Concept of Child Abuse

Child abuse is a state of emotional, physical, economic and sexual maltreatment meted out to a person below the age of eighteen and is a globally prevalent phenomenon. However, in India, as in many other countries, there has been no understanding of the extent, magnitude and trends of the problem. The growing complexities of life and the dramatic changes brought about by socio-economic transitions in India have played a major role in increasing the vulnerability of children to various and newer forms of abuse. Despite hectic planning, welfare programmes, legislation and administrative action in the past six decades, a large majority of the Indian children continue to remain in distress and turmoil. In most families, the parents neglect them, caretakers batter them and in work-place employers sexually abuse them. Though this problem of emotional, physical and sexual abuse of children in India is increasing, it has failed to capture the attention of sociologist and psychiatrists in our country. The public and the government also are yet to recognize it as a serious problem. Public indignation and professional concern is yet to be translated into positive and realistic action. According to World Health Organization (WHO), Child abuse or maltreatment constitutes all forms of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the child's health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power. Some studies limit the term ‘child abuse' to “children who have received serious physical injury caused willfully rather than by accident” (Garden and Gray, 1982:5). This definition has not been accepted by the social scientist because of the ambiguities in the word ‘serious and diversities in ‘physical injury'. Kempe and Kempe (1978) have defined child abuse as “a condition having to do with those who have been deliberately injured by physical assault”. This definition is limited in scope as it restricts abuse to those acts of physical violence which produce a diagnostic injury. Thus, acts of neglect and maltreatment of children which do not produce an injury but are equally harmful cannot be included in this definition. No definition if child abuse can be considered valid unless it includes non- physical acts like mental injury and neglect and ill-treatment of child. Burgess(1979:143) has given a wider definition of child abuse. According to him, child abuse refers to “any child who receives non-accidental physical and psychological injury as a result of act and omission on the part of his parents or guardians or employers…” Verbal abuse, threats of physical violence and excessive physical punishment which do not require medical attention are also included in the definition of child abuse.

A child is defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), 1989, as “Every human being below the age of 18 years unless under the law applicable under the child majority is attained earlier. Throughout the consultation the importance of the CRC in the area of child abuse was emphasized. While Article 19 of the convention specifically addresses child abuse and recommends a broad outline for its identification, reporting, investigation, treatment, follow-up and prevention. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) defines child abuse and neglect as: “at a minimum, any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker, which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation, or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.” For CAPTA, the term child is someone who has not reached the age of 18; or (except in the case of sexual abuse) the age specified by the child protection law of the State in which the child resides; Within the minimum standards set by CAPTA, each State is responsible for providing its own definitions of child abuse and neglect. Most States recognize four major types of maltreatment: neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse. Although any of the forms of child maltreatment may be found separately, they often occur in combination.