Child Abuse

My act of resistance was to bring awareness to child abuse. Today i passed out small sheets of paper to my TOK, Spanish and English class each small sheet contained a brief statement about child abuse.

Child abuse leaves more than just bruises. Long after children have recovered from the physical results of a beating, abused children suffer from emotional and psychological trauma that can last the rest of their lives. Abused children need your intervention. In their helplessness, they must rely on capable adults who are willing to take a stand and get them out of an abusive environment. By being aware of child abuse, and helping to educate the people you know, you can help prevent child abuse in your community.

Just recently on the news Christopher Thomas a one year old boy was a victim of child abuse and because he was a victim he died from the abuse of his 24 year old aunt. This is why i chose to do my act of resistance on child abuse because Christopher's life ended way too soon. I took his death as a challenge to myself to educate myself about child abuse and to also educate others through this blog.
Although Christopher's life ended due to child abuse, he is not the only one. There are many children suffering from abuse who are not able to speak up and seek for the help they needed.
I know that if Christopher had a voice, or an adult to help intervene in his situation Chris would still be her today.
I took it upon myself to do some research on the Internet about child abuse, there were and are many websites that want to help prevent child abuse from continuing as it is. On one website i was able to find a quiz. i took and i did okay but some of the answers i was shocked to see were true. I'd like you all to take the quiz if you like.

Courtesy of childhelp.org

What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You. We hear about child abuse in the news nearly every day, but how much do we really know about it? During National Child Abuse Prevention Month (April), Childhelp is asking everyone to learn more about child abuse and what each of us can do to help stop it. Test your knowledge.

QUESTIONS: 1) Three children die of child abuse in the home in the United States each
a) Year
b) Day
c) Week
d) Month

2) How many people report child abuse when faced with an actual situation?
a) 3/4
b) 1/2
c) 1/3

3) What is the single, leading cause of death for children ages four and younger?
a) Drowning
b) Motor vehicle accidents
c) Child abuse and neglect
d) Choking on food
e) Residential fires
f) Suffocation
g) Falls

4) On average, child abuse is reported somewhere in the United States every
a) 10 seconds
b) 20 minutes
c) Hour

5) Strangers pose the greatest risk of sexual abuse to children.
a) True
b) False

6) Child molesters get their sexual gratification only from children.
a) True
b) False

7) The average age that child molesters first attack a child is when they (the attackers) are
a) In their early 20s
b) Middle-aged
c) In their teens

8) Which of the following actions can help stop child abuse and neglect?
a) Helping a stressed-out parent by baby-sitting, making a meal for their family or lending an understanding ear.
b) Learning the signs and symptoms of child abuse so you can recognize them when you see the “red flags.”
c) Reporting known or suspected child abuse to the police or local child protective services agency.
d) All of the above.

ANSWERS:
b) Day
c) 1/3
c) Child abuse and neglect
a) 10 seconds. Based on 2.8 million reports per year.
b) False. Most children are abused by people they know.
b) False. Many child molesters also have adult sexual relationships.
c) In their teens—and even as young as age 12.
d) All of the above.
Copyright © Childhelp 2006.

I didn't want to pick such a sad topic but it was something that i feel passionate about. Alot of times i hear of crimes and abuse on the news and i'm sad for that moment, but then i;m back into my world and it has no personal affect on me. However the story of Christopher touched me in someway, and it let me know how fortunate i really am to have parents who love an care for me. I am truely bless. Because i've researched and thought about child abuse i realize that this could happen to anybody we know, and as friends/ associates or wateva we should intervene in the best way possible before it is too late.