Child abuse is a serious social, political, and emotional problem in the United States. This has become, in recent years, the focus of numerous quantitative and qualitative studies designed to identify both the causes of this problem and its effects, as well as research designed to develop prevention and intervention efforts to ameliorate and reduce the problem. Murry, Baker and Lewin (2000) note that each year in the United States, the abuse and neglect of children results in over 1,200 preventable deaths and thousands of reported and unreported injuries. Hyden (1999) further indicates that in 1995, approximately 3 million abused or neglected children were reported in the United States, with many more cases unreported. Of these, 1.6 million cases involved neglect, 800,000 children were physically abused, 300,000 were sexually abused, and almost 100,000 were emotionally abused. As Hyden (1999) comments, the incidence of child abuses continues to rise, but this may be a result in part of increased recognition of the problem and increased willingness to disclose abuse as an existing problem.
The purpose of this report is to examine the problem of child abuse within the context of the American social welfare system. A sociological lens through which the problem is to be considered will be presented, along with an analysis of the definitions, causes, and consequences of this social problem. The roles and interventions of social workers will be analyzed, as well as those of the school system and justice system. The report will demonstrate that despite heightened attention to the problem of child abuse, interventions remain difficult to implement.
The sociological lens or theory through which child abuse is
to be discussed herein positions child abuse as a direct violation of the basic human rights of a child by an adult parent, guardian, caretaker or other individual or group. Tower (1993) has suggested that child abuse is...