HD 497 Lecture 6 Physical Abuse Slide 1 Slide title HD 300 Child Abuse Neglect Slide content Unit 6 Physical Abuse Audio For this unit we are going to discuss physical abuse of a child Slide 2 Slide title Definition of Physical Abuse Slide content Injury that is non accidentally inflicted by a person more powerful than the child Consists of willful acts resulting in physical injury Audio Defining physical abuse it is defined as an injury that is non accidentally inflicted by a person more powerful than child It consists of willful acts resulting in physical injury Slide 3 Slide title Overview Slide content Physical abuse is the classic example of child abuse Physical abuse is generally accepted as a clear form of maltreatment Physical abuse is the most visible form of maltreatment Audio An overview of physical abuse shows that this is the classic example of child abuse When we talk about physical abuse this is what most people think of as child abuse the child being battered Physical abuse is generally accepted as a clear form of maltreatment Some of the other types of abuse that we will be talking about are a little fuzzier when it comes to defining them and recognizing them as abuse Physical abuse is the most visible form of maltreatment Slide 4 Slide title Page 1 of 11 Physical Abuse Continuum Slide content Level of Severity No Abuse Corporal Punishment Physical Abuse Catastrophic Abuse Homicide Audio If we just look at a physical abuse continuum ranging from no abuse corporal punishment of the child to physical abuse that is recognized as abusiveness to catastrophic abuse and we are going to be discussing that more in depth and it can range to homicide So physical abuse can range then from a child who is not being abused at all to a child who is killed by the abuser Slide 5 Slide title Types of Physical Abuse Slide content Spanking Slapping Whipping Beating Twisting arms legs ears nose etc Choking or smothering Burning Throwing child Audio So some of the types of physical abuse are spanking slapping and whipping the child beating the child twisting arms legs ears or nose and life threatening abuse that might consist of choking or smothering the child burning the child throwing the child or you could even include stabbing or shooting the child Slide 6 Slide title Types of Physical Abuse Slide content Biting Hair pulling Pinching Cutting stabbing shooting Physically confining the child Shaking Page 2 of 11 Audio Other types of physical abuse include biting hair pulling Hair pulling has some real implications for the child that is it can pull hair right of the scalp and it doesn t grow back again and that is referred to as traumatic alopecia Pinching the child cutting stabbing or shooting physically confining the child and shaking the child and we are going to discuss Shaken Baby Syndrome in a moment It also causes injuries Hair pulling if you go back and look at that again can also cause whiplash injury can cause bruising of the scalp It can cause bleeding and trauma to the scalp as well Slide 7 Slide title Catastrophic Abuse Slide content Catastrophic Child Maltreatment CCM Consists of purposeful acts inflicted on a child that are of the most severe nature These acts are so abhorrent that no one would argue that they are within the realm of permissible behaviors These acts are so brutal that there is a high probability that they will have longlasting permanent negative effects on the child Audio Catastrophic abuse also referred to as Catastrophic Maltreatment or CCM A group of experts met several years ago to define and discuss research on catastrophic abuse and to try and put forth legislation that might help these children but catastrophic abuse consist of purposeful acts inflicted on a child that are of the most severe nature and they are so abhorrent that no one would argue that they are within the realm of permissible behaviors and they are so brutal that there is a high probability that they will have permanent negative effects on the child Slide 8 Slide title Categories of CCM Slide content Attempted murder Torture Mutilation Violent rape Enforced prostitution Denying necessities required for minimal development profound neglect Audio So categories of CCM include attempted murder of the child torture of the child If you go back and look at the book list that I have provided for you and read Dave Pelzer s book A Child Called It that is a good example of child torture Mutilation of the child violent rape Just as an Page 3 of 11 aside here in our hospital a girl was brought into the hospital a six year old girl brought in by her mother The mother had gone shopping and left the girl in the care of a live in boyfriend When the mom got home the girl was sitting in a tub of water that was filled with blood and the boyfriend said Oh she really isn t hurt you can just saw her up with a needle and thread Well this young lady ended up in surgery being repaired for tears not only on the outside but he had penetrated through the vaginal vault into the abdominal cavity and she had extremely serious injuries That guy was put in jail thank goodness That is an example of what we are talking about when we say violent rape of a child Enforced prostitution and denying the necessities that are required for minimal development or profound neglect That is also described in Dave Pelzer s book A Child Called It Slide 9 Slide title Proposed Legislation Slide content Speedy assessment by DSHS File with court within 24 hours of investigation Speedy judicial review Disposition within 48 hours Fast tracking cases for clinical services Within 48 hours Audio This group talked about proposed legislation then to deal with the children that are in such great danger The first item that they said was speedy assessment by the Department of Social Services or Child Protective Services or whatever services are available in the community That this should not be put on someone s desk to deal with a week down the road and in fact the report should be filed with a court within 24 hours of investigation Then there should be a speedy judicial review and there should be disposition of the case within 48 hours And then fast tracking cases for clinical services so that the child does not have to wait So within 48 hours this child should have been evaluated it should have gone through the court system the child should have been removed from the home and social services and clinical services should have been put in