A Child Called It
Through the years, local and national governments, with the help of law enforcement and the criminal justice system, have been trying to eradicate child abuse cases, but to no avail, child abuse incidences still occur at an alarming rate. The National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) have obtained statistical data across the United States of child abuse reports and cases, of which the most recent was the statistical record in 2006. Based on NCANDS report, there were 3.3 million reports made to child protection agencies of possible abuse and neglect that involved about 6 million children. About 30 or 905,000 children were determined to be victims of child maltreatment the predominant type of maltreatment in the United States is neglect, followed by physical and then sexual abuse (Hirschy Wilkinson, 2009, p. 29). The Office for Victims of Crime also reported that in every 35 seconds, a child is being reported as a victim of child abuse (Hess Orthmann, 2009).
Other highly significant information about child abuse will be discussed in the succeeding sections as guided by the autobiography A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer, who was himself a victim of child abuse. In Pelzers autobiography, the author recalled his life living in a household where he was abused ceaselessly by his own mother and related his experiences of how Pelzer was able to overcome the pain and the fear growing up. Pelzers life and experiences are perceived to mirror the kind of life and experiences that other victims of child abuse around the world have to life every day, and will be discussed along with other issues such as the problems faced not only by victims but also witnesses of child abuse, the long-term and short-term of impacts of child abuse, the responsibility of the criminal justice system in protecting child victims, and so on.
The Book A Child Called IT
Dave Pelzer was a victim of neglect, physical and emotional abuse. In the first chapter of Pelzers autobiography, he recounted some of the things that his mother did to him up until the principal in his called the authorities to report about Pelzers case. In the first chapter, one gets a glimpse of Pelzers life. As a boy, he was deprived of basic needs, food, clothing, security and safety in the home, and love. Pelzer was also ceaselessly abused by his mother, and the pain and fear that he felt every time while at home are enough to also consider his situation as emotional abuse. Although it took the school officials one year to finally take action about Pelzers case, the author still has many reasons to thank school officials of his primary school, Thomas Edison Elementary School, for helping him free himself from the bonds of his mother.
Pelzer recounted that his family was not always dysfunctional in nature. In the second chapter, Pelzer described his family as an ideal family and even compared it to the Brady Brunch. Pelzer had two brothers and they all lived with their parents in Daly City. Pelzers mother accomplished her roles and responsibilities well, looking after the family especially the children, managing the household, providing for the basic needs of her children, teaching her children, taking care of pets, and so on. Pelzers father, on the other hand, was the breadwinner in the family, working as a fireman at the fire station and thus, always out from the house. Pelzer has so many happy memories at the time before the abuse happened. The author recalled how he felt during holidays at his house, such as Halloween and Christmas, and other family events such as spring picnics and summer vacations. It is important to note that prior to the abuse incidences, Pelzers mother acted normal and was able to deliver what were expected of her as a mother.
However, things changed eventually and Pelzers relationship with his mother has reached a sour note. Although Pelzer admitted of his mischief and stubbornness as a child along with his brothers, he remembered the fear he felt every time he was punished by his mother for his wrongdoings. Pelzers mother would force him to stand in one corner, and when it did not affect him anymore, to stand in front of the mirror. During those days, the behavior of Pelzers mother was erratic. There were some days when Pelzers mother would dress nicely, smile, and talk to her children happily, but there were also days when she was out of control, yelling at her kids all the time, and just simply watching the television in her bathrobe all day. The only time that Pelzers mother would stop was when her husband was home. Pelzers father was a busy man and had not taken notice of the things happening in the household.
Pelzers courageous nature was also apparent in the second section. In one of the scenes, Pelzers mother tried to force his son to sit on top of the lit stove. However, Pelzer thought of many ways to stall realizing that his brother, Ron, will be on his way soon. Pelzer kept asking his mother questions to occupy her, and although his mother beat her, he realized that it was better than being burned on the stove. Ron finally came home and he was saved. Pelzer tore away from his mother and marveled at the thought of overpowering her. It was also during this time that Pelzer realized that despite the many things that are happening to him, he could learn to survive.
In the following chapters of the autobiography, Pelzer recalled how his condition at home worsened. From being physically and verbally abused, her mother also neglected his basic needs. Pelzer wore torn and smelly clothes and was eating less and less amount of food. Hunger and starvation led Pelzer to steal food from his other classmates bags. When the school found out about Pelzers misdemeanor, school officials informed his mother. As punishment, he was beaten and was given lesser amount of food to eat. Despite hunger and physical exhaustion, Pelzer forced himself to finish household chores that he was tasked to do. Pelzer was treated as a slave, always staying at the basement and only called when his mother needed him to do something or if she felt she needed to beat up Pelzer.
Pelzer not only felt neglect from his mother, but also from his father. Although his father tried to help him in the beginning, he gave up and left the house when he argued with his wife about Pelzer. After Pelzers father leaves, things will only get worse as his mother will call him, beat him up, and then blame him for what happened with his father. The frequent beating and the neglected appearance of Pelzer became difficult for him to hide what was happening at home. One of Pelzers teachers took notice and reported a suspicion of child abuse. When school officials called Pelzers mother, she went in and told the principal that he has overactive imagination and that everything he said was untrue. After that, the beating intensified.
In the remaining chapters, the change in Pelzers behavior was palpable. Initially, Pelzer was willing to take everything in and has endured his mothers cruelty without saying anything bad about her. However, through time, Pelzer has succumbed to darker thoughts and plans of breaking the law in order for him to get food that he needs. Pelzer also thought disapprovingly of his mother, father, and brothers. Pelzer wanted his mother to die, wondered why his father refused to help him, and felt jealous of his four younger brothers who were treated differently by his mother. Pelzer also lost faith in God. The author talked about hating God and why He allowed everything to happen to a child. However, Pelzer also resented himself for letting his mother do all those things to him and lost all hope that his life will be better in the future. Pelzers behavior worsened and made him a very angry individual who did misdemeanor acts at school.
Child Abuse
Victims and Witnesses of Child Abuse
All victims of child abuse had to go through what Pelzer experienced. Although the kind of abuse or maltreatment may vary from case to case, the impact of abuse and the feelings and behavior that children will acquire as victims of child abuse are similar. The most common problem of victims of child abuse is the fear of telling the authorities or other trusted adults about the abuse incidences. In Pelzers case, he was hesitant of informing school officials about the physical and verbal abuse and neglect that he has experienced at home. Reactions to abuse vary. Many victims are scared to reveal the abuse, because of shame, fear of retaliation, belief that they will not be believed. Some incest victims try to get help only if they feat that a younger sibling is threatened (Carroll, 2009, p. 497).
Even child witnesses to child abuse exhibit the same feelings of fear and shame, with the primary perception of child witnesses that no adult will believe them. Sometimes, even the testimony of child witnesses is deemed as useless. The neglect that some child witnesses feel cause them to also neglect the need to report incidences of child abuse, especially at home. (Kapardis, 2003) The law, however, mandates that child witnesses and victims of child abuse should be protected by the constitution and the criminal justice system. The Court has been forced to weigh in on many issues including (1) the balance between a defendants constitutional right to confront witnesses and the need to protect child victimwitnesses from traumatization by the legal process (2) the extent of a States liability for harm inflicted on an abused child by a parent when the State knew the child was in danger, and (3) the rights of foster parents, foster children, and abusive parents (Finkelman, 1995, p. xviii).
Furthermore, Finkelman (1995) said that Children are less likely than adults to have the cognitive and emotional resources for understanding the experience, and legal authorities not used to communicating with children may find it difficult to allay their concerns (p. 96). However, despite misgivings about the statements and credibility of children to relay just and rational information, it is important that higher officials and other people involved in child abuse cases understand the nature and experiences of child abuse victims and witnesses. It is important to understand that children experience stress and pressure because of the abuse incidences. In addition to the devastating effects of the abuse itself, the discovery of the crime frequently results in the child or offender being removed from the home, leaving families sometimes permanently disrupted and often chaotic Unlike victims of most other crimes, child victims of abuse are sometimes castigated as villains by family members and friends who hold them responsible for the breakup of the family (American Prosecutors Research Institute, 2004, p. 1)
Pelzer experienced the same thing, but it was the reason why his mother had abused him. Pelzers mother will blame him for some of the things that he was not responsible for, and the unjust anger of his mother led to physical, verbal abuse and neglect. Furthermore, the effects of abuse can be devastating. Mental health and delinquency experts have found that abused kids experience mental and social problems possess mental representations characterized by a devalued sense of self, mistrust of others, a tendency to perceive hostility in others and a tendency to generate antagonistic attitudes (Siegel Welsh, 2008, p. 262). Thus, in dealing with child abuse victims and witnesses, it is important for authorities and law enforcers to understand their experiences and feelings. Making children aware of their rights to report people, even members of their family, who abuse or maltreat them in any way is a primary issue, but guiding the authorities and other adults in dealing with child abuse cases is equally important.
The Criminal Justice System on Child Victims
Sometimes, the hesitance of law enforcement officials to honor the testimony of children and some flaws in the criminal justice system have brought upon unequal treatment for child victims and witnesses of child abuse. The controversy surrounding children as witnesses in the criminal justice system runs the gamut from arguments that children live in a fantasy world and cannot be believed to assertions that children never lie (American Prosecutors Research Institute, 2004, p. 1). However, the American Prosecutors Research Institute (2004) was quick to add that the arguments for the unreliability of children as sources of grave statements about child abuse incidences are unjust and untrue.
The American Prosecutors Research Institute (2005) argued that the criminal justice system should not isolate children but consider them as adults since the reliability of both children and adults are equally uncertain. Thus, the testament of child abuse victims and witnesses, like the testament of adults, should be thoroughly evaluated guided by comprehensive knowledge about children, their nature, how they think, and how victims and witnesses of child abuse think and behave. Prosecutors, including law enforcers, and other adults who will be handling the cases of child abuse victims and witnesses should learn as much as they can about children and their capabilities and about the dynamics of child abuse. Specialized training is now more widely available and recommended (American Prosecutors Research Institute, 2004, p. 1). (Ferraro, Casey, McGrath, 2005)
Long-term and Short-term Impacts of Victimization and Witnessing Child Abuse
Experiencing and witnessing child abuse is a traumatic experience and has long-term and short-term impacts on the victim and the witness. The long term impacts of child abuse include multiple behavioral, emotional, and cognitive impairments while short terms impacts include health-related problems especially if the case is physical abuse, the trauma of recalling all the events as required by police investigations, and the childs participation to a series of medical and psychological evaluation, which may be stressful and uncharacteristic for children (Reece, 2005, p. 135).
Furthermore, results of physical abuse include hostile relationship with family and peers. The mental and behavioral disorder that the victim of child abuse may develop through time may possible cause a rift in his or her relationship with other people since behavioral disorders also impair a childs ability to socialize normally. According to various research studies, children who were victims of child abuse often displayed aggression or hostility toward other people because they have lost their ability to trust and suffer from low self-esteem and self-image. The cognitive abilities of children may also deteriorate. It has been reported that children who have suffered from abuse were performing poorly in school, primarily due to lack of concentration and interest in learning. (Reece, 2005) Overall, the long term impacts of child abuse also affects the future of victims, especially if they cant achieve success in school and fail to display a positive and desirable behavior and outlook in life.
Turning around the long term impacts of child abuse will necessitate psychological treatments wherein family and friends are involved, and will require much patience as the process will take a long time. The common areas that psychological treatments of children should address include trauma, anger management, and socialization skills. (Reece, 2005)
The short-term impacts of child abuse also include anxiety, fear, problems in sleeping or having nightmares during sleep, and regression, including the points mentioned above such as physical injuries, trauma and stress. Experts believe that the short term impacts of child abuse are easier to address since children are more likely to adjust after the investigation or court hearings when they are provided with time to rest and relax without being pressured to talk about the abuse incidences. However, similarly, children will still need to reach out for the help of therapists or counselors in order to help them address their fears, sleeping problems, and regressive behavior. (Myers, 1998)
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