Child Abuse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Child Abuse - Essay Example It is due to this clinical background training in systematic investigation techniques, and evidence in collecting of data (, e.g. bruises, lacerations) that allows the forensic nurse to be part of child abuse prevention/investigation team.   Child abuse can be defined as physical abuse/neglect, sexual abuse, or emotional abuse/ neglect. While child abuse has been known to involve the physical, psychological, social, emotional, and sexual maltreatment of children, the survival, safety, self-esteem, growth and development of the child is threatened (Hick, 2006, p. 127). The extent of child abuse is depressingly wide. It crosses all economic, cultural, religious, and geographical boundaries. Physical abuse of children covers such things as deliberate violence that causes any kind of injury or even death to a child. As Richard J. Gelles (1982) states in his article â€Å"Child Abuse and Family Violence†, physical acts of child abuse include punching, biting, kicking, beating, and threatening to use or using a weapon against a child (28). Signs of this type of abuse can be found on the body in the form of bruises, scars, broken bones, burn marks, or deformities. However, such injuries may not be present even though ab use has occurred. As stated by Gelles (1982), many children have been pushed downstairs or punched and kicked by their parents without receiving a concussion or broken bones (28). Physical neglect involves the negligence of a guardian to provide the necessary food, clothing, shelter, or medical attention necessary to the physical well-being of a child. Sexual abuse, which sometimes occurs along with physical abuse, involves an adults use of a child for sexual gratification. Very often, it is a family member that perpetrates the abuse, but sometimes strangers are involved. Alvin A Rosenfeld offers the following precise definition:   The phrase, sexual abuse of children refers to a disparate array of situations that