Huddled in her father’s car, a nine-year-old girl begs her grandmother to allow her to stay with her father and escape the horrible abuse she faces every day at home with her mother. Yet, her cries and pleas fall on deaf ears, as her grandmother refuses to believe or even acknowledge what is happening to her. This young girl’s name is Sophie, she lives in Texas, and she is a victim of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. Sophie alleges that her mother’s boyfriend, known as “Mr. Jake”, has repeatedly molested and raped her while her mother watched. Sophie begged her grandmother to believe her by describing the many times she woke up with blood on her underwear. Her grandmother brushes off her cries for help, claiming that if Sophie was truly molested, she would have never gotten the lead in the school play or done gymnastics. This heart-wrenching exchange was recorded by video and went viral on social media. The final moments of the video record how Sophie’s mother and grandmother violently dragged her out of her father’s car, while Sophie tearfully screams to her father for help. According to Amicus Attorney Rachel Li, the father was forced to remain in the car and allow it to happen or face jail time. The Frisco Police Department’s negligence garnered a great deal of criticism from viewers, pushing the police department to launch an investigation of the matter. At that point, Sophie was returned to her mother’s care, only recently being taken out of the home and placed in the care of a mother’s relatives, along with her two younger brothers.
The video was released by a Facebook group called “Stand with Sophie”, a social media campaign that aims to get Sophie out of the hands of her abusers. After the video went viral, Sophie’s cause gained numerous supporters. Invigorated by the support, Sophie’s stepmother organized a GoFundMe campaign dubbed “Stand With Sophie”. The campaign was posted on August 21st and had an original goal of $25,000, but as of Tuesday, September 1st, the campaign raised $100,000. I included the link for the campaign below if you would like to contribute to the cause and help ensure a healthy, happy future for Sophie.
In order to really help Sophie and other victims of abuse, we need to understand exactly what it is that Sophie is going through. Let’s take a look at what child abuse actually is, understand the various types of abuse there are, and learn about what we can do to help.
What is Child Abuse?
Child abuse is defined as any mistreatment or neglect that causes harm to a child younger
than 18 years old. The mistreatment or neglect is carried out by an adult, often one that assumes the role of a caretaker in the child’s life. The abuser is typically a parent or a family member, but an authority figure such as a coach, a teacher, or a religious leader can be a perpetrator as well. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) says that at least 1 in 7 children in the United States experience some form of abuse or neglect each year. The number may be much higher, however, for few cases of abuse are reported.
The four most common types of abuse are emotional, physical, sexual, and neglect. They are typically found in combination with one another rather than alone. For instance, a child that is physically abused is often emotionally abused as well. Now that we have a generalized definition of child abuse, let’s take a closer look at how these different types of abuse present themselves.
Understanding the Four Different Types of Child Abuse
What is Physical Abuse?
Physical abuse is the intentional use of physical force to inflict harm on a child. Examples of physical abuse include:
➔ Shaking, throwing, or hitting a child
➔ Excessive pinching, slapping, or pinching a child
➔ Burning or scalding skin
➔ Suffocation
➔ Forcing a child to run or exercise as a form of punishment
➔ Poisoning
➔ Tying a child down or forcing them into a stressful physical position
➔ Deprivation of sleep, food, and/or medicine
Indicators of physical abuse include:
➔ Reports of injury by a parent or another adult caregiver.
➔ When a child has unexplained burns, bites, bruises, broken bones, black eyes, or welts
in the shape of an object (wire hanger, stick, belt, etc).
➔ When a child has fading bruises or other noticeable marks.
➔ When a child seems frightened of their parents and cries or protests when it is time to
go home.
➔ When a child flinches or cowers at the approach of adults or when touched.
Other specific types of physical abuse include:
➔ Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS):
◆ The collection of signs and symptoms that result from the violent shaking of a baby
that can cause tearing of the brain lining, bleeding, permanent brain injury, or death.
➔ Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome:
◆ When a parent or caregiver induces medical illness in a child or wrongly
convinces others that a child is sick. It reflects a deeply dysfunctional relationship
between a parent and their child. It may be a manifestation of an extreme form of
attachment disorder.
What is Sexual Abuse?
This is the type of abuse inflicted upon Sophie. Sexual abuse is any sexual behavior with- or sexual exploitation of- a child. The three sexual offenses against children are rape, molestation, and distribution/production/possession of chid pornography. 90% of sexual abuse is incestual. It’s often perpetrated by a family member or someone the child knows; this includes those in biological families, adoptive families, foster families, and stepfamilies. Incest frequently occurs within a father-daughter relationship, but mother-son, father-son, and sibling-sibling incest occur as well. Examples of sexual child abuse can include:
➔ Rape (vaginal or anal penetration)
➔ Oral sex by or to any adult
➔ Genital contact without penetration
➔ Fondling a child’s breast or buttocks
➔ Indecent exposure
➔ Production, distribution, or possession of child pornography
➔ Sexual exploitation (use of a child in pornography or prostitution).
➔ Grooming a child for future sexual contact
Indicators of child sexual abuse include:
➔ Displaying sexual knowledge beyond their years
➔ Talking about being touched by another child
➔ Withdrawing form family and friends
➔ Running away
➔ Shying away from a particular person
➔ Protesting going to a specific place ➔ Wetting the bed
➔ Having a sexually transmitted disease
What is Neglect?
Neglect occurs when a parent or caregiver fails to meet a child’s basic physical and emotional needs. There are four types of neglect: physical neglect, medical neglect, educational neglect, and emotional neglect.
➔ Physical neglect:
◆ When a parent or caregiver fails to provide food, weather-appropriate clothing,
supervision, and/or a safe and clean home
➔ Medical neglect:
◆ When a parent or caregiver fails to provide the necessary medical or dental care for
a child’s condition
➔ Educational neglect:
◆ When a parent or caregiver fails to enroll a school-age child in school, fails to
provide
the necessary special education, and allows excessive absences from school
➔ Emotional neglect:
◆ When a parent or caregiver fails to provide emotional support, love, and affection
to a child
◆ Exposing a child to spousal, animal, and/or drug and alcohol abuse
Common indicators of neglect are when a child:
➔ Is frequently absent from school
➔ Is excessively hungry
➔ Begs or steals food or money
➔ Lacks necessary medical/dental care, immunizations, and/or glasses
➔ Is consistently dirty
➔ Has severe body odor
➔ Lacks weather appropriate clothing
➔ Abuses alcohol or drugs
➔ Has an apparent lack of supervision at home
What is Emotional Abuse?
Emotional (child) abuse is any attitude, behavior, or failure to act that interferes with a child’s mental health or social development. It occurs when a caregiver repeatedly and purposefully harms a child’s self-worth or well-being by telling the child that they’re inadequate, worthless, or unloved. Examples of emotional child abuse include:
➔ Belittling a child
➔ Giving a child “the silent treatment”
➔ Consistently rejecting or ridiculing a child
➔ Isolating, confining, or restricting a child from social interactions
➔ Exploiting or corrupting a child
➔ Denying the child an emotional response
➔ Shouting or yelling to silence them
➔ Using emotional blackmail
Indicators of emotional child abuse include:
➔ Extreme behavior: overly compliant or demanding, extreme passivity, or aggression.
➔ When a child acts either inappropriately adult (parenting other children, siblings, etc) or
inappropriately infantile (sucking their thumb at a late age, frequently rocking or
head-banging)
➔ Delayed physical or emotional development
➔ Has attempted suicide
➔ Reports a lack of attachment to a parent or caregiver
What We Can Do to Help
If you suspect someone you know is abusing their child or if you may know a child who
is suffering from abuse, you can call emergency services, such as the police. In most U.S. states, you can report anonymously. If you’re uncomfortable contacting the police, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline or the National Domestic Violence Hotline. I have included the numbers for both hotlines below. These hotlines will redirect you to local resources, such as child protective services.
You can also contribute by donating to child relief services; I included a link to an organization you can donate to at any time. Even continuing to educate yourself about this issue plays a big role in ensuring a better life for children like Sophie. I have included the link for the GoFundMe campaign set up for Sophie, and I urge you to donate to her cause and continue to learn about and share her story. We need to make sure that Sophie is taken out of the arms of her abusers and into a safe, happy home. It is our civic duty to make sure that the countless children living in worse than - or similar to - conditions as Sophie are never left behind.
Resources
Call the National Child Abuse Hotline (available 24/7) at 1.800.422.4453 to speak with a trained counselor.
Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1.800.799.7233 to speak with a trained counselor.
Sources
https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/types-of-child-abuse https://www.abusewatch.net/4%20abuse%20types%20web.pdf
Written by Rebecca Sikarev from Brooklyn, NY
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