Short And Long Term Effects Of Child Abuse

The future of a once once abused child may be different depending on their situation. Outcomes result in short or long term injury, and in some cases even death. Children who are abused suffer greater emotional damage (“Child Abuse”). Emotional damage is the most common futuristic outcome for abused children. The child can become depressed, suicidal, withdrawn, violent, or become involved in drug and alcohol abuse. Sometimes they even abuse others as a form of normalcy (“Child Abuse”). Those abused, have built up anger for the one that abused them and the ones who never tried to help. Jealousy fuels that anger and causes them to act out on it. The verbal insults act as a motive that builds and builds making the child want to kill themselves.

Feeling worthless does not allow a child to love themselves. “I can’t, I was bad, they told me so I don’t deserve anything to eat or drink, not a bad girl like me” (Weikel 10). Ursula has been brainwashed to think of herself as a bad girl. Her mother’s boyfriend told her she is bad for wetting herself or for vomiting on herself. He called her stupid for messing up on the alphabet because of exhaustion. She began to believe all of the things about herself that he told her. “You are a nobody! An it! You are nonexistent!” (Pelzer 140). Dave’s mother once told him this. She no longer thought of him as her son, but as merely an it. “At the core of my soul, I hated myself more than anybody or anything. I came to believe that everything happened to me or around me was my own fault because I had let it go on for so long” (Pelzer 136). He became brainwashed to think that every negative thing in his life was his own fault. He grew to hate himself so much and had become angry for letting the abuse

If someone suspects abuse, they must report it immediately to a child protection agency and contact a pediatrician. A doctor’s exam should never be delayed and should occur within seventy-two hours of discovery(“Child Abuse”). It is important to notify a doctor and allow them to run tests for internal injuries. Reporting concerns is not an accusation , but a request for investigation and an assessment to determine if help is necessary (“What is Child Abuse and Neglect?”). Even if the child is not being abused, any step to help is okay. State law requires teachers and physicians to report signs of child abuse under certain circumstances (“What is Child Abuse and Neglect?”). If a pediatrician or teacher notices bruises or non-childlike behavior, often resulting from abuse, they must report it. Those who report abuse are protected by immunity from liability and confidentiality (Weikel 119). Those who report abuse will not be known to the