Child Abuse

CHILD ABUSE

According to international law, a child means every human being below the age of 18 years . This is a universally accepted definition of a child and comes from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the child (UNCRC), an international legal instrument accepted and ratified by most of the countries.

Child abuse can be physical (such as hitting a child), or emotional (such as saying things that really hurt a child's feelings). Any form of abuse can be psychologically damaging to a child.

Under the law, allowing your child to see the abuse of someone they have a personal relationship with also counts as an abuse, for example if a child sees their father hit their mother.

Child abuse also include sexual abuse, neglect (I.e failing to provide food, clothing and shelter etc)

According to psychologist, a child is a person, not a sub person, and the parents have right and responsibility to take care of them. As a child ( minor), by law, children do not have autonomy or the right to make decisions on their own for themselves in any known jurisdiction of the world.

The growing complexities and challenges of life coupled with changes in the socio - economic conditions, of people have played a major role in increasing the vulnerability of children to various forms of abuse.

Child abuse is a violation of the basic human rights of a child.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Child abuse or maltreatment constitutes all forms of physical and /or emotional ill - treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligence 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 of the signs of child abuse are :
* A child informing you that they are being abused or neglected.
* A child exhibiting seriously inappropriate behavior.
* A pattern of injuries that the child is not willing to talk about.
* The child appears distressed or depressed without obvious reasons.
* The child seems afraid of their parents or caregiver /caretakers