Child abuse and child maltreatment are acts by a parent or caretaker that results in or allows the child to be subjected to death, physical injury, sexual assault, or emotional harm. Emotional abuse, neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse are all different forms of child abuse. Child abuse has been known to be around more than ever in the last 18 years in the United States. There is about over 300 cases on child abuse per million people that are reported each year. 84 percent of prison inmates were abused as children. One in three girls and one in five boys are sexually abused by an adult at some time during childhood. (Most sexual abusers are someone in the family or someone the child knows, not the proverbial stranger with a lollipop). Families with four or more children have higher rates of abuse and neglect, especially if living conditions are crowded or they live in an isolated area. More than 80 percent of abusers are a parent or someone close to a child. Child abuse is far more likely to occur in the child's home than in a day care center. One in thirteen kids with a parent on drugs is physically abused regularly. (Drug and alcohol abuse in the family makes child abuse about twice as likely). One out of ten babies born today is born to a mother who abuses drugs. Drinking and smoking heavily during pregnancy also endangers the health of unborn children.

Child abuse is wrong. A child doesn’t have to be treated like an animal just because the parents don’t know to discipline their children right. Child abuse runs from birth until they are old enough to stand up for themselves. I want to make clear, in my peace, that people consciously know child abuse is wrong. If you don’t know how to control your hands, then give your kid to somebody that knows how to treat a child better than you. Why hurt a child? Do you think it's right to act in this manner? I want to make a point that if you hurt a kid there has to be a reason for you to do it. You don’t go around hitting children just because you want to take your stress out. People need to know that when hitting a child, you have to make sure you tell the kid why you hitting them. Just don’t hit them and except them to know you hit them for no reason. I noticed when a child gets abuse; they tend to be to themselves and don’t trust anybody. They think people are going to judge them for not standing up for themselves when they tried. They also think by talking to a counselor, it’s not going to help them get over what happen to them. It just going to be worse for them and the counselor is going to tell the whole world. When being abuse as a child, it’s hard for the child to grow up normal without letting anything go. It’s like a book being read to you a million times until; you decide to stop the person that is reading it to you. The child would show some signs its being abuse but it’s up to you to notice on time before the child goes crazy and start doing something to him/her self.

Child Abuse is such important in society now because it’s catching people attention hearing about males/females harassing little kids. They cause the children’s to have trauma later on in life. It puts thought into the kids head to do that to other children’s & probably their own when they have a family. I remember a point in my life when I was being abuse & I thought it was the end of my life. The reason why I thought that was because I wasn’t able to open up to people and tell them about it. I was shame that they might think different about how I am or even think badly about me. Imagine a child; let’s say 6 or even older is being abuse by like their father or even cousin. Their child is known it tell their parents what’s wrong but they choose not because it their own family members. So they tend to keep it to themselves. So getting back to what I was saying, I was abuse at one point.

When it’s known about child abuse, it’s taken in many different ways. First when a child says him/her is being abuse. Right away you need to know in which way. A child can be abuse by a parent, friend, neighbor, or stranger. The child needs to be help right away with counselor. Try to figure since when the child is being abuse and if it’s affecting the kid a lot. Does child show some kind of signs? Does the child need some professional help? See who your child is being left with. If the child acts different when left with the person its being let abuse by. When being abuse, it takes time for the child to react to it. It starts by playing around without people being seeing, and then it goes from there until the child is left alone with the pervert in a room, closet, house, or car. And the child can’t do nothing about it so it makes the child hard to tell somebody if they got threaten at any point, then its worse. In this world there are organizations that are being known to help children’s that are being abuse.

Here are some: Child Abuse Prevention Association (CAPA), American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC), National Council on Child Abuse and Family Violence (NCCAFV) & etc. All theses organization help children’s that are being abuse by family and family members. They send the people to jail for life sentence. The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children is the leading national organization supporting professionals who serve children and families affected by child maltreatment and violence. The child abuse prevention association mission is to prevent and treat all forms of child abuse by creating changes in individuals, families and society that strengthen relationships and promote healing. The National Council on Child Abuse and Family Violence (NCCAFV) is a nonprofit corporation serving all fifty states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as a resource center on family violence prevention services. NCCAFV is committed to assisting victims of child abuse, spouse/partner abuse, and elder abuse and to prevent family violence through public awareness, education, and program development. Child abuse is known to be around for a long time but have we done to stop it?!! Do we try to make a change and help children’s face theses stages in life that abuse has been done to them? People like making changes but, should we do to make sure kids are safe? We need to put cops and parents on the look of anything with their kids and talk to them about this stuff. Let me ask you something:

If your child was being abused, what would you do? Let me tell you my story. I remember I was on my way to church like every other time. I was always attending church since I was a little girl with my grandmother. It’s funny because I remember was like it was yesterday. The guy that abuse me was a stranger let’s say he used to visit my church. He was a male religious leader. He used to preach and show studies about the bible. I didn’t know what I lead for him to want to touch me or verbal abuse me. He knew I live with my grandma so she wouldn’t listen to me for nothing because I was a little girl. Sadly for 4 years from 6-10, the guy continue to abuse me secretly. When I hit the age 11, I decide to make known by telling the guy that I’m going to tell my cousin I live with. He told me if I dare to talk my life was ended. As a little girl, I kept the abuse to myself. Children’s tend to do that. They keep secrets to themselves. They might tell friends but only the ones they know to trust. But some just can’t trust anybody that they keep it to grave. Some parents find out too late and are not able to help their kids because they already been traumatize. They try putting them in professional care but it gets worse. When telling somebody a secret; you don’t want the whole world to know. You want it be taken care of and put in the past.

In my case, there was point; where I got that I didn’t want to go to the church. I used to beg my grandma to go to my friend church and she would yell at me no!! This is our church we can’t change. Once she said that I got so sick mentally and physically. I didn’t want to go nowhere because everywhere I went. I felt like I am going see him. My grandmother didn’t understand why I got sick, so she took me to the hospital because it got to the point where I couldn’t got to the point where I couldn’t get up for my bed because I was so weak from not eating from months. I would pretend to eat and feed my dogs my food. When the episode of me getting after being at the hospital. I started to open up to my cousin about why I was sick. When she heard this, she broke down and cried. She asks me a thousand times how come I didn’t tell her what was happening. I told I went to counseling to see if it help but I didn’t feel to protected so I started to keep it inside. She asks me why I told her. I said “because he threatens me”. I don’t like to be threatening even when saying if you don’t keep your mouth close ill kill your family members. That’s something you don’t play with. A lot of kids get abuse and are not able to come out their shells and talk about. Try to sit down with your kids and explain to them. So getting back to what was happening: She yelled at me my cousin. She even went to church with me that night. She phones the police and told what had happen. She had the police there and everything but from that day that I yelled at the guy to leave me alone. I never saw him again. He never showed his face at church. Police still had on search just in case but that been it. This is why we need to make sure our kids are protected. People would pretend to be nice and all to our kids but you always is careful. Child abuse is the worse that could happen to child.