CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Ika South is a Delta State Local Government Area in Nigeria. Agbor is where the organization’s headquarters are located. It has a population of 62,594 people and covers 436 square kilometers (Onyeche, 2012).
In Nigeria, child abuse and neglect is a social and public health problem as well as a matter of children’s rights. Abuse and neglect can have a variety of negative outcomes for children and teenagers. There is rarely a single circumstance that causes a kid to be abused or neglected; instead, it is frequently a combination of events. Furthermore, the length (for example, the length of an illness) or severity (for example, the amount of drug or alcohol consumption) of an event can influence whether or not it occurs.
The word “child abuse” refers to the mistreatment and neglect of children. In the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust, or power, child maltreatment can be defined as:…all forms of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development, or dignity (Woodhouse, 2011).
On the other hand, child neglect is widely regarded as a distinct phenomena from maltreatment. Child neglect is defined as “any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caregiver that results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation, or an act or failure to act that poses an imminent risk of death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation, or an act or failure to act that poses an imminent risk of death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation, or an act or failure to act that poses an imminent risk of death, serious physical or emotional harm
Children and young people under the age of 18 are harmed as a result of the actions, inactions, or inability of persons with parental responsibility for them (Sylvestre and Mérette, 2010). In respect to a kid, parental duty refers to all of the duties, powers, responsibilities, and authority that parents have under the law in connection to their children (Greenfield, 2010). The harm suffered by the child or young person may be the result of a single traumatic event or the cumulative consequence of abuse and neglect. The majority of parents adore their children, but when worry, exhaustion, a lack of skills, information, and support all come together, it may be overwhelming (Drotar, 2012).
There is no doubt that no child will ever be abused. Some youngsters may be vulnerable as a result of emotional issues that reflect and intensify social isolation. The associated cognitive and emotional deficiencies serve as warning signs of vulnerability and/or obstruct their ability to protect themselves outside the house (Vissing, 2012). As a result, some children are repeatedly victimized. Sustained abuse (including familial violence) or neglect at home can result in cognitive and emotional impairments, which can lead to a vicious spiral of victimization beyond the home. Loss, conflict, deprivation, or upheaval in the home, for example, might weaken a child’s ability to defend themselves, making them a potential target for bullies or sexual predators (Abram, 2010).
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
However, many child deaths are not routinely investigated, and postmortem tests are not performed, making it difficult to determine the exact number of child abuse fatalities in Delta State’s Ika South Local Government Area. Infanticide instances and their incidence are difficult to recognize and quantify. In the Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State, for example, significant levels of misclassification in the cause of death as indicated on death certificates have been discovered. On re-investigation, deaths attributed to other causes, such as sudden infant death syndrome or accidents, have frequently been discovered to be homicides.
Despite what appears to be rampant misclassification, there is considerable consensus that child abuse deaths in Ika are significantly more common than official data imply. Harm to the head is the most prevalent cause of death among those killed as a result of child abuse, followed by injury to the abdomen. Suffocation by accident has also been widely recorded as a cause of death. Injuries caused on a child by a caregiver can take many different forms. A brain injury or injury to the internal organs is the most common cause of serious injury or death in mistreated children. The most common cause of death in young children is head trauma as a result of maltreatment, with youngsters in their first two years of life being the most vulnerable. Patterns of injury to the skin can reveal evident signs of abuse since force applied to the body goes through the skin. The appearances of the skeleton
The “battered child” is one of the child abuse symptoms. This term is used to describe children who have suffered frequent and severe injuries to their skin, skeletal system, or nervous system. Children with many fractures of various ages, head trauma, and severe visceral trauma, as well as evidence of repetitive infliction, are included. Fortunately, despite the tragic nature of the occurrences, this trend is uncommon.
Children may be sent to a professional because of physical or behavioral difficulties that turn out to be the result of sexual abuse after further inquiry. Infection, genital injuries, abdominal pain, constipation, chronic or repeated urinary tract infections, or behavioural issues are prevalent in children who have been sexually assaulted.
Noncompliance with health care advice, failure to seek adequate health treatment, deprivation of food resulting in hunger, and a kid’s physical failure to thrive are all examples of child neglect. Children’s exposure to drugs and poor protection from environmental hazards are also issues for concern. In addition, abandonment, insufficient supervision, poor hygiene, and a lack of education have all been cited as examples of neglect.
Official statistics, case reports, and population-based surveys all provide information on non-fatal child abuse and neglect. However, the value of these sources in presenting the full scope of the problem varies.
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