Child Abuse and Its Effects in Our Society at Large
CHAPTER ONE
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The finding of this study will enable parents and guardians to have alternative way of child rearing with abuse of children. There will be improvement on children enrolment in the school as the findings of the study will be known to the society at large.
The study will also help educational personnel to understand what constitute child abuse and its consequences (like working on the teacher’s farm during school hours, sex abuse by senior students, lack of teaching materials etc its perpetuating force and effect so that they know where and how to start combating it. This study will also help the government to know the various forms of child abuse prevalent in Edo State and the ways of fighting them.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter is set out to summarize the view of other researchers on the topic. The literature was reviewed under the following sub-headings:
- Definition of child abuse and its consequence
- Causes of child abuse
- Control of child abuse
- Summary of literature review
DEFINITION OF CHILD ABUSE AND CONSEQUENCES
There are many concepts and opinion of what child abuse is. This is because a social concept like child abuse always reflects the value which borders on human nature and value system of that society. According to Leeb RT, Paulzzi LT, Melanson C, Simon TR and Arias (2008) says that ‘child abuse” can be defined as causing or permitting any harmful or offensive contact on a child’s body. And any communication or transaction of any kind, which humiliates, shames, or frighten the child. The child abuse prevention and treatment act (2008) defined child abuse and neglect as ‘at a minimum, any recent act of failure to act on the part of a percent or caretaker, which result in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation, or failure to act which present an imminent risk of serious harm”.
A child of any age, sex, race, religion and socio economic background can fall victim to child abuse and neglect. Gree (2000) says child abuse is the maltreatment of a child, which infers with the development. Parents may be more likely to maltreat their children if they abuse drugs or alcohol. Rempe (2009) looked at child abuse from the point of injury to the child, which has moral and physical influence on him by parents, guardians which make the child to suffer harm, labour through necessary basic physical care. Child abuse is the deprivation of childcare to a young person, which distorts has development sequence. In Costa (2008), child abuse is viewed as one end of a spectrum of maltreatment, which includes emotional deprivation, neglect, and malt-nutrition. On the other hand Walker (2004) extended the concept of child abuse to include any action, which prevents a child from achieving his physical and psychological potentials.
In view of what walker said about child abuse, this is why is time for a child to go to school by 5 o’clock, the parents or guardian may give that child home work by sending the child to hawk before going to school in the morning. Then the child will come back after the time he or she supposes to be in school. Before they get to school, others must have gone far in learning. In this case, the child will not be able to answer the questions that comes from where he or she missed the day he or she went to school late. So this will make the child not to achieve his or her potentials in future.
Nwogugu (2002) refers to child abuse as the non accidental physical injury such as child labour either in the form of work or street hawking, which many children in African actual context or embark up as an acquired work role in an “extended family network”. Consequences, according to Oxford Advanced Learners dictionary 7th Edition, defined “consequence” as ‘result of something that has happened”. It is not worthy that Nwogugu (2002) essentially differentiated between child abuse and consequences and uses the term “mal-treatment” to refer to both child abuse and child consequences. Attention has also been drawn to medicological approval to the concept of child abuse by the New York, State child less than 18 years of age whose parents or other persons legally responsible for his care:
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter discussed the method and procedure used by the researcher in collecting information for the study. It consists of the following subheadings:
RESEARCH DESIGN
The survey research design was adopted for the study. Survey research is one in which a group of people or items are studied by collecting and analyzing data from a few people or items considered to be representative of the entire group. According to Anigho (2007) survey is a study where the peculiar character of a population are studied through a sample deemed to be representative of the population. This was used because a part of the population is studies and finding from this will be generalized on the entire population.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
The information gathered by the researcher from the respondents in the field were analyzed and presented in this chapter. They were presented in tables one to four and the subtract means was used for the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
SUMMARY
The summary of the finding has to been made base on the finding in the last chapter. The findings of the study are summarized as follows:
- Inadequate care and provision of children’s need constitutes child abuse.
- Ignorance hand some socio – economic factors cause child abuse and consequences.
- Child abuse and consequence hinders proper development of their victims academically.
- Child abuse and its consequences can be controlled by sensitizing the public and the ills of indulging in the acts.
CONCLUSION
From the foregoing analysis, it is clear that the incidences of child abuse and its consequences on the academic performance of students in Egor Local Government Area is obvious. The abused children are scolded of certain basic provision necessary for their development.
However, child abuse and its consequences can be controlled if government mounts constant, it should also be included as a course in all educational institutions and in all secondary school in order to bring to light its ills.
Family planning should be available through mass media and public lectures, so as to help in the reduction of child abuse and its consequences.
RECOMMENDATION
Based on the finding of the study the following recommendations were made:
- Family planning exercise should be enforced upon every couple so that each family can procreate only those children they can cater for.
- Parents should cease giving away their children as maids or house helps because such children often fall victims of child abuse.
- The government should not only campaign against child abuse but arrest and prosecute defaulters in child abuse.
- The planners of the school’s curriculum should build into the curriculum, principal that will deal with the plight of children under abuse.
- Finally, the researcher also recommends that the government should ban hawing and sales by children of school age.
REFERENCES
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- Anigbo K. M. (2007) Violence in the Family Manchester University Press.
- Cook and Bowals (2000) Emotional Problems of Development in Children London Academic Press.
- Costa J. J. (2008) Child Abuse and Neglect, Legislation Purporting and Prevention, Letting on Books.
- Demision P. W. (April, 10, 1954) Child Exploitation, the Nigeria case International Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect in African Enugu.
- Eigbo P. W. (2006) “ANPDPCAN will Fight Child Abuse and Neglect Weekly Star.
- Ekwegban V. U, (October, 8, 1987) Child Expectation. The Nigeria Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect.
- Fish B. A. (2008) “History of Education in Nigeria”. London, George Publisher Ltd.
- L. (1970) Child Development London Hatelison and Co. Ltd Century V. S. and Bribere Ali 1982.
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- Ikpeama (2000) parents and the school London the Macmillan co. Ltd.
- Jomedu (2005) An Introduction to Education psychology, London Evans Brothers Ltd.
- Jaja (2001) Emotional problems of development in children London Academy.
- Kenife W. V. (2008) Child Abuse and Neglect West Port Green Wood Press.
