Child
abuse is defined as any behaviours that do harm
to the physical and psychological development
of a child. Child abuse can occur between children
and their parents or other guardians.
Factors contributing to child
abuse
The factors contributing to child
abuse include:
Child factor - If a child has physical, mental or behavioral
problems, he/she will be more likely to get abused
Family factor - Child abuse is more common in families
of relatively low socio-economic status or families of
single parent or divorced parents. If parents were brought
up in an abusive family, they will be more likely to resort
to violence towards their child;
Social factor -The view on physical punishment in a
society, the emphasis placed on children in a society
and the mass media's promulgation on violence cases will
all affect the frequency of child abuse.
Immediate factor -The direct causes of child abuse commonly
include: Children's crying and howling, bad performance
in children's school results, family's financial and marriage
crisis etc.
Am I an abusive parent?
To check if you are an abusive
parent, please recall if you had behaved in any of the following
ways towards your child in the past:
Yes
No
1
Deliberately frightened
or isolated your child
2
Paid no attention to
your child's emotion
3
Negligent in providing
enough food, clothes, medical care or education
to your child
4
Forced your child to
perform a task which is inappropriate to his/her
physical capacity or age.
5
Do violence to your
child (e.g. hitting with fist, slapping)
6
Hurt your child with
weapons (e.g. knife, whip)
7
Induced your child
to engage in sexual intercourse by violence,
coaxing, blandishment, material temptation or
other forms of inducement.
If you answer "Yes" to
any of the above questions, you may have already abused
your child in different ways.
Tips on preventing child
abuse
Maintain a good relationship with family members.
Avoid taking your child as the object of venting
your anger while you are in conflict with your family
members.
If you have expected too much from your child,
make a proper adjustment so as to relieve any unnecessary
pressure.
Develop affection between father and child by
playing a game with your child in a relaxing atmosphere.
When you are emotionally unstable, find other
people to help taking care of your child.
When you need to assign someone to take care of
your child, you must be familiar with that person's
background. You should never assign a stranger to
take care of your child.
Fathers should teach their children the correct
sexual knowledge and tell them how to protect their
bodies.
Ways of coping with
child abuse
Child abuse, whatever the
form, is a serious issue. In fact, both the abuser
and the abused child should receive proper treatment
and counseling (e.g. from a social worker) to prevent
a tragedy from happening. Therefore, if you notice
your friends or neighbours have the propensity to
abuse their child, you are obliged to give them a
hand and help him seek assistance from the professionals.
Social Welfare Department's Hotline Tel : 2343 2255
Christian Family Service
Centre
Man's Hotline
(Every Tue, Thu, Sat; 10:00am-10:00pm)
Tel : 2787 1355
Harmony
House Third Path Man Hotline
(Every Mon, Wed, Fri; 2:00pm-10:00pm)
Phone : 2295 1386
Child
abuse is defined as any behaviours that do harm
to the physical and psychological development
of a child. Child abuse can occur between children
and their parents or other guardians.
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