Child Abuse within Educational Institutions
Child abuse is prevalent in educational institutions as adults interact with minors. Child abuse is defined as an action perpetuated by an adult or peer and could cause harm to the minor. Abuse in these facilities takes various forms, including physical neglect, sexual, physical, and emotional. Neglect is the lack of basic needs that the institution’s management should provide. Physical abuse includes beatings, bites by fellow humans, strangulation, and injuries. Sexual abuse involves rape, inappropriate touching, incest, sodomy, and other inappropriate relations (Dodson, 1997). The main objective is to fulfill the abuser’s sexual desire. These forms of abuse result in significant emotional damage and physical injuries in extreme cases.
Micro and Macro Level Contributing Factors
At the micro-level, various factors predispose the victims to child abuse while at educational institutions. These include substance abuse, stress, and behavioral problems. If caregivers abuse substances, they are likely to lose their nurturing abilities and sobriety. In such a case, they fail to protect the children under their care. Children from broken, unstable, and violent home environments are predisposed to stress and depression. Low self-esteem may stem from such environments. As a result, such children may seek comfort and love from caregivers within an institution resulting in abuse (Simuforosa & Ngara, 2015). Behavioral and developmental problems also predispose children to abuse as caregivers grow impatient and resort to physical abuse. This abuse can also occur due to a lack of understanding of the child’s problems.
At the micro-level, age is a significant predisposing factor. Teenagers are more likely to experience sexual abuse in comparison to younger children. This likelihood is heightened by some micro-level factors, such as behavioral problems, self-esteem, and substance abuse. Infants and younger children who need constant care are exposed to other forms of abuse. This will likely result in persistent crying due to discomfort, leaving caregivers frustrated and overwhelmed. These factors intersect, leading to one or more forms of abuse within the institutions.
Solution
The ideal solution that can resolve child abuse in educational institutions is the creation of awareness. Caregivers are responsible for the various forms of abuse that occur in the institutions. Thus, educating the individuals to whom children are entrusted regarding the harms associated with child abuse is critical. They should also be enlightened about the predisposing factors and actual prevention. To prepare them to deal with worst-case scenarios, the caregivers should be trained to identify children who have already experienced abuse. Such an approach is critical in reducing instances of abuse and mitigating the negative effects upon occurrence. On the other hand, it is important to educate children on various predisposing factors that emanate from the individuals as well as situations that could result in abuse. Most importantly, it is necessary to create reporting mechanisms that enable children to fearlessly disclose abuse cases, eliminating abusers from their environments (Crosson-Tower, 2003). The reporting mechanisms should also enable those in charge to take the children through a healing process, mitigating the emotional damage. To resolve child abuse in institutions is an intensive exercise that involves varied stakeholders. Their efforts determine the success and effectiveness of the entire process.
References
Crosson-Tower, C. (2003). The Role of Educators in Preventing and Responding to Child Abuse and Neglect. Virginia: Caliber Associates. Retrieved from https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/educator.pdf
Dodson, d. (1997). Child Abuse Prevention:New Partnerships for ProtectingChildren and Supporting Families. washington D.C.: Family Impact Seminar,.
Simuforosa, M., & Ngara, R. (2015). Factors Contributing To Child Sexual Abuse By Teachers In Schools: A Study Of Masvingo District Secondary Schools. Journal Of Social Science Research, 8(1), 1520-1528.
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Question 
Child Abuse within Educational Institutions
Child Abuse within Educational Institutions
SOC-220
Social Problems Within Education Worksheet
On a separate Word document, citing one to three scholarly sources from the GCU library, answer the following prompts:
| Describe some social problems within educational institutions (75-100 words). |
| Explain how social problems within social institutions (on micro and macro levels) have perpetuated or affected the social problem you selected (200-250 words). |
| Use the GCU library and identify an actual solution to the social problems within education. Summarize the solution you identified and compare it to historical solutions proposed in the past (150-200 words). |
References