Child abuse

Child abuse, literally, is the act of intentionally harming a child, or the results of that act. Generally, it the active thread in the long, unfortunate saga of maltreatment and neglect of children. Such abuse and neglect has probably always been a feature of childhood for some individuals in every human society. The role of children in society is not constant in different cultures and has changed considerable within modern cultures over time. However, child abuse also has specific legal meanings, that, like all legal meanings, have some degree of geographic and cultural variability.

Experts in child abuse consider that acts of ommission, as well as acts of commission, count as maltreatment of children. Physical abuse includes not only beating or other injury, but also, for example, failure to touch or hold a child. Certainly, in older children, there is a broad range of normal when it comes to adults having physical contact with children, but in neonates, infants and toddlers, lack of physical contact from care givers has clear and objective detrimental effects on health, and a young infant who is never held, for example, is less likely to survive. "Psychologic maltreatment of a child by a caregiver includes spurning, exploiting/corrupting, withholding emotional responsiveness, isolating, or terrorizing." (reference for quote:Charles F. Johnson:Chapter 35 – Abuse and Neglect of Children in Behrman: Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics, 17th ed.) Sexual child abuse