authorities have ruled a suicide by hanging at the Manhattan federal jail where he had been held since the prior month on child sex-trafficking charges. Epstein, a former friend of ex-Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, previously had dated Maxwell, who also acted as his property manager.
Multiple outlets including CNN, NBC News, and The Washington Post confirmed that she was arrested by officials on July 2 at her home, a luxurious compound on 156 acres in Bradford, New Hampshire. Maxwell has been held without bond since her arrest in July 2020. Meanwhile, Maxwell, 59, will challenge the claims that she groomed underage girls for the convicted pedophile Jeffery Epstein(deceased). She has also pleaded not guilty to all charges against her, and has accused her accusers of having 'faulty memories'.
A letter, written by Ms. Jeffery Pagliuca, Ms. Maxwell's lawyer, gives a first glance at what her legal team is hoping to use in her defense in court.
In her defense, her lawyer drafted a letter saying leading experts in psychiatry and memory would be brought in to testify.
Elizabeth Loftus, a psychologist and specialist in false memory who has testified in more than 300 trials including those for high profile defendants such as Harvey Weinstein, Ted Bundy, and others, is one expert that will be used. Ms. Loftus' research has revealed how memories can be changed by things we are told and information inadvertently absorb after an event.
Psychologically abusing a child by using words, actions, or behavior towards them to make them feel less important. Comparing your child to another person's child to make the child feel less is also abuse because every child is different and it is wrong to make the child not feel worthy. This act could hurt the child's self-esteem and psychological balance. Refrain people from comparing your children too. Using the child's emotions is also wrong, other people around mostly parents use their position in the child's life to influence the child for their benefit rather than the best fit for the child.
Child trafficking, is a dangerous form of child abuse, recently two women were intercepted by the authorities, the women were caught in possession of a few weeks old twins wrapped in polythene bags and they were traveling with the children in the bags. The women have since been charged. This shows that child trafficking doesn't have to do with sending underage children out of the country but child trafficking also occurs within the country. This is one of the reasons why newborns are put on 24 hours watch. Parents have been warned also of who they entrust their children with. There have been cases of young children especially young girls trafficked abroad for illegal purposes like prostitution, slavery, ritual, etc. With help of credible information, more baby factories have been discovered and shut down. Baby factories are usually a sorry sight as young girls are subjected to unimaginable things.
Neglecting a child is also abusing that child, more and more newborn babies are found in front of orphanages, in gutters, dump sites, and other undue places. Child neglecting is also a sign of child abuse while the child lives with the parents. Lots of parents could be busy and some too busy to concern themselves with the intimate knowledge of their children. There have been cases of children being abused by household helpers, extended family, or even teachers but the child can't speak up because they don't have a personal relationship with their parents or guardians.
There are lots of solutions to stopping child abuse but the first and most important is to sincerely love the child or children. When you love a child, you would correct with love & care, you won't sexually abuse the child, you won't sell the child or neglect the child. Another method of prevention is building a personal relationship with the child, be friends with your child so they could easily tell you what they are passing through before it gets too late. Be careful of who you give your children to live with, don't easily trust people to take care of your child, and if the child is living with someone, visit regularly.
Encourage your children to speak up when they are passing through anything. Schools should have counselors who can interact with students and help them when they have issues. Report cases of abuse to the appropriate authorities, make sure you do so immediately you witness the abuse because such people are not meant to go scot-free and you might just be saving the child's life and preventing the abuser from committing murder. Sensitize your children about dangers, people to run from, and reject suspicious gifts and advances. Public enlightening of the dangers of child abuse and how to properly treat children should be held for parents, prospective parents, guardians, seniors, and adults in general.
Child abuse might be an issue that never goes away but with each other's help, the rate of it is reducing. With the vision to reduce child abuse to less than 10%, everybody must play an important role in that reduction rate. Stay tuned on ritrends.com for more.
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