Child Abuse and Maltreatment

CHILD ABUSE AND MALTREATMENT
Name
Institution
Course
Date

Abuse is a term used to refer to any kind of harm that is committed against children or any other person. Child abuse occurs when his or her parents or any other responsible person inflicts the children at any risk, harassment or physical injuries. More details on child abuse can be found in section 412 of the social service laws or in section 1012 of the family court act. Child maltreatment is the quality of care accorded to children from their caregivers. Child neglect takes place parents or other responsible caregiver fail to provide the minimum level of care to the child. The care quality could be compromised by how the basic needs of a child are provided, provision of food, clothes, medical and parental love. Child maltreatment is also referred to as child neglect and it is well defined in section 412 of the social service laws (Brown, 1998).
In most cases, the victims of child abuse are school-aged children. Usually the abuse is caused by parents, classmates, and other teenagers. The most common forms of abuse at this age are sexual harassment, denial of rights, overworking the child. The signs that a child has been abused include trauma, stress, injuries and fear. Any nurse examining a child after a suspected abuse case should check the following indicators: state of shock, feeling lonely and unsafe, physical injuries under some circumstances and not ready to talk about the abuse event (Brown, 1998).
The role of nurses in handling child abuse cases is very vital because it goes beyond providing the medical care to the legal section.

Therefore the involved nurses need to be knowledgeable enough to well analyze the cases of abuse and report them well to ensure the safety of children. My state has special statutes that give the guidelines to reporting the cases of child abuse. The laws that protect child abuse are stricter as compared to the other laws. Nurses are also expected to do evidence-based reporting to protect the child, to safeguard one’s profession and as a member of the community (Brown, 1998).
References
Brown, J., Cohen, P., Johnson, J. G., & Salzinger, S. (1998). A longitudinal analysis of risk factors for child maltreatment: Findings of a 17-year prospective study of officially recorded and self-reported child abuse and neglect. Child abuse & neglect, 22(11), 1065-1078.