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Fall 2018
Victimization
Even though families operate as a cohesive unit, difficulties can emerge. The most traumatic difficulties occur in forms of abuse. A variety of victims and types of victimization arises in the family setting, especially in relation to sibling, elder, and child abuse. Although an outsider might see a form of this abuse as a type of punishment, or be confused by the family dynamic and not report it, anytime a verbal or physical behaviors are expressed that are not warranted, abuse is a possibility. When one considers child abuse, many people think of a young, defenseless child being unable to defend his or herself against a parent beating them or striking them, however, there is much more to abuse than just the physical element. Sibling abuse occurs between brother and sister, brother and brother, sister and sister, whereby one clearly has power over another; many people would not acknowledge this as a type of abuse because sibling rivalries are common, however, by understanding the signs of abuse and territorialism through communication and action, people can intervene. Elder abuse is all too common nowadays in nursing homes, but what about the adult child who fails to properly care for the aged parent who cannot speak out on his or her own? Noticing signs of abuse becomes critical to making sure that the country functions properly and provides ethical considerations to anyone regardless of age. Therefore, people must become aware of the types of victimization that occur throughout the family setting, weather in the home, or outside, merely because of the relationships established.
The first type of abuse that is all-too-common within families is child abuse, which is the physical, sexual, or psychological mistreatment of a child by an adult, such as a parent or a caregiver (Campbell 2015). Child abuse results in harm to a child, either directly or indirectly as a form of neglect, and can occur in a house, in an after-school program, in school, or in any group in which the child interacts. Child abuse can result in emotional and physical challenges, as well as, the removal of the child from the home.
In order to be fully aware of child abuse, people must understand the difference between cultural recognitions of any actions or behaviors geared toward children. For example, within the home, types of parenting, socioeconomic status, patterns, and assessments of communities might integrate properly or in adequately in order to provide Public Health Options, legal, and advocacy programs in order to assist any children in need. There is a difference, however, between intentional neglect, as well as, unintentional delay of assistance, which sometimes occurs when a parent does not have enough money to feed a child, and therefore, the child goes hungry. This is not as blatant as a parent beating a child, however, the result can result in the same developmental delays and emotional problems.
When harm occurs intentionally, it is at the hands of any adult who is responsible at that moment for a child, whether it be a caregiver or a parent. Children in a variety of situations where someone older takes care of them and also hurts them, can be referred to as other types of abuse, however, for this particular scenario, child abuse as the umbrella term involves physical or psychological actions and words that do not benefit the child in any way. Some people decide to take on the responsibility of having a child and then can no longer care for them. The parent takes on an attitude of being victimized, also, and resents the child, neglecting them and choosing to no longer partake in the caregiving process. When these mindsets occur, they translate negatively into society, which helps spawn the attitude toward elder abuse, as well. However, intentionally or unintentionally, these efforts must be reported in order to provide the best possible outcome for the entire family.
The World Health Organization defines child abuse through a variety of categories, including physical, sexual, psychological, and neglect (Campbell 2015). Physical abuse of a child is Complicated by punishment that is sometimes utilized by parents in order to reprimand a child by either lightly smacking them, or getting physical. To determine physical abuse, a pattern must be established, as well as, a pattern of physical abuse will manifest itself with emotional troubles as well as a lack of Parental Guidance (Tyler 2003). Child abuse laws are in place for excessive use of force, or particularly difficult behaviors, such as forcing a child to eat something spicy as punishment, or by trying to suffocate them, however, mild corporal punishment is merely a controversy that is debated in cultures and countries across the world. Sexual abuse occurs where by a child is either exposed to an adult through sexual means, or, he or she is forced to engage in sexual action but the adult or other children.
Psychological abuse occurs in the form of verbal or non-verbal cues that either make a child anxious, self-conscious, or feel that their parent is not there to love them or support them, but rather, constantly kick them when they are down. Victims of this type of abuse can have many emotional scars and developmental problems which either make them victimizers in the future, or present difficult social interaction skills (Campbell 2015). The other element of child abuse neglect, which comes either from a parent voluntarily not giving a child food and love, or involuntarily, by a parent or caregiver being unable to provide that attention due to time and money. Neglect occurs when the basic opportunity is given to children because of human rights are not provided to them by means of the parent being unable to provide or actively trying not to. In these cases, people might call Child Protective Services to have a home investigated.
The effects of child abuse range from immediate physical harm to cognitive and emotional developmental problems, even to long-term illnesses from all the stress growing up. Children emerge during a vulnerable time in their lives, and without proper guidance and assistance, they will be misinformed as to what the world has in store for them if they suffer from abuse. Children in these situations will have difficulties making friends, getting through school, and even maintaining daily lives. Their relationships with adults will no longer be built on trust, but on fear, as well as, important cognitive and physical Milestones might never be reached because of interjection of caregiver malice.
Sibling abuse is related to child abuse, because it can occur with children, as well as siblings of any age, which includes the physical, psychological, or sexual abuse of one sibling by another. Fighting is normal for sibling relationships, however, abuse occurs when it is consistent, involves terrorizing, and power shifts decrease and normal daily functioning. Many households that promote abuse, or have a lacking loving atmosphere are more inclined to have elements of sibling abuse, whereby, the parent is absent, and the older sibling or the more dominant one takes charge, and therefore, they forced the other sibling to do what they want. Aggression and physical abuse is the most common form of sibling abuse, resulting in biting, kicking, spitting, pinching, many things that are not obvious to the parent as well, small behaviors which can be hidden and bruises can be hidden under clothes. Psychological abuse occurs through terrorizing, blackmail, threats, and these are more notorious than merely teasing, but rather, daily occurrences that established patterns of psychological control. Many siblings will become afraid of the more dominant one, and therefore, they cannot cognitively grow as needed. They will always live under the thumb of their older sibling if another adult or caregiver does not intervene. Furthermore, sexual abuse occurs when there is an element of secrecy involved. For example, sexual curiosity is typical among siblings, however, if a sibling then tells another not to tell anyone, there is a negative feeling with the event. Many younger siblings do not understand, and therefore, the element of control keeps the power in the hands of the older sibling, and the one who wants to dominate or penetrate the other. Furthermore, more emotional abuse can occur through gossiping and putting other family members against one sibling. This may be difficult to pinpoint, however, it could just be misconstrued as relatives talking about other relatives, however, it is done in a way where the person they are talking about is fully aware, and a mocking or intentionally that your mental attitude is presented(Abramovaite 2015). Therefore, the sibling that is abused finds challenges when forming relationships, because if they cannot trust their own blood relatives, who can they trust in the outside world?
On the other end of the spectrum is elder abuse. Elder abuse occurs for adults who are dependent upon younger adults in order to meet their daily needs, and is represented through a pattern of behaviors and words that create a level of distrust in the relationship. Elder abuse within the family occurs from the adult children or grandchildren, or other relatives, however, elder abuse is common with caregivers, as well as, organizations that might neglect the Elder who needs assistance. The controversy surrounding elder abuse exists when the patient has a mental condition or dementia, because many times they can misunderstand certain actions, and therefore, elements of elder abuse complaints can be deemed false. However, more likely than not, it is the other way around, whereby, the younger person tries to take advantage of the older person, whether they have a mental disorder, or merely are physically slow, and therefore, people can take advantage of them more easily. Similar to child abuse, there are a variety of categories of elder abuse, the first being physical. Physically, people can hit, Punch, or kick elderly people, even attack them with their own cans. Emotional elder abuse occurs through humiliation, whereby, an older person might soil themselves, and a family member either refuses to change them, or ridiculous them for the process. In the case of elder abuse, these relationships are formed out of a pure trust, because someone who is once able-bodied independent now needs assistance, and they put their full trust in someone who has vowed to help them. In these situations, the relationship goes south very quickly, and more likely than not, the Elder is only able to be redeemed if someone else steps in to make a complaint on their behalf.
Financial elder abuse also happens, where buy, people steal money from other people or convince them to donate or give to someone merely because they believe they are easily persuaded. More often than not, the other person will provide their money to a needy relative, at the expense of their own medical needs (Abramovaite 2015). In addition, sexual abuse occurs whereby people either take advantage of elderly people, or expose them to sexual acts of which they are not wanted, as well as, neglect, which occurs when a family member chooses not to feed, bathe, or provide affection toward an elderly relative. In all of these cases, the elderly person becomes the most vulnerable element of the relationship, and therefore, without interjection from an organization or another caregiver, they will most likely either die, or experience many medical hardships.
Therefore, it is clear that the types of victimization associated with children can also be connected as people increase in age. The physical harm that anyone does to another is worthy of a jail sentence, however, it becomes complicated when it is done within the family setting. People take relatives for granted and therefore, their behaviors can fly under the radar. Only when it is too late do people usually come forward with stories of family abuse. Many people live with fears and traumas from childhood family abuse for a long time because they are worried about the perception of the action by other family members, they do not want to strain relations, and therefore, the victim ends up feeling guilty and taking blame. However, according to Campbell (2015), it needs to be acknowledged that abuse is abuse, whether it is in the family arena or public setting, therefore, victims need to make their victimization known in order to put their perpetrators behind bars, regardless of their relationship to the victim. Furthermore, the efforts needed after the abuse need to be implemented as soon as possible to avoid any harmful upbringings or continuations of the cycle of violence.
In all of these situations of victimization, it is clear that people can be a victim at any age, and the turmoil experienced from either physical, emotional, psychological, sexual abuse, or neglect can negatively impact people's mental states and their physical health. Both children and Elders are very vulnerable populations, and they require the assistance of able-bodied adults to provide them care. In one's early life, he or she is cared for by a parent or caregiver, who is provided the responsibility to give them love and support, emotionally, physically, financially, to have all of their needs met. As that person grows, they should understand that one day, they will be in a position to assist someone as well. Elders become the next level of vulnerable populations, because they lose the independence they once had, and the sad part is that they know how they should be treated, for they were once in the position to treat others well. Children on the other hand do not know how to speak out, nor do they realize that they are victims right away. Elders, although they might have mental ailments, might be aware that they are being mistreated, but due to the state of their physical or mental condition, they will not be able to assist themselves. Therefore, it is very important to understand family abuse, and the levels of victimization, who can be a victim, who can be a perpetrator, and what can be done to stop it. Awareness is key, whereby, if patterns emerge through physical and mental aggression, people must be called out immediately as to not disturb proper patterns of development.
Works Cited
Abramovaite, Juste, Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay, and Louise Dixon. "The dynamics of intergenerational family abuse: a focus on child maltreatment and violence and abuse in intimate relationships." Journal of interdisciplinary economics 27.2 (2015): 160-174.
Campbell, Jacquelyn C. "Public-health conceptions of family abuse." Abused and battered. Routledge, 2017. 35-47.
Tyler, Kimberly A., et al. "Self‐mutilation and homeless youth: The role of family abuse, street experiences, and mental disorders." Journal of Research on Adolescence 13.4 (2003): 457-474.