Outraged At Public Response to Child Abuse, Essay Example

The post of Barriere (2007) to the post about a 27-year-old mother who was accused of child maltreatment is an illustrative example of the sharp criticism of the ways in which the US public constructs and treats child abuse. The 5-year-old boy was found with an ice pack on his beck, lying on his stomach after being slapped with a belt. However, his mother confessed to feeling bad about the loss of a $12 ball, and about financial problems coupled with her husband’s estrangement; she admitted that these problems altogether resulted in her aggressive actions towards her son, which caused a rather warm and sympathetic response from the public. The article of Barriere (2007) was dedicated to the analysis of the public responses to the event, and found out that some people living comments to the case believed that in case there was no blood and cracked bones, there was no act of child abuse. The author also commented on the public opinions about strict discipline necessary to restore respect towards parents in children, and agreed with one of the respondents that the concepts of discipline and abuse have become largely blurred.

As one can see from the present article, there is a major divide in the public opinion at present, with people getting used to the dramatic stories about child abuse accompanied with severe beating or injuries. Hence, they are not able to admit that the violation of the fundamental human rights and dignity of a child is already a certain form of maltreatment that is likely to leave a trace on the children’s souls, bodies, and hearts. More and more parents grow cynical about methods of upbringing, and accept certain forms of maltreatment such as slapping their children as a kind of discipline, reminding children who the parent is. Therefore, the present attitude to child abuse causes serious concerns regarding the fact that the public does not realize the whole scope of violence representations in treatment of children which do not necessary have to be accompanied with blood and cracked bones. A more critical perspective should thus be taken to the way in which public should be informed about child abuse, its forms, and the ways of restoring discipline without resorting to violence and pressure.

The authors researched the issue of child abuse as a growing public health problem, and analyzed the ways in which the members of emergency medicine Fellows in the USA were prepared to responding to suspected cases of child abuse. The assumption by which the researchers were guided is that the Fellows’ response depended on the level of professional instruction on the issue, prior experience, and formal training. The findings of their study suggest that there is a lack of formal training fellows usually receive during professional education is one of the prime barriers to managing the cases of child abuse effectively. The Fellows confessed to having a number of moral and ethical barriers, and a lack of legal knowledge on the issue of accusing parents of child abuse officially.

The present findings suggest that despite child abuse as a growing public health burden, it is still considered a certain form of a taboo in the society. Though the cases of publicized and displayed child abuse cause audacious public responses, the concern for creating a certain framework of moral, ethical, medical, and legal standards for uncovering and investigating the cases of child abuse is still virtually absent in the USA. Therefore, the researchers attracted attention to the fact that child abuse is a formally absent form of abuse, and its boundaries are indeed blurred, restraining physicians suspecting the cases of violence towards children to keep silent, and not bring the matter to a legal proceeding.

References

Barriere, D. (2007). Outraged at Public Response to Child Abuse. Child Abuse Effects. Retrieved from http://www.child-abuse-effects.com/outraged-at-public-response-to-child-abuse.html

Wright, R. J., Wright, R. O., Farnan, L., & Isaac, N. E. (1999). Response to child abuse in the pediatric emergency department: need for continued education. Pediatric Emergency Care, 15(6), pp. 376-382.