Ethical Definition Of Child Abuse

Any counselor who suspects that a child is being abused will investigate and want to make sure the child is safe. Naturally, the first thing would be to report the abuse to the police and do whatever is necessary to protect the child. However, before responding immediately, counselors should have information and develop an ethical course of action. Acting on an initial response may not be ethical and may cause many consequences for everyone involved. After all the information is gathered, a little time will be needed to clearly think about what the best course of action is. In this case, the counselor should not make any report to the police just yet. After careful consideration of all relevant facts, if a necessary decision has to be made,

One action could be to have a formal investigation done by the Department of Children and Family (DCF). DCF seeks to ensure that each child has a safe and nurturing home. Although it may be wise to have a formal police investigation on the parents. It is also important to consider the fact that the family is East Asian. There is a cultural difference that should be made aware of. I need to consider the definition of child abuse in the Western culture and the definition of child abuse in the American culture. Both definitions will be different, therefore it is unethical to punish the parents for using discipline that is custom to their culture. According to the Department of Human and Human services, child abuse is defined as “ the non-accidental commission of any act by a caretaker upon a child under age 18 which causes, or creates a substantial risk of, physical or emotional injury” (Commonwealth of Massachusetts, n.d.). There is a misconception on the definition of abuse between the Western culture and American culture. To get the correct definition, a professional who has a Western cultural background would need to give a clear definition. Therefore acting on the American cultural definition of child abuse may not be fair to the

The lawyer may point out that the parents may have to appear in court. The psychologist made a good call filing a complaint. The parents are lucky that no legal action has taken place thus far. The psychologist has the right to file a formal report and contact law enforcement about the suspected abuse. If a legal motion is filed stating that there is abuse taking place on the children, and upon further investigation, this may harm the children. However, this may cause a traumatic experience for the children. They may be severely affected due to separating from the parents. What if there is no physical abuse taking place? The separation would have been for nothing and the abuse claims may go on the parent 's records. That is why it is imperative, all the facts are given and various ethical courses of action are considered. Based on the fact there has been no evidence seen by the psychologist upon investigation, to keep minimal harm in the case, I will not enforce legal action.

The plan for this case would be to conduct an evaluation of the children. Although the psychologist who reported this issue did not find any evidence of physical abuse. To efficiently perform an evaluation. The children should see a pediatrician who can perform a physical evaluation to confirm whether there are any signs of physical abuse. In addition, the children should be would have the children each is psychically examined by a