Child abuse and neglect is any harm to a child that is not an
accident. Child abuse and neglect is also called child maltreatment.
Child abuse and neglect takes many forms.
- Neglect is when parents
or caregivers fail to ensure a child's health and well-being. Neglect may
result from not providing a child with appropriate shelter, schooling,
clothing, medical care, or protection from hazards. A variety of short-term and
long-term problems result, such as developmental delays and failure to
thrive.
- Physical abuse causes bodily
injuries, such as bruises, burns, fractures, cuts, punctures, or organ damage.
Physical abuse includes harming a fetus, such as when a pregnant woman has
substance abuse problems or is purposefully injured. Some states do not
consider the use of substances by a pregnant woman to be physical
abuse.
- Emotional (psychological) abuse is a
repeated pattern of intentional verbal or behavioral actions or lack of actions
toward a child that give the message that he or she is worthless, flawed,
unloved, unwanted, endangered, or only of value to meet someone else's needs.
Withholding emotional support, isolating, or terrorizing a child are forms of
emotional abuse. Intimate partner (domestic) violence that is witnessed by a
child is also considered a form of emotional abuse.
- Sexual abuse is any act with a child that is intended to
sexually gratify an older child or adult. It includes any sexual activity that
a child does not comprehend or consent to, or that is against the law.
Exhibitionism, voyeurism, and exposing a child to pornography are also types of
sexual abuse.
