In order not to lose ourselves in what is considered child abuse and what is not, we are going to resort to WHO definition, World Health Organization. It is all that action, whether physical, emotional or sexual, or omission of these actions, that parents or caregivers, intentionally, exert on the child and cause physical and / or psychological damage.
can we talk about various types of abuse, from the physical, to the emotional, both, the sexual. At the same time, the behavior of the minor can be very different. But both as a society and as individuals we have to be attentive to the signs. We show you some of the indicators that indicate possible abuse.
Types of indicators that can warn us
Detect child abuse, make it visible and address it with the appropriate tools and methodology It is very important, but it is not easy at all. To begin with, a lot of these abuses are committed in the house, and the child is silent for fear of not being believed or for further retaliation.
Some of the indicators that can indicate that we are facing child abuse can be physical symptoms, such as body pain, bumps, bruises of different evolution, burns or wounds on the child's body. The child may begin to behave in a "suspicious" manner with loss of appetite, sleep disorders, hyperactivity, behavioral regression, tendency to secrecy, aggressiveness, school problems, resistance to undressing or bathing, social isolation, etc. These last indicators are associated with the emotional sphere, with strokes of sadness, irritability, fear, hatred, feelings of guilt, helplessness, shame.
Precocious behaviors or inappropriate sexual knowledge for their age, sexual games with dolls, rejection of caresses, kisses and physical contact can also be given.
It is not usual for none of these indicators to be present, but it will depend on the degree of abuse perceived by the child. And obviously it doesn't have to be all. There may be children who apparently do not show signs of abuse, but who are subjected to a situation of abuse.
Is psychological child abuse abuse? How is it detected?
Of course psychological child abuse is abuse and its consequences can be very serious. The child who during childhood has been abused, and has not found the necessary support, could repeat what he has suffered, and even commit actions with revenge biases, during his adolescence and in adulthood.
In everyday life we understand psychological abuse when a pattern of verbal or behavioral actions that reveal contempt is repeated, absolute indifference, profound devaluation or permanent disapproval of the child. Abuse can also come by omission, that is, in the absence of actions that transmit positive messages of security or emotional reinforcement to the minor.
Experts address the psychological abuse from different perspectives and etiologies. There is a sociological approach, a cognitive one, there is a psychiatric approach, another that values the inadequate processing of information. Finally, there are those who speak of poorly managed stress by adults. Whatever the origin of the problem, it is always the boy or the girl who is most affected.
Bullying and child abuse
Although we have extensively dealt with the issue of bullying in other post, it does not hurt that we mention it again. When we talk about child abuse and we refer to the family and the child's environment. Sometimes he hostile environment is school. This abuse, or mistreatment can come from teachers, school adults, classmates, older or younger students.
Bullying manifests itself in a more violent way in the preadolescence and adolescence. In some cases, what we call a "bully" covers up a battered boy or girl. In the event of any suspicion of child abuse, at home, the closest environment, or the community, it is better to go beyond “bad thinking” than look the other way.