Child Maltreatment Lecture 6 Susantha Rasnayake Class activity: watch the video and answer the questions below u(25) Recognition of Child Abuse and Neglect (Training Video) - YouTube Definitions: uChild ua child means every human being below the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier (Child Right Convention 1989) uMaltreatment uChild maltreatment includes all types of abuse and neglect of a child under the age of 18 by a parent, caregiver, or another person in a custodial role What is Child Maltreatment? We tend to think only of physical abuse, but child maltreatment is much broader than that Physical Abuse u uPhysical abuse is the use of intentional physical force, such as hitting, kicking, shaking, burning or other show of force against a child. u uPhysical abuse can range from minor bruises to severe internal injuries and death u Bullying at school physical abuse verbal abuse Sexual Abuse uSexual abuse involves engaging a child in any type of sexual activity. It includes fondling, rape, exhibitionism, exposure to pornography, voyeurism and communicating in a sexual manner by uA person responsible for a child's care uA person who has a significant relationship with a child uA person in a position of authority ubetween two minors, where one exerts power over other u Gravity of the problem uChild sexual abuse is far more prevalent than we think. uChild sexual abuse is likely the most prevalent health problem children face uAbout 1/10 children will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday uAbout 1/7 girls and 1/25 boys will be sexually abused before they turn 18 uonly about 38% of child victims disclose By whom????? uAbout 90% of children who are victims of sexual abuse know their abuser. Only 10% of sexually abused children are abused by a stranger. uApproximately 30% of children who are sexually abused are abused by family members. uThe younger the victim, the more likely it is that the abuser is a family member. Of those molesting a child under six, 50% were family members. Family members also accounted for 23% of those abusing children ages 12 to 17.9 uAbout 60% of children who are sexually abused are abused by people the family trusts. uHomosexual individuals are no more likely to sexually abuse children than heterosexual individuals. Neglect u uProvide needed food, clothing, shelter, medical or mental health care, education or appropriate supervision u uProtect child from conditions or actions that endanger the child u uTake steps to ensure that a child is educated as required by law. uOr uExposing a child to certain drugs during pregnancy u uCausing emotional harm to a child u Emotional abuse Harm to a child’s •Psychological capacity Or •Emotional stability Name-calling Insulting Threatening violence (even without carrying out threats) Allowing children to witness the physical or emotional abuse of another Withholding love, support, or guidance • • Exploitation of child uSexual exploitation uChild sexual exploitation is a form of child sexual abuse in which a person(s), of any age takes advantage of a power imbalance to force or induce a child into engaging in sexual activity in return for something received by the child and/or those perpetrating or facilitating the abuse uLabour exploitation uChild labour exploitation is the employment of children in a form that deprives them of their childhood. The nature of this work can be damaging to a child's safety, physical health, and mental health along with hindering their moral development u Which is the most common? Why? uPhysical abuse uSexual abuse uNeglect uMental injury uNeglect is the most common uSubstance abuse is the leading cause of child neglect uPoverty is heavily related Who is most vulnerable? u u u •the youngest children uin the u.s., 29% of child victims are younger than 3 years old •twice that rate for those under 1 year uAlso vulnerable are children: •with disabilities and health problems •who have already been maltreated u u ØEnvironmental Factors (Macro) Poverty Social isolation Violence in the community Negative cultural values examples: genital mutilation, male circumcision What is female genital mutilation and where does it happen? | Female genital mutilation (FGM) | The Guardian DHAKA - BANGLADESH - JANUARY 17, 2018: Unidentified child worker in a shipyard on January 17, 2018 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bangladesh has over 4.7 million child workers aged between 5 to 14. SRI LANKA Sixteen orphans kidnapped by Tamil Tigers are freed WHY ABUSE NCANDS data, Children’s Bureau Micro (factors) uParents who are young when the child is born uParents who are poorly informed about parenting uDrug/alcohol abuse of family members uDomestic violence uUntreated mental health issues E.g., depression, antisocial personality disorder uChanges in family structure (divorce, single parenting) u Source: U.S. Administration for Children and Families, 2017 National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System What parenting style is good 4 Styles of Parenting - Practical Parents in Training CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING: A GLOBAL ISSUE HUMAN TRAFFICKING ¡Modern-day slavery ¡Exploiting a person by force, fraud, or coercion ¡Includes sex trafficking, forced labor, and domestic servitude ¡Any person under age 18 involved in a commercial sex act is considered a victim of human trafficking ¡More than 1 million children are exploited each year in the commercial sex trade. ¡71% are girls Chart, line chart Description automatically generated Human trafficking HOW BIG OF A PROBLEM IS SEX TRAFFICKING? ¡Increasing rapidly in recent years, in part due to the internet ¡2nd Largest Criminal Enterprise Worldwide ¡Estimated to overtake the global drug trade ¡$150 billion industry ¡79% of all global human trafficking is sex trafficking https://justaskprevention.org/learn/ https://www.ecpat.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Factsheet_Czech_Republic.pdf BREAKOUT 2. HUMAN TRAFFICKING ¡Read the myths and discuss these questions: ¡What do you know about the truth (reality) of this? ¡Why do you think people believe this myth? ¡ COUNTRIES FALL INTO ONE OR MORE CATEGORIES: THE CZECH REPUBLIC IS CONSIDERED A SOURCE, TRANSIT, AND DESTINATION COUNTRY FOR SEX TRAFFICKING ¡Main source countries: ¡Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Slovakia, Belarus, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Hungary. ¡Also Czech is a source: Czech children, are trafficked. The destination countries are mainly the UK, Netherlands, Switzerland, & Denmark. ¡Czech Roma children (and Roma women) are most often trafficked within the country https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/member-states/czech%20republic_en CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING: WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC? ¡Increased substantially since the mid-1990s in the German-Czech border regions, fueled by tourism development ¡Most of the children are from poor families and are made to contribute to their family’s income. ¡Currently, child-sex tourism in Czech is more heavily focused on the prostitution of boys ¡But not to serve Czech “customers” or “johns” ¡Older men from Scandinavia, Britain, Germany and Austria are travelling to the Czech Republic with the intention of sexually exploiting boys in particular ¡Many young boys travel abroad for short periods with tourists from Austria, Germany and Greece §A number of Czech children are also trafficked to the border regions for sexual purposes, and sometimes from there to Germany. §Girls also are brought across the border with pimps in taxis, trains or buses for a weekend or longer periods https://www.ecpat.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Factsheet_Czech_Republic.pdf WARNING SIGNS ¡Appears malnourished ¡Shows signs of physical injuries and abuse ¡Avoids eye contact, social interaction, and authority figures or law enforcement ¡Lacks official identification documents ¡Appears impoverished or lacking personal possessions ¡For adolescents: anxiously and continually checks text messages, often from multiple cells HOW DO THEY DO IT? SEX TRAFFICKERS ARE MASTER MANIPULATORS ¡ They target vulnerable people, including kids, people who are chemically addicted, young mothers with children, and people who have a history of abuse, neglect, or mental health challenges. Sex traffickers may get victims hooked on drugs to control them. What we must do What child welfare policies are you aware of in the Czech Republic? What you know about Child Rights Convention