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What is Child Abuse?

Definitions of abuse
Child abuse involves acts of commission or omission, which result in harm to the child. Abuse may occur in the family, community or institution e.g. school, hospital, street.
 
Physical abuse
‘may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating, or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer feigns the symptoms of, or deliberately causes ill health to a child they are looking after. This situation is commonly described as Factitious or induced Illness or Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy.’
 
Emotional abuse
‘is the persistent emotional ill-treatment of a child such as to cause severe
and persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may
involve conveying to children that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate,
or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person.
It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being
imposed on children. It may involve causing children frequently to feel
frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children. Some
level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of ill-treatment of a child,
though it may occur alone.’
 
Sexual Abuse
‘involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including penetrative (e.g. rape or buggery) or non-penetrative acts. They may include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, pornographic material or watching sexual activities, or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.’
 
Neglect
‘is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. It may involve a parent or carer failing to provide adequate food, shelter and clothing, failing to protect a child from physical harm or danger, or the failure to ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.’
 
Significant Harm
Significant harm is the threshold, which justifies compulsory intervention in
family life. It is established by the Courts and advice is obtainable from Social
Services Legal Department.
 
Under s.31 (9) of the Children Act 1989:

(a) ‘harm’ means ill-treatment or the impairment of health or development;

(b) ‘development’ means physical, intellectual, emotional, social or
behavioural development;

(c) ‘health’ means physical or mental health;

(d) ‘ill-treatment’ includes sexual abuse and forms of ill-treatment which
are not physical.
 
Child in Need
A child shall be taken to be in need if:
(a) He is unlikely to achieve or maintain or to have the opportunity of
achieving or maintaining, a reasonable standard of health or
development without the provision for him of services by a Local
Authority;

(b) His health or development is likely to be significantly impaired, or
further impaired, without the provision for him of such services;
(c) He is disabled.

Ref: Framework for Assessment of Children in Need and their families’,
DOH, 1999 (and Appendix 1).
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