Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction 1

Objective 2

Findings 3

Children subjected to child abuse under my care 6

Analysis 10

Suggestions 11

Reference sources 12

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This project is to educate people regarding the world-wide appeal of millions of children who suffer or die in silence due to child abuse which takes place in various forms. A child is recognized as a person under eighteen, unless national laws recognize the age of majority earlier. Every child has the inherent right to life, and the State has an obligation tc ensure the child's survival and development. Due to the present situation in the country we see and hear of the immense suffering the children are undergoing. Many children have lost one or both parents by war or natural disaster. Children are particularly vulnerable during displacement. This project brings out their plight and the necessary remedy that is needed. I want to thank all those who helped me especially my lecturers, those who helped me, by contributing information the UNICEF, Terre de Homme and the Probation Office of Batticaloa Branch to strive together and to make people alert and to rally humanity around the infinite distress of countless children.

CHILD ABUSE

Introduction

The term "child abuse" refers to the violence, mistreatment or neglect that a child or adolescent may experience while in the care of someone it either trusts or depends on, such as a parent, sibling, other relative, caregiver or guardian. Abuse may take place anywhere and may occur, for example, within the child's home or that of someone known to the child. There is no single, definitive cause of child abuse, and any child - regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, cultural identity, socio-economic status, spirituality, sexual orientation, physical or mental abilities or personality - may be vulnerable to being abused. Child abuse is a complex problem and there are many different contributing factors (individual, family, social). Children are easy targets for discrimination. All too often, they bear the brunt of harsh treatment for which they are in no way responsible. This harsh treatment on the child is termed as "physical abuse"; it includes hitting, shaking, kicking, punching, scalding, suffocating and other ways of inflicting pain or injury to a child.

One has observed an increase in the physical abuse of children in the Batticaloa area, reports have reached this researcher of numerous types of physical abuse. The researcher herself has seen on numerous occasions the disastrous consequences of serious physical child abuse. The above mentioned reports and observations have prompted the researcher to investigate into this unhealthy phenomenon, therefore this research was undertaken

OBJECTIVES

My objectives are two pronged

Primary objective

Secondary objective

The researcher's primary objective is to find the causes of child abuse in other words the researcher aims at finding why children are abused.

Secondary objective

The researcher's secondary objective is to find out the circumstances or situations that lead to child abuse.

Circumstances or Situations that lead to child abuse

The researcher wants to know not only the causes but also the circumstances in which the child abuse takes place.

Methodology of the research

The following methodology was followed in carrying out this research. The methodology was dual faceted - desk and field research were done.

FIELD RESEARCH

1. Interviews

•With a person dealing with children subjected to child abuse.

•Children subjected to child abuse under my care.

The interview was carried out by method of oral questions and answers. A copy of it is attached at the end of this work.

2. DESK RESEARCH

This was done with the perusal of recognized research work. A list of the bibliography perused is attached at the end of the research.

Findings

When we analyze the factors that contribute to physical abuse we find that there is no single, definitive cause of physical abuse, and any child - regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, cultural identity, socio-economic status, spirituality, sexual orientation, physical or mental abilities or personality -- is vulnerable. It is a complex problem and there are many different contributing factors (individual, family, social). Many experts believe that it is linked to inequalities among people in our society and the power imbalance between adults and children. A child is usually in a position of dependence on his or her abuser, and has little or no power compared to the abuser.

There is an increasing understanding that a child's vulnerability to abuse many be increased by factors such as displacement, racism, sexism, homophobia, poverty and social isolation. For example, in the past, many children sent to Institutions and children sent as domestic helpers experienced abuse. Most of these children were from marginalized groups in our society including, among others, children with disabilities, children from racial and ethnic minorities. Children living in poverty especially in the refugee camps.

In my interview with the Probation Officer the following tacts came to light.

A CASE STUDY ON PHYSICAL ABUSE

Lal - 04 years

His mother had married twice and this child was born to the first husband and he had abandoned her. So she married again, the man with whom she is living now. The child due to poverty went to a nearby evening class where they give some eatables too. That particular day the child had returned home dirty after playing. Seeing the child in that state the step-father beat the mother thoroughly for sending the child and then turned to the child and holding him by his legs dashed him on to the wall. The child broke his leg, seeing this the people of the village came to his rescue and saved the child and admitted him to the hospital. The father went into hiding. The child is unable to walk steadily due to the fracture. The child was removed from the parents and he was handed over to a children's home, where his sister too joined him. Though having a mother they ire brought up like orphans, the boy is paying the price of a drunkard father who left them

A CASE STUDY ON PHYSICAL NEGLECT

Children

Anura 14 years

Prema 06 years

Leela 02 years

The mother of these children had a sickness and the doctors have told her that she had no cure for it but no one knew what it was. One fine day she drank poison and died. Her two children Prema and Leela get fits. The father of these three children re-married a woman who too had three children but was looked after by her mother. While she was looking after the children of the present husband she felt that she should bring up her own children and look after them too. After some time she neglected her present husband's children. The fight began and one day the second lady left the house taking her children with her. In that anger the father of these children, too, left the children so the children had no one to turn to. The dry rations they received from the refugee camp they sold and ate only a meal a day. The two sickly children's condition became worse, they were lifeless. The people in the area informed the Probation Office and the children were taken into their custody. At this time, the sick children were unable to walk so they were admitted to the hospital and saline was given to them. Now they are in an institution well looked after, the children who couldn't walk, with the assistance of the Handicap International, now walk with the help of a walker. If nobody interfered on behalf of them they could have died of hunger, due to the negligence of the parents.

Neglectful abuse can be:

- giving too much of responsibility to seven or eight year olds,

- refusing to attend to the needs of a child

- bad eyesight or a tooth problem of a child, because of parental indifference.

- Children showing signs of poor hygiene.

- Lack of proper immunization due to gross neglect by parents.

Children subjected to child abuse under my care

In my interview with my children under my care, I found the following facts: Children who are sexually abused may not tell anyone for a long time, or ever. Many children who experienced abuse while living in special-needs-institutions, child welfare facilities, youth detention facilities and residential schools are only now, as adults, reporting the abuse.

A CASE STUDY ON SEXUAL ABUSE

Sumana -16 years

This girl Sumana has her parents and two brothers. The mother goes to work outside and the father runs his own small industry in the house itself, its an aluminum industry - he makes small pots and pans. The family situation in the family was good. When the girl was seven years old, one day when the girl was alone in the house the girl was raped by her own father. The child had shared it with her teachers and the case was brought to the courts and the father was arrested for a short time. The parents were separated for sometime and now they are re-united and the child is with the parents under the guidance of the mother.

Psychological or emotional abuse

Traumatic experiences are usually followed by strong physical, cognitive, emotional and behavioral reaction. These feelings are quite common as emotional after-shocks. Trauma is a dangerous experience that doesn't only expose people to threat to life or limb; it also pierces strong psychological defenses to produce a state of fear, helplessness or horror.

EMOTIONAL NEGLECT

Rifana - a young girl

From the time she was born her mother had left and had gone abroad in search of green pastures. So the girl grew up not knowing what a mother's love is. She did not go to school but went in search of love especially from the opposite sex. As time passed she became violent when she did not receive it. She cut herself, burnt herself, killed animals and tortured children. Her conduct became unruly that nobody could control her, she was sent to the Colombo Rehabilitation Centre, came back and she continued the same way. Finally her own clan shot her dead. The consequences of emotional abuse:

•Scaring effects - backward in the class, fails to respond to any questions or a boy forced to wear dresses worn by girls may have scars of emotional abuse.

•No longer believe in themselves or lose their self esteem

•Never say he/she is stupid or worthless or ridicule a child, in future the child will have difficulty in accepting praise.

CHILD EXPLOITATION

Child labour - Article (32) Rights of a child - Children have a right to be protected from work that may be harmful to their health, education or development. The State should set minimum ages for employment, and regulate working conditions.

Commercial or other exploitation of child refers to the use of the child in work or other activities for the benefit of others. This includes, but is not limited to, child labour and child prostitution. These activities are to the detriment of the child's physical or mental health, education, moral or socio-emotional development. Domestic violence impacts children deeply.

According to section 13 (1) of the Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children's Act of 1956 'a child should not be employed before the end of school hours on any day on which the child is required to attend school. When the child's physical condition is taken into consideration, any work that is likely to be harmful to his or her life, limb or education can be considered as child labour'." Also according to section 17 of the Employment of Women, young Persons and Children's Act of 1956 "No person shall employ a child in such a manner as to prevent the child from attending school." Here we can include children who are recruited or have reasonable fear of being recruited by armed groups for conflict activities. Especially in our own country in the North and the East people do experience this is in their day to day life.

Another aspect of child exploitation is child trafficking - if a child is relocated physically and geographically from his/her family or community to another location for the purpose of exploitation, generally with the assistance and/or influence of another person, although not always, it is considered child trafficking.

A CASE STUDY ON CHILD EXPLOITATION

Renuka- 14 years

She was sent as a domestic helper at the age of seven to Colombo.
