With the recent guilty verdicts being handed down to Jerry Sandusky and the sanctions leveled at the football program of Penn State University, news of child abuse is center stage these days. Many questions probably race through you mind when trying to make sense of this sad situation. Why didn’t the children speak up and tell what was happening to them? What would cause someone to abuse a child? How could someone who proclaimed to truly care about kids and even go so far as to establish a foundation to benefit children be the same person that would perpetrate such debase behaviors? How could those around him not know what he was doing? How could those around him who suspected what he was doing not step in and do something or step up and do something more?
One of the best actions a person can take when he/she suspects a child is being abused is to call their local Child Protective Services (CPS), the local police department, or the national child abuse hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD). However, one must first know the warning signs of child abuse in order to be able to recognize when a child needs an adult to take steps to protect him. Here are some warning signs of child abuse:
Visible marks or bruises
This is one of the most recognizable signs of child abuse. If a child shows multiple bruises, often varying in different colors (new bruises are usually purple where older bruises have a yellow or brown color), it may be sign he/she is being grabbed, smacked, or hit in a way that is hurtful.
Mood swings
When a child is being abused, that abuse brings with it a confusion and emotional pain that are difficult for a child to process. Children often do not know how to verbalize their feelings. Because abuse turns victims’ emotions upside down and inside out, they can have rapid changes in mood, going from excited one minute to tears the next.
Change in behavior and/or personality
Children often do not know how to put into words what is going on inside their minds and hearts. This can lead to them feeling as if they are on an emotional roller coaster. This often leads to severe behavior changes or an overall change in their dispositions. A happy-go-lucky child, who used to always have a smile, may become sullen and withdrawn. A child who always did well in school may no longer show any interest in doing well on homework assignments or be able to pay attention in class. Many people around them will not know what is going on, only that something is “not right” or “off” about the victim.
An increase in physical complaints
Because the emotional upheaval caused by abuse, a victim’s stress may show itself through complaints of physical pain, even if the abuse is not physical abuse. For example, a child may begin complaining of stomach aches or headaches, but there may be no known physical cause for those symptoms. For children being forced to have oral sex, they may start to complain of sore throats. This may be due to an orally-transmitted STD. Without knowledge of the abuse, a parent or school teacher may think a child simply has a cold or ate something that didn’t sit well.
If you suspect a child may be abused, you do not have to be able to prove it before you call someone to look into it. You will be asked for the child’s name, approximate age, address, and other information that helps the agency determine how to find the child to follow-up with an investigation, as well as determine if there are other reports filed on behalf of that child. You can call and give the information anonymously. Even if you choose to give your name when you make the report, the professionals who conduct the investigation do not give your identifying information to the victim or the person(s) under investigation. And, simply because you file a report does not mean a child you believe to be abused by his/her family will be removed from the home. A very thorough investigation must take place before those types of steps are taken. If you suspect abuse, it is better to report it to the proper authorities than to ignore it. You never know…you may be saving a life.