Child abuse is something that has been happening for centuries, but has only recently become very controversial. This is partly because the signs of child abuse are recognized earlier, and partly because abuse and neglect are no longer tolerated. This means children are helped more quickly. Parents who were abused in their own childhood are more likely to abuse their own child. In addition, there are many other causes for child abuse and neglect.
What is child abuse?
Child abuse is the intentional harm and injury to children. Oppression and neglect also fall under child abuse. We distinguished between physical, psychological and sexual child abuse. We do not want to discuss the latter here, this article is about the cause of physical and psychological abuse. Child abuse is often carried out by one or both parents, sometimes also by another family member or the babysitter.
Numbers
Of all children in the Netherlands aged 0 to 18, 118,000 were abused in 2010. Of these, more than 47 percent were psychologically abused. This includes emotional abuse, oppression and neglect. This includes not supporting or guiding appropriate education, belittling, calling names, locking up, but also witnessing domestic violence between parents. We can distinguish psychological abuse into emotional neglect and emotional abuse, with neglect occurring more often.
More than 42 percent of these children were physically abused. This includes hitting, kicking, pinching, causing physical harm using objects, causing burns, etc. But this also includes physical neglect of the child, such as withholding clean clothing, physical care, food, etc. We can also consider physical abuse differentiated into physical neglect and physical abuse. Neglect is also more common here.
Child abuse appears to be more common than before. However, this is not true. Child abuse occurs as often as in other years. However, more attention is paid to signs of child abuse and it is reported earlier. As a result, child abuse is recognized and acknowledged more quickly and action can be taken against the abuse.
Causes of child abuse
Child abuse does not just happen, there is always an underlying cause. There is no healthy parent who wakes up one day and thinks: “I’m going to abuse my child today.” Child abuse is often a dormant process that starts lightly and takes on increasing proportions. Or it is something that is present from the beginning and where the parents are not aware of the abuse.
In most cases, one of the parents was also abused during their own youth. These types of parents often think they will not make the same mistakes with their own child, but it creeps in anyway. Abuse in childhood causes character disorders, making raising your own child difficult.
A common second cause of child abuse is depression or a psychiatric disorder. Depression is particularly common and can cause a loss of interest in one’s own child. Tolerance can also be significantly reduced as a result of depression or a psychological disorder.
In addition, excessively high expectations from parents play an important role. When the child has a disability, a developmental disorder or otherwise does not meet the expectations of the parent or parents, neglect or abuse may occur.
Work can also be a reason for abuse. Parents who work too much often no longer have the energy to care for their children. They may also have too much on their minds, causing them to neglect the child or become easily irritated. Sudden or prolonged unemployment can cause depression, often resulting in neglect of children. The financial situation can also contribute. Families at or below the poverty line experience neglect and abuse more often than other families. We also see drug or alcohol addiction more often in these families. Then too, the risk of child abuse is greater.
Some parents simply don’t love their child enough. This is because they do not find the child beautiful or attractive or that the child is unwanted. Some parents also clearly express their preference for another child from the family, causing the unwanted child to be disadvantaged. In addition, these parents often compare the children with each other and do not take the personal growth and development of the child into account.
The final reason is that there are parents who are unable to care for their child because they themselves have a (congenital) mental or physical disability. This often makes it difficult or even impossible to care for the child. If the parent does not ask for outside help to care for the child, he or she is guilty of abuse.
