The article evaluates factors contributing to physical and sexual abuse in children. Key among the factors is the immediate family and environment where the child is brought up. The mother is especially instrumental in ensuring that her is not either physically or sexually molested as it is she who is most likely to notice any early signs of abuse in a child and who therefore can be instrumental in preventing such abuse. To get the facts right, the researchers of this article surveyed families of children in a clinic for sexual abuse evaluation while at the same time establishing relationship and trends between children abuse and abuse of the victim’s mother as a child. In this regard, the researchers go ahead and investigate whether mothers of children abused by a person close to the family were more likely to have similarly abused by the same abuser as a child or in similar circumstances. If this is the case, the researchers sought to know if it was similarity in the home environment or acceptance of abuse as normal thus increasing susceptibility. The researchers worked with a sample size of 481 children and were able to obtain personal and demographical information regarding each of these and hence were able to draw conclusive inferences.
The research established that children under the care of a single mother were two times more likely to be abused as compared to those under the care of both parents. Children under the care of a single father were hardly ever abused with the research establishing that of those abused, those in this category were less than 1 per cent. Girls were found to be four and a half times more prevalent to abuse than boys. The group found out that very often the aggressor is known to the victim and in a considerable number of times, is a family member. The research also concludes that the racial demography is a big prevalent factor to both physical and sexual abuse.
The article also seeks to establish the link between sexual abuse of children and the level of violence in the environment where they live. The researcher seeks to establish whether insecurity and high levels of violence is a prevalence factor to sexual abuse.
The research concludes that where a mother was abused in childhood, the prevalence of abuse of her child is much higher than if she was never abused. The prevalence of sexual abuse is much higher to a child whose mother was sexually abused than that of physical abuse where the mother was physically abused. This often due to the fact that such a mother may come to accept abuse as normal or even inevitable to a child. A mother who was abused in childhood is also more likely to bring up her children in an environment where prevalence of abuse is higher.
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When a child lives in a family with domestic violence involving adults, they are much more likely to become victims of abuse as they are often dragged into the violence. The child is also adversely affected psychologically almost as though they are victims of abuse themselves, if they often witness domestic violence but are not abused.
Victimization of children is not isolated to any one category of income earners though those in the low end of the society may be at a greater risk due to the conditions in which they live. Establishing when there is a higher prevalence of abuse to a child is imperative for their protection as it enables the various stakeholders in the child’s life make an informed decision on how to keep the child secure.
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