The Problem of Child Abuse in America: A Japanese View

I strongly support the idea that child abuse should no longer be permitted in our human society. Child abuse has been one of the most severe problems in American society and still is a problem that just cannot be overlooked. In the United States the number of official reports of child abuse to child protection has increased inexorably from the 1960s through the 1990s. In 1967 there were 9,563 cases reported. However, this number increased to over 2.9 million by the year 1992. What is worse is that well over fifty per cent of these cases are determined to be unfounded or not substantiated. And many people today do not recognize this problem as something that is occuring in the same society they are living in.

Many helpless children in this world are suffering from this problem. One of the main reason is because this severe beating and abusing mostly occur inside their homes, which means a place where no outsider can ever have the chance to notice what is really going on. No outsider would be so considered about the privacy of other families. This is probably one of the reasons why over fifty per cent of the cases are determined to be unfounded. These children cannot get help, or they are even afraid to do so because most fear that they would get in more trouble by their parents, or whomever they are being abused by, if they find out they told others the fact that they were being abused. Of course these people who abuse their own child, or anybody else, has some kind of a problem with their emotions. From the abuser's point of view, they have nowhere else to take out or blame their emotional unstableness, so they choose their own child to stress themselves out. The abusers actually enjoy what they do because they think that it makes them feel better by abusing their own child. The poor innocent child who cannot understand the reason why they are being severely beaten, often start to grow a feeling of great confusion and loneliness inside themselves.

Children who are being abused usually has a problem getting along with others in school. Since most become quiet from their emotional pain, these children are sometimes left out from others in school and has a hard time trying to make new friends. Of course, the longer time the child was being abused, the longer it would take for them to recover from their emotional pain. But from the child's point of view, severe beatings will make a great scar in a child's heart, which means they will suffer with this emotional pain for the rest of their lives. The fact that they were being abused in their childhood is not something they can forget so easily. It will always remain somewhere in their minds, and will definitely give them a hard time to live with that fact.

There are few problems with people who were being abused in their childhood. When these people grow up to be old enough to work in the society, some may have a hard time getting along with others, or may have a hard time talking with others because of their experiences in the past. This gives them a less chance to succeed and it seems really unfair. Another is the problem when these people get married and have their own children. We cannot say for sure that these people will not beat their own children. Some may try to do something that is alike to what their parents have done to them also.

This is why it is very important to understand the fact about this child abuse and how it affects these abused children's emotional feelings and their life in the ahead.

Five author's points of view will be discussed in this essay. And one of them talks about his own childhood experience. The author David Pelzer was severely abused by his mother during his childhood. After years of his terrible abused life, he was finally saved by the teachers in his school. Now he has his own family where he had the chance to learn about the gift of love which he had once lost in his childhood. He works in some programs and wrote books about his own experience to save as many children as possible, who are being abused now and to let people know the cruelty of child abuse.

Amnon Carmi states that the lack of adequate mothering, or a lack of love towards their own child seem to make this child repeat his or her own childhood experiences with their children in later life. Factors such as the parent's basic personality, family structures, the parent's stress situations can be the reasons of child abuse. From Carmi's point of view, the abused child may lack in feelings of love which are very necessary for bringing up a new generation in the future. It is difficult for a family to get along without loving each other. It is also a lethal disease which can be transferred to future generations.

When the very first article of child abuse was published in the newspapers, it was thought to be rare and was also caused by the mental problems of the parents. But this fact is wrong, which means that child abuse is not rare. And also, according to Nancy Scheper-Hughes, the mental illness and the personalities of the parents show no more than ten percent of the cases of child abuse. He also states that child abuse occurs behind closed doors which means it all occurs in the private homes. This is why it makes it difficult for others to find out the fact about the battering or other abuses the child has been given by the parents or caretakers.

We need to know that the problem of child abuse is not rare and there are many ways to focus on this problem of child abuse. But Nigel Parton states that such word as child abuse does not really exist. Some of the cases of what is called "child abuse" is stated that way by people in general because they find that the conduct towards the child is going far beyond the limit. In other words, when the parent's or a caretaker's practice of punishing or beating a child goes far beyond the normal status, that act will be considered as "child abuse." And the way people use and think of this word "child abuse" also varies in different cultures of the world. And even though this varies from different cultures, it also varies from different members that are in that same culture. Robert Dingwall also states that it is hard to draw the line between a child discipline and an abuse. Child abuse is a relative problem since the meaning of it varies depending on each and every person.

These were just brief introductions of the five authors' point of views towards child abuse, but we should know precisely what child abuse is. According to Amnon Carmi, "Child abuse is a dangerous and often lethal disease, which may be transferred to future generations. The abused child may lack these feelings of love which are so necessary for the bringing up of a new generation."(120) Child abuse can be said to be a disease which causes children to suffer. Carmi also says, "The physically battered child has telltale signs of the suffering imposed upon him by one or both parents, and needless to say, suffers emotional trauma along with the physical damage." (121) The affect of battering that causes to the child is very difficult to express. When the child gets severely beaten by their parents, not only are they hurt physically, but also emotionally. In some severe cases, abused children have fractured bones, serious cases of burns, unusual bruises and many other cruel signs. They have to deal with this pain, but at the same time, they have to have strong emotions to survive. They have no idea why they are being so severely beaten because they know the fact that they have not done anything wrong to make them angry. And another reason is because, usually these children are too young to understand their parent's situations, such as their emotional problems. And many socialists are thinking of psychological ways to help the abusers from causing such problems. But on the other hand, Nigel Parton says, "no behavior is necessarily child abuse… Some sets of facts come to be labelled as cases of child abuse because they go beyond the limits of what is now considered to be acceptable conduct towards a child." (71) He also states that "...because child abuse varies from one place to another, and can be defined differently by different people, it is a relative problem." (71) In a way, this is also true. Since there are many different cultures existing in this world, the view of child abuse may differ according to each and every culture. If a child is battered in some kind of a way, one might think that act will be considered as child abuse. But another might just think that it is one case of a firm parental practice towards a child and that child deserves that punishment. So it might be difficult to really define what child abuse is, since the view towards child abuse varies according to the cultures, countries or the people.

According to Robert Dingwall, "... the very definition of mistreatment becomes a relative matter. Where do we draw the line between firm discipline and physical abuse? What marks off sexual abuse from intimate displays of affection between family members?" (3) This writer's statement is alike to what the writer Nigel Parton said, when he stated that the problem of child abuse is a relative one since it can be defined differently according to the people of different countries. To give an example of this, there is a television commercial in Japan which advertises a fabric softener. It shows a scene where a father and his children are taking a bath together. In Japan, this would only be considered as one happy family scene but in America, this would definitely be unacceptable. It could even be brought to court, and this is how serious it can be. In Japan, it is not unusual to take a bath together with a parent, but in America there is a possibility that it can be considered as one kind of a sexual abuse. This shows a cultural difference between Japan and America. He also states that "there is no objective behavior we can automatically recognize as child abuse."(4) If a person sees a parent hitting their own child, many would think that act is just one case of a parental practice. Not many would think right away that that child is being abused so this is why it makes it difficult for other people to find out about the problem.

Another writer, David Pelzer says, "... there are those among the uninformed public who believe that most abuse is nothing more that parents exerting their 'right' to discipline their children and letting it get a little out of hand." (162) Nigel Parton states something alike saying that some cases become to be labelled as child abuse when the parental practice goes far beyond the limit. Even if the parent's act towards the child gets a little out of hand, or beyond a limit, it does not mean that everyone will consider this as child abuse. This is why some of the writers are saying that child abuse is a relative problem. It is very hard to draw the line that separates what is a right act towards a child from a wrong one. And this is actually what leads to the problem of child abuse.

It is also important to know the main causes of child abuse. Such factors as stress situations, basic personality, mental disturbances, deviant personality, social learning and family structures can be the main causes that lead to child abuse. If the abused holds a great amount of stress which may be caused by problems from what goes on outside their homes, they would take it out on their own child. They blame the fact that they are unable to succeed is because of their children. When parents have mental disturbances, they usually have a hard time to put up with their child because they already have enough problems of their own. Family structures can hold a great part of the main reasons. If the abuser grew up in a family without enough love or care, they would probably treat their children the same as how they were being treated in their own childhood.

Many mothers or fathers who are alcoholics abuse their own child when they start losing self-control after they become really addicted to a great amount of alcohol. And also, many come from the parent's divorce. According to Child Survival, it is noted that fifty per cent of American marriages that have begun since the year 1970 have ended in divorce.(172) This is how high the number of divorced parents are. And when these parents who get divorced have children, the matter will definitely be more complicated compared to ones without children. Children are abused through the process of their parents' divorce.

One of the main reasons why child abuse should not be permitted is the fact that it is very unfair towards the child and to their future when they become an adult. And also the great suffering and damage it can do to a child's innocent heart. Carmi says, "Battering has a destructive effect not only upon a child's present situation, but also upon his functioning as an adult in the future." (3) This is true in many ways. For the child who is being abused, that child will definitely have a great damage in their heart, but they will also start lacking in feelings of love if they are abused continuously. This may be the reason why these children may be lacking in feelings of love towards their own child when they become an adult, since they do not know how to love their own family or what love actually is.

Another reason why child abuse should not be permitted is because there is a chance that the abused child can repeat the same experiences again in the future generations. Since these abused children grow up in families surrounded by parents who have problems of their own, there is a possibility that these abused children can grow up to become the same. And since these children grew up with such difficulties, they can repeat it again, for family does not actually have such a great meaning for them. They may consider their own family as something that is not so worthy or important.

But to look at this from the opposite point of view, Nigel Parton states that such thing as child abuse does not exist. So this means there are people who might be having the same kind of views as this author who think child abuse is not considered a problem at all since they consider it as just one kind of a parental practice.. People's sense of value towards child abuse varies so this is what makes the problem even more complicated.

The definition of child abuse or child maltreatment becomes a relative matter because it is hard to decide where the line between firm discipline and physical abuse should be drawn. To look at this problem from the abuser's point of view, Carmi says, "It is seldom a solitary factor which produces child abuse, but usually a combination of many. The whole framework of ambivalence, disciplinary problems, guilt feelings, and lack of outlet for accumulated tension is the consequence of far-reaching cracks in the family structure." (115) And it could also be said the abusers themselves were lacking in adequate mothering in their childhood. In the field of child-battering there is a postulate that states, "the parents of battered children were once battered themselves." Most of the cases reported in the books indicated that the mother's agression towards the child is higher. But the important point is that not all of these mothers hated their children from the beginning, and they actually did love them even for one time.

There is another important thing about child abuse, and that is the diagnosis of the problem. Such as the child's repeated long bone and skull fractures, malnutrition or poor skin hygiene can be the possible signs of child abuse. Since the parents do not give proper care to their child, the child has to live their lives with the least amount of everything. They do not get enough things to eat since the parent does not give them the right meal. And this keeps on going until the child starves to death and this is what leads to malnutrition. Also, if all the severe beatings continue day after day, there is a possibility that this child can have a fractured bone or some other serious injuries that can be alike to this. But the reason why it takes a long time for these abused children to be saved is because they hide all the truth and tell a lie to the doctors. The child makes up some kind of an accidental event to let the doctor remain unaware of the real cause of their abuse. The reason why they lie is because they are so afraid of their own parents that they would get in more trouble, even if these children have the right to tell the truth and save themselves. They know that they will be beaten even more by their parents if they tell others the truth to get help.

About this diagnosis of child abuse, Nancy Scheper-Hughes says, "... the timing of the recent 'discover' of child abuse has to do with the uncovering of the 'truth' of allegations of abuse and sexual molestation." (346) Even if the child has been taken away from their own family to be saved, in many cases, the parent would never tell the truth about what they have done to their child. They keep hiding a secret inside their family so that no outsider can ever find out the truth. Many children are suffering from their abuse through a long period of time since they hide the truth. This is what makes it very difficult for outsiders to find out. And this keeps the others from finding out the problem and this is a good thing from the abuser's point of view, since they can keep abusing their child without getting caught by others.

Through the problem of child abuse, not just the cases of battering is the problem. There are other cases of it and one is child sexual abuse. As the writer Robert Dingwall said, it is hard to draw a line between sexual abuse and intimate displays of affection between family members. But to this, Nancy Scheper-Hughes says "Contact or interactions between a child and an adult when the child is being used for sexual stimulation of that adult or another person" (247) is the definition of child sexually abuse. The words "child sexual abuse" does create a problem for different cultures as well as the problem of child abuse itself does. But since there is a more precise definition for it, the meaning of it might not vary so much between different cultures compared to the definition of "child abuse."

Another problem is the opposite when the child is forced to beat their own parent until they have no strength to beat them back. The child is forced by one parent to beat the other and that parent does this to enjoy themselves. It seems to be something opposite since the person who is being hurt is the parent, but this is just one case of an emotional child abuse. It is not a physical child abuse since the parents are not abusing their child physically. But, by making or forcing their child to do something that they do not want to, it can be considered as an emotional abuse. In this case, even if this parent who was beaten had reported to the police, the parent who made the child beat the other parent will blame the fault on the child and not themselves.

To compare the five authors, Amnon Carmi says that the abused child may lack in feelings of love which are so necessary for the bringing up of new generations. To this, David Pelzer says, "...some adult who is the victim of a dark past of child abuse may vent his or her pent-up frustrations on society or on those he or she may love." (162) Their statements are alike since they are both saying that the abused child can repeat the same experiences again in their future when they have their own family. This is the most fearful thing about child abuse. And this is why it can be a lethal disease that can be passed on to future generations. Not knowing how to love his or her own family is a very sad thing. And it also leads to the problem of child abuse. If these abused children grew up in families with such backgrounds, it might be difficult for them to deal with their own family when they have one of their own.

In some of the reported cases of crimes other than child abuse, the criminal was someone who was abused during their childhood. An abused child who grew up to be a killer went on gunning down many helpless innocent victims until the police had to come to take his life since that was the only way to stop him. This is just one case of it, but what the abuse causes to a child's emotion is very serious.

The writers Nigel Parton and David Pelzer have the same kind of point of views. Nigel Parton says that some sets of facts come to be labelled as what is called child abuse because they go far beyond the limit of what is considered to be acceptable. And David Pelzer says that people think child abuse is nothing more than a discipline to their child that got a little out of hand. This is why both of these writers are saying that the problem of child abuse is a relative one. Robert Dingwall also says that child abuse is a relative problem since it is hard to decide where to draw the line between child abuse and a parental practice towards a child. And from child sexual abuse to intimate displays of affection between family members. The view towards this problem varies so much that it is hard to decide what is a right act towards a child and what is not.

Nancy Scheper-Hughes stated that child sexual abuse is when the child is used as a sexual stimulation by an adult. While some writers state the problem of child abuse as something relative, she stated a clear definition of what child sexual abuse is, even though child sexual abuse is just one case of child abuse. She also stated that the diagnosis of child abuse takes a long time since most hide the truth about the problem. In many cases of the problems of child abuse, this is one of the main reasons why it takes a long time for children who are being abused to be saved.

There are many different cultures existing in this world, and in each cultures, many people that have different views exist. Child abuse is just one example, but since there are many people with different point of views, it is very difficult to define what child abuse really is. In some cultures, a strict behavior or an act is something usual to do to a child. But in other cultures, it might be the completely opposite where they would never hit their child and just treasure them. Child abuse is considered to be a serious problem among the society, but it might not be the same for everybody. Some may not even consider this as a problem at all. All the different views of the people is what makes this problem difficult to define and solve since it changes so much according to the different people in each cultures of the world.

In this essay, I have proven that child abuse should no longer be permitted in American society, and that it is a problem that cannot be overlooked. One of the writers, David Pelzer wrote about his own childhood experiences to let people know how important it is for people to be considered about this problem. He had an ordinary life but things changed drastically when he reached the age of elementary school. He had four other brothers, but for some reason, he was the only one being abused. From then, he was not given the proper care by his mother, but he fought with himself to survive. He was finally saved by the teachers at school when they noticed all the unusual bruises and other effects on his body. This writer's story is just one of the common cases of child abuse. The mother had mental problems of her own. And this child was not saved until six years of his abused life since he never told the truth to others.

David Pelzer's story is one of the many cases that occurred. In his book he stated such cases like a father and a mother each killing their child and leaving their bodies through a long period of four years. Another was a father who stuck the child's head into the toilet and left him dead. These are not just child abuse but also a serious case of murder. The parent's emotions get way out of control and this is what makes them do things like this. It is so cruel that it is hard to understand why people actually do such things like this.

I think a child who was abused in their childhood carry that problem as an invisible scar in their hears throughout their life. I do not think it is something that can easily be forgotten. The child can be abused emotionally, physically or sexually but either way, the child will have a difficult time overcoming the fact about what happened in their childhood. And this is why many seem to hide themselves in their own shells which makes it even more difficult for them to communicate with others. And many would probably hide their past deep inside their hearts.

Children who were being abused often had problems with others in society. And this is why I think it makes it unfair for the child who was being abused. All the children have the right to be given the proper care by their parents and this is especially important in people's childhood. But since they lack in this, this is the reason why they have a less chance to know the importance of it. I agree with the writer Amnon Carmi saying that child abuse can be a lethal disease that can be passed on to future generations. If the abused child grew up in a family with such a poor background, I think it is something usual that they do not know how to love people since they were lacking in this during their childhood. In the books I have read, there were many cases where the abusers were people who themselves were being abused during their childhood. They have a tendency to repeat the same experiences again when they raise their own family. They have ordinary lives with their own family and children, but some ordinary problems that occur in their everyday life often force the former abused victim to behave the same as they were taught as children before. Their own child becomes the object of their own frustration and they start abusing them. This is just like a cycle that is never ending and this is why I agree with Amnon Carmi's point of view because this never ending cycle is the lethal disease that gets passed on from generation to generation. There has to be an end to it somewhere, but it is not a problem that can be solved easily. This all depends on the abused child and how they live their lives.

I also agree with Nigel Parton's point of view saying that child abuse is a relative problem. It is hard to focus on child abuse and give the exact definition of it since the meaning of it varies so much. Many people have all different kind of views towards this problem and this is what makes it even more confusing. It is hard to tell if this problem of child abuse is right or wrong. Because some may think that it is important to teach their own child what is right from wrong, they might think some severe acts of abuse towards their child will be necessary at times. Hitting their child, even if it goes beyond a certain limit, is not considered as child abuse but just one case of a parental practice that is necessary in raising a child. But at the same time, many probably think that hitting their own child is the worst way and a thing to do as a parent. Just telling their own child what is right from wrong is enough for a parent to do. All the battering that some parents give to their child is unnecessary. In fact, I think battering their own child will just make things worse and this will lead to their children disobeying their parents even more. It is really a difficult thing to give the exact meaning of this problem and where to draw the line between an abuse and a parental practice towards a child.

I think child abuse is a problem that lasts forever for the life of the abused child. It is not a problem that can be forgotten so easily because of all the damage it does to a child's innocent heart. The shock from all the battering remains as an invisible scar in the child's heart. Although this is an experience that happened in the past, the abused child has to live with it for the rest of their lives no matter how happy they become when they get married and have their own children. I think child abuse is the most cruel thing a parent can ever do to their own child. It is true that a parent needs to scold their own child in order to teach them what is right and what is wrong. But even if that child did not understand or listen to what their parents said, I do not think there is a need for them to hit their own child to make them obey the things they said. It is a natural habit for a child to disobey their parents and it is important for a parent to understand this. But parents who have emotional problems or disturbances, or parents who have great stresses are unable to take such acts against their child.

Needless to say, in order to decrease the number of cases of child abuse, the important thing is to prevent these abused children from repeating the same experiences again to their own child in the life ahead. It is important for the abused child to learn something from their experiences and understand that they should not repeat the same things again even though they have great feelings of anger to their parents. Otherwise, this problem can be endless like the cycle that repeats and could possibly be passed on from generation to generation. It is something that cannot be helped if the abused child keeps a feeling of hate against their parents. But in my opinion, in order to decrease the number of cases of child abuse, it is very important for the abused child to understand that their parents had their own situations at that time that led to all the battering. There are still millions of cases of child abuse that occur in this world. And many of them are desperate for help. But I think it takes a great courage for an abused child to tell the truth about what is really happening in their homes and to get help from others. Since the number of child abuse in the United States have been increasing since the 1960s, the child protection policy and practice needs to be thought over. This is why we need to be considered about this problem because preventing the problem of child abuse is important in protecting the children in American society.

Works Cited

Dingwall, Robert. The Protection of Children. Oxford: Basil Blackwell Publisher Limited, 1983.

Carmi, Amnon. Child Abuse. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1984.

Scheper-Hughes, Nancy. Child Survival. Dordrecht:D. Reidel Publishing Company, 1987.

Parton, Nigel. Child Protection Risk and the Moral Order. London: Macmillan Press Ltd., 1997

Pelzer, David. A Child Called "It". Omaha: Omaha Press Pub. Co., 1993.



Note: Some letters/words were lost/changed when converting from Japanese operating system to English.



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