Recognizing child abuse essay

Purpose: The purpose of my speech is to attract attention of society to such problem as child abuse and explain the audience how to recognize its signs in child’s behavior.
Thesis: Child abuse is one of the biggest problems of the modern time and in order to help children it is crucial to know the most widespread signs of child abuse.

I. Introduction

A. Dear ladies and gentlemen,

Today I would like to speak about child abuse, one of the most urgent themes of our time.

B. According to National Child Abuse Statistics, each year in the USA it is reported about more than 3 million cases of child abuse. In other words each ten seconds a case of a child abuse is reported in America.
C. There are a lot of evidences that the scale of the problem is far bigger than one can imagine. Child abuse may appear in many forms. Thus, this term implies not only physical abuse, but neglect and various types of emotional abuse as well.
D. In this speech I would like to touch various aspects of the problem and discuss the most common signs of child abuse.

II. Body

A. First of all, when speaking about child abuse, it is necessary to give a definition of a victim of child abuse. Thus, “ Anyone under age 18 who’s been abused or neglected by a parent or someone responsible for his or her care is considered a victim of child abuse” (Riley 54).
B. Although at present time a lot is made in order to prevent cases of child abuse and neglect, the statistical data is still scaring. It is even more horrible that child abuse does not have any limits.
a. Thus, cases of child abuse occur in families with various socioeconomic status and level of education. Such criteria as religion, ethnic and cultural backgrounds of the family do not play any determinative role as well.
C. In order to help children, people should be able to recognize signs of child abuse in child’s behavior. It is possible to single out general signs of alert.
a. Thus, it is recommended to be especially attentive to children, who show the following behavioral features: unwillingness to return home after school, a sudden change of behavioral patterns, unexplainable worsening of school performance, which is not related to any psychological or physical reasons.
b. The mentioned above signs may not be recognized immediately, but there are some obvious signs as well. Thus, noticeable bites, bruises, black eyes, fear of parents, unwillingness to return home, complaints about injuries by parents are the most widespread signs of physical child abuse.
c. To the signs of neglect it is necessary to refer low school attendance, lack or absence of medical care, coming to school in dirty clothes, cases of stealing from classmates. Without any doubts, such behavioral patterns should serve as a sign of problems inside the family.
d. Signs of emotional maltreatment may also become apparent due to some behavioral peculiarities. For instance: sudden change of behavior, low level of psychological and physical development, acting in either too infantile or adult manner.
e. It is vital to remember that attention should be paid not only to children, but to their parents and caregivers as well. Quite often children might not show any sign of abuse and it is only behavior of their parents, which can serve as a key and help to reveal a problem. If parents show little concern about their child, do not help him to cope with his problems and perceive each child’s act in an absolutely negative way, it is the first sign of alert, which should not be ignored.

III. Conclusion

A. In conclusion, it should be said that any child can be under the threat of child abuse despite their sex, ethnicity and race.
B. The mentioned above facts prove that child abuse is one of the biggest problems of modern time and it is crucial to know the most widespread signs of child abuse.
C. Children do need our help and it is important to remember that each member of society can help them. In order to do so, people should at least learn to notice and recognize signs of child abuse.

D. Thank you for your attention!

Works Cited

“ National Child Abuse Statistics.” www. childhelp. org. Childhelp, n. d. Web. 4 Apr. 2011.
“ Recognize Child Abuse and Neglect: Signs and Symptoms.” www. hrs. org. nz. National
Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information, September 2003. Web. 5
Apr. 2011.
Riley, J. “ Do You Know How to Recognize.” Nursing made Incredibly Easy! 5. 2 (2007): 54
63. Web. 4 Apr. 2011.