rding mandatory reporting of child abuse and have services to provide for children and families in which abuse has occurred. Physical abuse was the first to be recognized by the professional community, and sexual abuse was largely ignored. Freud's patients reported many sexual incidents from childhood, but he concluded that those memories were merely fantasy. By the mid 1970's in the United States, sensitivity to the problem of sexual abuse had increased, and research and programs have been developed in an effort to move into prevention.
Child maltreatment may be defined as physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect. There is some overlap among these areas. Physical abuse involves inflicting injury such as bruises, burns, head trauma, lacerations, or any other form of physical harm. Excessive corporal punishment falls into this category, as does close confinement such as tying or binding the child or locking him into a closet. One of the rare, most unusual forms of physical punishment is Munchausen by proxy syndrome in which parents subject children to medications, surgery, and other medical procedures that are not needed (Walker, Bonner, & Kaufman, 1988, p. 8).
Emotional abuse involves the use of ridicule, verbal threats, and sexual abuse is defined as the involvement of dependent, developmentally immature children and adolescents in sexual activities that they do not fully comprehend at a time that they are unable to give informed consent. Neglect refers to acts of omission in which the child is not probably cared for physically in the areas of nutrition, safety, medical care, and emotional care. This may include expulsion from the home or the refusal to accept a runaway child back into the home.
Statistics on the existence of child abuse vary considerably because of differences in the definition of child abuse. Estimates have varied from a few thousand to the millions. Child abuse is known to ...