Child abuse
Child abuse refers to physical maltreatment or sexual abuse of a child. Some common signs present in child abuse cases range from physical abuse, sexual harm, emotional disregard, emotional defilement, and physical neglect (Kelley et al., 2015). Physical symptoms of child abuse include significant unexplained injuries, multiple injuries in different stages of healing and injuries to non-bony locations such as the upper arms and neck area. (C.W, 2015) As seen in Annie’s case, the teacher notices several substantial injuries on her arms and legs, evidence of neglect because of her torn and dirty clothing. Her absence from school the following day after the inquiry into her injuries also serves as a red flag.
In many child abuse and neglect studies, certain personality traits have more than one characteristic. Kelley et al., (2015) argued that parents who presumptively physically abuse their children frequently posses little self-esteem, mental health problems, miserable impulse control, and tend to display antisocial behavior. Anne’s mother is a lying irritable alcoholic with antisocial tendencies. She paints the perfect picture of what a potential child abuser looks like. Apart from lying about the fact that she is drunk, she blames Annie for her own injuries. Children with parents who abuse substances like alcohol and drugs are at substantial risk of maltreatment. (C.W, 2015) There is a strong association between community patterns such as financial scarcity and child manhandling. Bywaters et al., (2016) asserted that averting and developing strategic societal approaches rely heavily on social care professionals. The NSPCC report outlines poverty in the family, social inequality and neighborhood destitution as capacities of influences on children’s likelihood of mistreatment, operating at family and community levels. The presence of financial strain is evident by the fact that Annie’s father has to have two jobs to make ends meet.
Intervention in agreement with children’s social care services should be provided to protect Annie from more harm. There are different types of care placements for abused children, which include foster care, residential care, or kinship. Another treatment solution for Annie is to start seeing a mental health practitioner, e.g., a psychologist or family intervention specialist, e.g., a social worker (Kelley et al., 2015). These specialists will help Annie in addressing the psychological, developmental, and other consequences of the abuse she has faced. Services like family therapy can salvage the parent-child relationship. The child and the parent get the help they need through treatment to end the shameful acts of child malevolence (“Child abuse and neglect: recognising, assessing and responding to abuse and neglect of children and young people”, 2017).