Child abuse is referred to as a condition wherein the child is hurt physically or psychologically due to the intentional or unintentional neglect or maltreatment of the parents as well as caretakers. In simple terms, abuse is referred to as the deliberate harm done to child by the parents or the caretaker, whereas neglect refers to the act of omitting or ignoring the responsibilities to be carried out by them.

The child abuse can be directly correlated with the developmental problems in the child. It could be physical, emotional as well as psychological. Physical effects are more related to what kind of physical abuse that the child had gone through; for example, bruises, broken bones, and overall poor health. On the other hand, the emotional and psychological effects could vary from person to person. Emotionally, the child might grow up as a person with a poor self esteem, lacking confidence and no social behaviour. Contradicting to this, the child might also display an aggressive behaviour. A research shows that the people who have abused in their childhood would become potential abusers.

There has always been an ethical dilemma as to whether the child abuse prevention includes the parental rights. Most of the parents argue that they take decisions for the best interests of their child and hence disciplining the children is required in order to make them follow their instructions. In India, the most predominant kind of child abuse is the comparison and humiliation. The neglect of the girl child is also predominant due to regressive mindset of some. In a family and school setup, the child abuse can be more physical and emotional, whereas as a society, the abuses are even more, such as child marriage, child trafficking, child labor, etc.

See Also: Different forms of child abuse

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