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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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