Abstract
Any civilized society’s responsibility is to ensure that children are safe and healthy. A growing number of youngsters in the United States are suffering from child abuse, which hurts our society. Homes, schools, and places of worship—which were once considered safe havens for young people—need to be treated with a sacred manner now. Any youngster needs to feel secure, and significant issues arise when that sensation is missing.
Future generations should be reminded of the adverse effects of violence by the terrible tale of Gabriel Fernandez. Children must be supported and safeguarded, and it is the duty of the state and the individual to ensure their well-being so they can realize their full potential and grow up to be dependable members of society. To protect the welfare and safety of children worldwide, society, the government, and parents must work together.
Keywords: society, children, safety, abuse, victim.
Introduction
Psychologists describe violence as the deliberate use of physical force or power against a person, group, or society, aiming to harm, whether actual or expressed as a threat. Two components of these issues are concurrently present: injury to the victim and harm to society. Child abuse is characterized as harm to a child due to adults abusing their power over the child to satisfy personal needs contrary to the child’s interests.
Child abuse has irreparable consequences for society and individuals, as seen in the case of the Gabriel Fernandez tragedy. Children of the world are supposed to be our future. Gabriel Fernandez would have had a thriving life, graduating from high school. Our homes, schools, and churches should be the safest and most sacred places now; they must be closely monitored since more than 600,000 children are victims of child abuse in the U.S.
Child Domestic Abuse
Children who grew up in a home where physical abuse was commonplace often abuse their children or other family members in the future. As a result of mental abuse, a person loses control over their life and their own will, and they are forced to submit to another person. Children might fear their abusers’ retribution, shame, or threats, and as a result, it becomes more challenging to identify and stop acts of aggression.
The consequences of abuse during childhood can be disastrous, as abused children may develop behavioral issues, become addicted to alcohol or drugs, and have a higher chance of becoming abusers themselves in the future (Lippard & Nemeroff, 2020). Post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, sadness, and other psychological illnesses affect physically mistreated children. They may experience these emotional responses throughout their life, impacting their relationships, behavior, and capacity for social adaptation.
Children who experience abuse or threats regularly feel powerless and have poor self-esteem. The forms of mental violence are just as harmful and, in some situations, much more dangerous because their consequences are sometimes indistinguishable. Despotism and oppression in the family consequently hurt children’s minds and bodies, and the family has highly detrimental long-term effects on society. Recent studies have shown that violence raises the likelihood that adolescents will use alcohol and experience sadness, which in turn affects their likelihood of abusing drugs as adults (Lippard & Nemeroff, 2020). Government priorities should include addressing the issue of domestic violence because otherwise, it will result in a dangerous and unhealthy society in the future.
Child Abuse at School and Church
Abuse of many different kinds became widespread in schools in the U.S. Naturally, competitive students who want to assert control or have personal issues that trigger aggression may engage in intra-school violence. School bullying is described as a specific type of intentional, hostile behavior displayed by one or more pupils with the express purpose of upsetting or endangering another student or kids. (Liu et al., 2022). Abuse can occasionally be brought on by the performers’ social or psychological issues.
Both victims and perpetrators of school violence suffer long-term harm as a result. Psychological issues, including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and a decline in academic performance, will affect victims (Seddighi et al., 2019). As a result, aggressors will suffer legal repercussions and harm their prospects for the future. Inequality, cultural stereotypes, and the prevalence of aggressive patterns of behavior in society and families are sociocultural factors correlated with violence. These elements impact the development of aggressive behavioral patterns and aid in spreading violence in educational settings.
Abuse of children in religious environments is an essential social problem because it goes against all moral principles. Sexual abuse, other types of physical, verbal, and emotional abuse, and mental abuse of minors are all part of this abuse in the church. Abuse of adolescents between 11 and 15 is known as ephebophilia, the most common sexual behavior disorder mentioned against children (Plank, 2023). Priests regularly coerced people into sexual relations by abusing their spiritual authority or exploiting certain situations, such as the confidentiality associated with confession.
Tragedy of Gabriel Fernandez
The life of youngster Gabriel Fernandez symbolized the horrible effects of child abuse and a deficient child protection system. During his formative years, he was raised in a violent and abusive home in Los Angeles, California (Robinson-Greene, 2020). Gabriel was abused by his mother and her partner on a physical and mental level. They brutally and physically harmed him and often beat him mentally and emotionally.
Gabriel’s medical records documented numerous wounds and abrasions, demonstrating the boy’s lengthy, nearly unheard-of maltreatment (Robinson-Greene, 2020). When Gabriel Fernandez passed away at age eight from significant bodily injuries brought on by extreme mistreatment, the tragedy of his death was brought to light in 2013. Unfortunately, similar incidents continue to occur in society even ten years after the tragedy, and those who commit abuse are not held accountable through the legal system.
Preventive Measures and Monitoring
A contemporary and crucial issue is preventing physical and emotional harm to children in the contexts of family, school, and religion. In the family, monitoring entails establishing procedures for incident documentation and implementing systems for tracking violent episodes. In educational settings, monitoring systems are employed to keep track of violent situations, including physical and cyberbullying. There must be systems for knowledge-based violence prevention that successfully improve young children’s sexual safety knowledge and abilities (Russell et al., 2020). Additionally, assessments of the success of teacher and student education initiatives focusing on conflict resolution and violence prevention are made.
Monitoring in religious settings takes the form of feedback and surveillance systems, allowing congregants to report suspicions of abuse and assess children’s confidence and safety. Religious institutions must comply with official investigations and government inspections, the consequences of which should include the implementation of numerous preventive measures (Russell et al., 2020). It should include a routine review of parishioner education and counseling programs on the value of safeguarding children in religious institutions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, child abuse has become a growing problem in US society. Children are not protected in places that should, by default, be the safest: home, school, and church. However, even in such conditions, children succumb to all types of violence, the most common being psychological and sexual. This has catastrophic consequences for both children and society. Monitoring must be an ongoing and systematic process to ensure continuous improvement in child abuse prevention efforts in each context. This effectively safeguards children’s rights and safety, enabling prompt responses to evolving situations.
References
Lippard, E. T. C., & Nemeroff, C. B. (2020). The devastating clinical consequences of child abuse and neglect: Increased disease vulnerability and poor treatment response in mood disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 177(1), 20–36.
Liu, L., Wang, X., Chen, B., Chui, W.-H., & Wang, X. (2022). Association between child abuse, depression, and school bullying among Chinese secondary school students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(1), 697.
Plank, J. A. (2023). Roman Catholic Church in the United States and child abuse: Keeping secrets internal. Encyclopedia of Domestic Violence, 1–4.
Robison-Greene, R. (2022). The case of Gabriel Fernandez: Social work and public responsibility. Prindle Institute.
Russell, D., Higgins, D., & Posso, A. (2020). Preventing child sexual abuse: A systematic review of interventions and their efficacy in developing countries. Child Abuse & Neglect, 102, 104395.
Seddighi, H., Salmani, I., Javadi, M. H., & Seddighi, S. (2019). Child abuse in natural disasters and conflicts: A systematic review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 22(1), 176–185.