Child Abuse: A Global Issue

Introduction

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund prohibits child abuse and has declared it an abuse against fundamental human rights (Finkelhor et al, 2015). Nonetheless, child abuse still remains to be a problem that has caught the attention of researchers worldwide. First, a child is anyone below 18 years, and therefore any individual within this age bracket is entitled to protection and services regardless of whether they are living independently, undergoing further education, is a member of armed forces, or is in the custody of the state (Code of Crown Prosecutors, CPS, 2018). On the other hand, according to CPS (2018), abuse against the child may be any form of mistreatment of the child or young person within the afore-mentioned age bracket. Generally, though, a child may be abused by an institution or a family, by people who know them closely, or by those who do not know them. Moreover, a child may be abused by an adult, a fellow child, or generally by a young person. This essay seeks to analyse the case study of Victoria Climbie with the aim of evaluating issues of risk and crime that characterised the case. In summary, Victoria Climbie was an 8-year-old child who was gruesomely tortured and murdered by her guardians allegedly in response to a preacher convinced her mother that she was possessed by the devil (Reder, 2004). The essay will give a detailed evaluation while using various theories to analyse the facts of the case.

Context

In the recent past, cases of child abuse have been on the rise, triggering the need to have a deeper evaluation of such cases and to provide relevant solutions. For instance, statistics by ONS (2018) reveals that between the period of March 2007 and March 2017, there a 178% increase in cases of child abuse. Further statistics by the ONS also reveal that within the same period, the rate of sexual abuse of girls below the age of 13 years increased by 187%. Furthermore, according to ONS (2018), the past 10 years has seen a 355% increase in rape cases among boys of 13 years and below, as well as a 511% increase in cases of child abuse through sexual exploitation.

Yet, as hinted before, child abuse and sexual harassment is a violation against human right and is prohibited by various legislations. For instance, in the UK, the Children Act 1989 protects children from abuse and sexual harassment by awarding the courts, parents, local authorities and other relevant agencies in the UK the responsibility of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Ideally, the Act works under the general principle that a child’s welfare is a matter of paramount importance and that any delay in the judicial processes seeking to deliver justice to any child in regards to his/her welfare; would be detrimental to the child’s welfare (Children Act 1989). Besides, the Act requires courts to make a keen consideration of the child’s sex, age, background circumstances as well as any effects that child is likely to suffer out of the ruling on any case regarding the child’s welfare. Another fundamental principle upon which the Act operates is that the duties and responsibilities of care must be upheld by both parents while in marriage, although if the child is born out of wedlock, the father may not have an automatic parental responsibility for the child (Children Act 1989). Nevertheless, there are several other legislations in the UK such as the Children Act 2004 and the Children and Social Work Act 2017 which strengthen the Children Act 1989 and inhibit child abuse.

Theories for Understanding Child Abuse

Researchers have developed theories that allow the explanation of various cases of child abuse and developing various solutions to child abuse on a case basis. These theories are generally categorised into sociological models, cultural models, and psychological models. However, for purposes of effectively understanding child abuse in the context of our current case study (i.e. Victoria Climbie), the subculture theory of violence (part of the cultural model category) will be applied.

The Subculture Theory of Violence

This theory was developed by Wolfgang & Ferracuti in the 1960s in an attempt to understand why individuals decide to commit a crime for apparently senseless reasons. Wolfgang and his colleague wanted to explain homicides that occurred in social and recreational settings (Wolfgang & Ferracuti 1982). Whereas the theorists focused on young poor males in such settings, their theory was aimed at helping to understand why people resort to violence as a response to seemingly trivial events. The two scholars learned that in social and recreational settings, there exists a separate set of values, beliefs, and norms collectively known as a subculture, that are conducive to violence and crime (Wolfgang & Ferracuti 1982).

This paper, therefore, draws from the work of Wolfgang & Ferracuti to make an argument that the social and recreational setting within which children live is a major factor contributing to their abuse. Wolfgang & Ferracuti’s emphasis on beliefs, culture and norms of the child’s living environment is especially useful in the analysis of Victoria Climbie’s case; as it allows for the argument that Victoria Climbie’s guardians could have been influenced by their cultural and religious beliefs to physically abuse Victoria Climbie – in an attempt to remove the devil that they believed had possessed her. To this end, Wolfgang & Ferracuti’s conceptualization of violence as a function of social beliefs, norms, and culture is generative in grasping how Children can be exposed to sexual and physical abuse by their guardians as a result of religious/cultural beliefs. It is here that Wolfgang & Ferracuti’s attention to social and recreational settings as major factors contributing to violence is of value for informing the argument that addressing the issue of child abuse should begin by checking the social and recreational settings they live in.

Evaluation

From a general perspective, evaluating the issue of violence may not be as comprehensive as expected without understanding various forms of child abuse, the motivations towards child abuse, the impacts of child abuse, as well as the capability of this form of violence. First, existing literature highlights various forms of child abuse. For instance, Shenoi et al (2013) point out that child abuse may be in a physical form such as beating, kicking or slapping the child. Indeed, this is the form of violence that Victoria Climbie faced, because evidence by Rustin (2004) indicate that she was tied up for long periods, burnt with cigarette fire, hit by wires, hammers as well as bike chains. A child can also be abused emotionally, whereby he/she is subjected to neglect or any other form of emotional maltreatment. Other forms of child abuse include genital mutilation or sexual grooming (Bartelink et al, 2014).

Having identified the gruesome torture that Victoria Climbie went through before passing on, it is monumental to evaluate some of the actual factors that could have motivated her guardians to violently abuse her. In this case, while one could easily argue that the power and control that her parents had on her could have motivated the violence (Balen & Masson 2008), a deeper analysis through the Finkelhor’s preconditions model reveals more interesting insights.

Basically, Finkelhor’s preconditions model bridges the gap between the social and psychological interpretation of violence and sexual abuse and is useful in analysing the case of Victoria Climbe. Ideally, the model views motivations to violence from a hierarchical perspective including factors related to the abuser, the victim, and the victim’s family, although it places the responsibility with the abuser (South Eastern CASA, 2009). According to the model, the psychological and sociological factors motivating violence and sexual abuse may include overcoming external inhibitors, overcoming internal inhibitors, motivations to offend and overcoming the child’s resistance. For the purpose of effectively analysing Victoria Climbe’s case, the child’s resistance will be evaluated.

According to South Eastern CASA (2009), an abuser must overcome the child’s resistance to abuse, and therefore abusers tend to sense the best candidates for abuse i.e. those that are easily intimidated or forced to keep secrets of the abuse. Such children tend to be vulnerable to abuse and therefore it is important to know which factors make them vulnerable. For instance, in the case of Victoria Climbe, she was young and could easily be manipulated, therefore was an easier target for abuse. Hence, when developing programs dedicated to protecting children from abuse, it is helpful to consider the factors that make them vulnerable and predisposed to physical or sexual violence such as age and gender. However, while the Finkelhor’s preconditions model has been helpful in explaining why Victoria Climbie was vulnerable to physical violence by her guardians, the model has a few limitations that make it not fully applicable in such cases. For instance, according to South Eastern CASA (2009), the model is highly descriptive and incorporates various theoretical frameworks and observed clinical data. Hence, its proposition cannot be fully empirically tested for purposes of explaining why physical or sexual violence occurs.

Solutions to Child Abuse

Strategies for protecting children from child abuse are two-fold; establishing protective factors to prevent child abuse and eliminating the risk factors for child abuse. According to Reder & Duncan (2004), protective factors majorly address parenting and any other activities involved in the administration of families and children. One of these includes nurturing and developing an effective relationship with the child by expressing love and allowing the child to freely interact with the parent or guardian. For instance, Cooper (2005) indicates that parents who develop a healthy relationship with their children early enough enable the children to develop an increased ability to deal with stress in future, improved social interaction and better grades at school.

The second item related to protective factors is developing proper knowledge among parents and guardians on proper parenting and youth development because according to Balen & Masson (2008), parents who are adequately knowledgeable of their roles in contributing to positive child development are likely to create a positive environment. According to Al-Eissa (2008), such activities that are known to have a positive effect on child development include effective communication, managing a child’s expectation and developing consistent rules to guide children on positive living. The last element of protective factors that help in preventing violence against children is parental resilience, which, according to Rustin (2004), entails the parent’s ability to cope with challenges of everyday life as well as occasional stresses in proper way without having to express the frustration to the child in an abusive manner when stress related to raising the child occurs.

On the other hand, child abuse can be prevented by addressing the risk factors contributing to the abuses. According to Hutchinson & Langlykke et al (1997), this entails making various efforts developing knowledge among the society regarding child physical abuse and sexual harassment. Basically, as opposed to protective factors address parental behaviour, prevention factors are majorly focused on reducing the risk of child abuse by address child behaviour. According to Cooper (2005), this can be achieved by equipping the children with knowledge of sexual and physical abuse and how to avoid risky situations. Besides, such programs would equip children with the knowledge of responding to abuse, if it occurs.

In conclusion, this paper has identified child abuse as a major problem, particularly, with specific reference to the case of Victoria Climbie who succumbed to physical abuse from her parents. Besides, the paper has also highlighted the worrying prevalence of child abuse worldwide, despite countries like the UK establishing various legislative measures to eradicate the vice. In an attempt to gain a theoretical understanding of the cause of child abuse, this paper has used the subculture theory of violence, which holds that in social and recreational settings, there exists a separate set of values, beliefs, and norms collectively known as a subculture, that is conducive to violence and crime. This theory was especially useful in explaining why it was believed that Victoria Climbie out of her guardians’ belief that she was possessed with demons. Ultimately, the paper has proposed two sets of solutions to child abuse: establishing protective factors to prevent child abuse and eliminating the risk factors for child abuse. It is has been established that as opposed to protective factors address parental behaviour, prevention factors are majorly focused on reducing the risk of child abuse by address child behaviour. This paper therefore recommends that the two sets of solutions to child abuse should be given much consideration by both parents and policy makers.

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References

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