Photo By Kristyn Galvan | Sergeant Major Miller Daceus, base sergeant major at Marine Corps Logistics Base...... read more read more
Child abuse happens to more than 600,000 children in the United States, meaning 1 in every 7 children are abused, the National Children’s Alliance website reports. To help raise awareness for this form of abuse, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives declared June 6-12 National Child Abuse Prevention Week. A year later, April was proclaimed as National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
The national theme for this year’s observance is ‘Building a Hopeful Future Together’. Michelle Adams, a Family Advocacy Program prevention and education specialist at Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow Behavioral Health explains the base’s local theme for CAP month.
“This year’s theme is ‘MilParents Rock: Rock solid families start here’,” Adams said. “We want to help parents build a solid foundation for well-being that will help them feel secure and be a rock for their children. By providing them with community and peer support, we are giving them the tools to rock their parenting journey.”
Adams said the most important thing people can do to prevent child abuse from happening is to receive education on the risk factors, signs, symptoms, and resources available. This knowledge enables people to not only have that knowledge for themselves but to have the ability to share valuable information with those in need. To help promote healthy families, Behavioral Health offers a variety of classes including Triple P Parenting, Grow parenting classes, New Parent Support Program, and anger and stress management classes.
In addition to equipping oneself with knowledge, it is important to report any known or suspected abuse. However, to do this, one must know what child abuse is and what forms it could take.
“Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional abuse, or neglect of a child by a parent, guardian, foster parent, or by a caregiver, whether the caregiver is interfamilial or extra-familial, under circumstances indicating the child’s welfare is harmed or threatened,” Adams explained.
She went on to say any child can be a victim of child abuse, as the abuse does not discriminate and can happen to anyone regardless of race, ethnicity, financial status, or education level. Primary abusers are usually parents, caregivers, extra-familial caregivers, or other family members. Rarely is this form of abuse committed by an unknown person.
Although there can be a variety of reasons that trigger child abuse, Adams explained some of the common reasons.
“There may be many things that provoke child abuse such as isolation, lack of support, financial pressures, history of being abused, et cetera,” she said. “However, increasing protective factors such as enrolling in parenting classes can decrease the likelihood of abuse happening and give parents resources and tools to educate them on healthy parent and child relationships.”
Adams continued to explain that child abuse can include unexplainable physical injuries or bruising or marks, injuries to parts of the body that normally are not hurt, or patterned marks on the child’s body or both sides of their body. Abrupt behavior changes, stealing or begging for food and money, not having supervision, and being frequently absent can be other signs of child abuse.
This form of abuse can be physical, mental, and emotional and can lead to neglect.
“Physical abuse is the intentional use of force that can result in physical injury,” Adams said. “Sexual abuse involves pressuring or forcing a child to engage in sexual acts. Emotional abuse refers to behaviors that harm a child’s self-worth or emotional well-being. Neglect is the failure to meet a child’s basic physical and emotional needs.”
All forms of abuse have short-term and long-term effects on the child. Short-term effects can encompass fear, depression, acting out in anger, and running away, among other things. Long-term effects can include suicide, low self-esteem, or alcohol and substance abuse. Adams said that unless there is intervention or treatment, a child who suffers from abuse is also more likely to repeat patterns of abuse themselves.
“Child abuse has also been known to be linked to long-term health problems such as malnutrition, vision problems, high blood pressure, brain damage, functional limitations, and more,” said Adams.
If child abuse is occurring, it is crucial to inform someone of the abuse before it is too late so further harm can be mitigated. Known or suspected abuse can be reported to the MCLB Barstow 24/7 helpline at 760-577-6484 or by calling the National California Hotline at 800-422-4453.
| Date Taken: | 04.11.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 04.15.2024 13:48 |
| Story ID: | 468565 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 50 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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