Introduction
Abuse of minors is a significant violation of a child’s health and welfare in a familial setting. In the U.S., almost 4 million children are found for possible maltreatment annually, with a yearly factual abuse rate of 9.1 per 1,000 children (Strathearn et al., 2020).
Child maltreatment is a significant public health concern in many countries, with severe and frequently incapacitating long-term repercussions for psychosocial development along with emotional well-being. In the mini-series released by Netflix, The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez, an extreme case of child maltreatment is depicted, with the parents failing to provide any kind of safety to the child.
Gabriel’s death was not caused by a single incident; instead, it was the result of months of suffering. Child abuse and blunt force injuries performed by the parents, Isauro Aguirre and Pearl Fernandez, contributed to Gabriel’s death. Thus, physical and emotional abuse, along with physical neglect, are the evident characteristics of the maltreatment of Gabriel Fernandez.
Physical Abuse
First, it is vital to determine the presence of physical abuse in the child’s life. Zeanah and Humphreys (2018, p.15), physical abuse can be described as a situation “when a caregiver or responsible adult inflicts physical injury upon a child by other than accidental means.” However, socially accepted physical changes like ear piercing and circumcision are not considered injuries (Zeanah & Humphreys, 2018).
Other researchers, such as Gonzalez and colleagues (2022), support this claim by stating that physical abuse can take the form of beating, shaking, burning, or biting. Still, it is uncertain at what point physical punishment qualifies as maltreatment. The most frequent discovery connected to physical abuse is discovered to be ribcage fracturing (Gonzalez et al., 2022). Yet, almost all of the mentioned corporal punishments were experienced by Gabriel.
One of the experienced kinds of physical abuse is burning. An officer at the Department of Social Services saw the child’s wounds three weeks before his death when his mother entered the agency. The guard noticed burns everywhere around Gabriel’s head. While several wounds were healing, others were yet new. In the first episode, the ambulance bay nurse mentioned that in the ER room, the child had severe “cigarette marks,” as if somebody was putting out their cigarettes on the child (Knappenberger, 2020, 00:04:19). While this indicates child abuse, to avoid having to work extra hours, superiors advised the security officer not to disclose the occurrence.
Another example of corporal punishment that Gabriel underwent was beating. According to Leslie Heimoy from the third episode, executive director of the Children’s Law Center in California, “a child asking the teacher if it’s normal to get hit with a metal part of a belt,” is a strong sign of physical abuse (Knappenberger, 2020, 00:43:16). In another situation, an ambulance bay nurse claimed that the young child had a “depressed skull fracture” (Knappenberger, 2020, 00:04:19). These are the indications of maltreatment that did not receive attention while the child was alive.
Finally, as mentioned, while it is complicated to determine accurately what constitutes physical maltreatment, fractured ribs are a vital sign of this phenomenon. In the series, it was mentioned that it required the pathologist two consecutive days to finish the examination of the child’s dead body and record every injury.
On each side of Gabriel’s torso, he found several fractured ribs at varying ages, as well as scars, bruising, and hemorrhage from blunt force trauma within his skull. All wounds indicated extreme physical and psychological suffering suffered over an extended length of time. Therefore, the physical abuse aspect corroborates the claim that the child was exposed to maltreatment.
Physical Neglect
Failure to Provide
However, the physical aspect is not the only area that illustrates and supports the case of abuse. Physical neglect is an additional area that must be taken into account when reviewing the case of Gabriel Fernandez. According to Zeanah and Humphreys (2018, p.14), in a case of neglect, “a caregiver or responsible adult fails to exercise a minimum degree of care in meeting the child’s physical needs, such as food, clothing, shelter, hygiene, medical/dental care.” Upon watching the series, it becomes evident that the child experienced all of the aspects.
When it comes to food and shelter, it was mentioned that the child was frequently held in a cupboard at night and sometimes during the day. Aside from being kept in a confined space with not enough air, it was mentioned that the child was malnourished. The food that Gabriel received came from his siblings, who “were able to sneak him some food” (Knappenberger, 2020, 00:33:36). Regarding proper clothes and hygiene, the child was deprived of his clothes, and the remaining garments that he had were stained with blood.
It was not only the child’s right to hygiene but the conditions in which he lived. According to one of the experts, the DNA analyst experienced challenges while examining the apartment since “there was so much blood in the apartment, she ran out of stickers” (Knappenberger, 2020, 00:32:34). Therefore, the conditions of the apartment were unsanitary, with the child not having access to clean clothes.
Finally, the child had no access to proper healthcare or dental care. The couple used a bat to hit the child in the face, which led to him losing his teeth. Thus, all aspects mentioned in the physical neglect, notably a failure to provide, align with the experiences of Gabriel Hernandez.
Lack of Supervision
Regarding another aspect of physical neglect, a lack of supervision can be illustrated by firearms in the apartment. Zeanah and Humphreys (2018, p.14) claim that in a case of a lack of supervision, “a caregiver or responsible adult does not take adequate precautions to ensure a child’s safety in and out of the home, given the child’s particular emotional and developmental needs.” This comprises sufficient control, secure surroundings, and suitable placement care (Zeanah & Humphreys, 2018).
One of the pictures shown in the series indicates that the family-owned guns, along with a BB gun. The latter was then used to abuse Gabriel, and as mentioned by the ambulance bay nurse, “he’s got a bullet in his lung” (Knappenberger, 2020, 00:04:19). According to the testimony of the children’s aunt, the mother, Pearl, used to put socks in Gabriel’s mouth and shoot the child in the face with a BB pistol. Open access and unsupervised firearms can additionally serve as a signal of physical neglect.
Another example of a lack of supervision lies in the fact that the child was left in the street, which came to the attention of firefighters. A paramedic Cermak reportedly “was surprised that he saw a child out here at 10 p.m.” (Knappenberger, 2020, 00:31:33). Parents’ lack of involvement and indifference in this situation shows their intentional abuse of the child. While knowledgeable of the neighborhood’s dangers, weather, and other factors, the couple failed to supervise the child.
Emotional Abuse
Finally, the last aspect that constitutes child maltreatment is emotional abuse. Zeanah and Humphreys (2018, p.14) characterize it as a situation wherein “a caregiver persistently or extremely thwarts a child’s basic emotional needs.” This additionally includes parenting behaviors that are destructive since they are inconsiderate of the child’s stage in development, such as depriving the child of age-appropriate tolerance and emotional safety and stability (Zeanah & Humphreys, 2018).
More frequently, victimization, humiliation, and activities that intimidate a child are all examples of psychological abuse that might lead to the child developing a psychological disorder in the future (Gonzalez et al., 2022). From the case seen with Gabriel, the child experienced constant humiliation and intimidation.
For example, investigators discovered all of Gabriel’s garments taken, except two dresses that the child was forced to wear. As claimed by relatives, Pearl and her lover, Isauro Aguirre, would label Gabriel with homophobic terms, including gay. To further humiliate the child, instead of proper food, Gabriel was given cat litter. In another situation, in episode 2, the poorly shaven head of Gabriel was shown during the court hearing.
While some areas of the child’s head were covered with hair, others were not. As outlined by Hart and Colleagues (2017, p.147), “belittling, degrading, and other nonphysical forms of hostile or rejecting treatment” are the signals of child maltreatment. Thus, constant pressure, homophobia, and hostile treatment define Gabriel’s abuse.
Toward the end, one can see how the child developed mental health issues due to constant stress and abuse. Psychological problems are among the apparent repercussions of child maltreatment. Abuse is linked to constraints in growth across nearly every area, such as intellectual, linguistic, emotional social, and neurological functioning (Zeanah & Humphreys, 2018). For instance, researchers revealed that 48% of almost four thousand children, aged between two and fourteen, who had finished child welfare inspections showed major clinical psychoemotional difficulties collecting data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (Zeanah & Humphreys, 2018).
Both internal and external factors were almost three times more likely to be identified in individuals who had been neglected and abused, according to the research of more than a thousand children aged between five and nine who were drawn from medical settings (Zeanah & Humphreys, 2018). This could additionally be seen in the experiences of Gabriel. In episode 4 of the series, the child wrote a suicide note, which was disregarded. In his note, Gabriel Hernandez showed his love for his mother and hoped to be together after death.
Conclusion
Hence, the signals that support the claim that Gabriel Hernandez experienced maltreatment the physical and emotional abuse, along with physical neglect. When it comes to physical abuse, Gabriel was exposed to constant burning and beating, with his ribs and skull being fractured.
Physical neglect can be characterized as the failure to supervise and provide. The child in the case was not given proper accommodation, sanitary conditions, and healthcare. Moreover, the lack of supervision can be illustrated through the storage and use of firearms in the household, with the lung of the child punctured by a bullet. Finally, emotional abuse manifested in constant humiliation and intimidation, which led to the development of depression in the child.
References
Gonzalez, D., Mirabal, A. B., & McCall, J. D. (2022). Child abuse and neglect. StatPearls Publishing. Web.
Hart, S. N., Brassard, M. R., Baker, A. J. L., Chiel, Z. A. (2017). Psychological Maltreatment of Children. In J. Bart Klika, Jon R. Conte (Eds.), The APSAC handbook on child maltreatment (pp.145-163). SAGE.
Knappenberger, B. (2020). The trials of Gabriel Fernandez [Television series]. Netflix.
Strathearn, L., Giannotti, M., Mills, R., Kisely, S., Najman, J., & Abajobir, A. (2020). Long-term cognitive, psychological, and health outcomes associated with child abuse and neglect. Pediatrics, 146(4), e20200438. Web.
Zeanah, C. H., & Humphreys, K. L. (2018). Child abuse and neglect. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 57(9), 637–644. Web.