Protection of Child and Mandatory Reporting :- Children are considered as the future of a nation as they help in building a strong foundation of countries economic, scientific and cultural welfare. Correct guidance can make a child educated and this leads to national development. Teaching good habits is also necessary such that a child can respect others and value their elders. In order to make a child responsible and caring, training on the way of conduct can be given. The children are often abused either physically or sexually in a community. They are enforced in child labor, as beggars on street and also as workers in different industries. Various government bodies and Non-Governmental Organizations work for the welfare of the children and their rights in the community. They focus on child exploitation and child labor and works on eradication of the problem. However, these problems persist in society and children from different age groups are compelled to indulge in these activities. The essay sheds light on the condition of children and the responsibility of every person in safeguarding the children.
Understanding & Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect
Protecting The Children
In order to protect the children from violence, physical abuse, sexual exploitation, negligence and uncaring, the whole community takes responsibility. There are many laws against child abuse and exploitation, however, they are insufficient to control the problems related. The administration makes changes in the laws and amends them according to the rising challenges at that time. Some groups of people working for the community child protection also help in protecting the children from various threats. A few more threat for children in society is the trafficking of a girl or boy child. Girls of different age groups are allegedly abducted and being transported to various parts of the country or across nations and are sold in brothels. They are also sold for transplantation of the organs of the deceased people. Recently in the pandemic of COVID-19, several children lost their parents and were left pregnable to these threats. This is a major issue in society and also some parents sell their children for the greed of money. Due to poverty, some children remain malnourished and this leads to their death (cambridge.org, 2021).
Child abuse can occur at any place, home, school or playground and can be observed by personal care of the children.
Sometimes even the child cannot understand that they are being abused. The abuse can also occur from the person they know and trust. Few dreadful cases of child abuse may not be reported and remain hidden from the views of society. This can lead to further violence and the child remains vulnerable to these threats. Some of the children do not even understand the experience or feel afraid to report it in front of their guardians. It is a more challenging situation for the children as they are prone to further threats of abuse and this can be a never-ending cycle for them. These problems can also lead to various lifelong diseases in the child. It can also lead to the behavioral change of being aggressive, indulging in criminal offences, behavior issues with the elders. In spite of these serious concerns, they are not given attention and are left to suffer. Due to these, children being grown-up adults also repeat the same on their younger generations, leading to a new generation of victims and a never-ending process.
The child affected by these problems can remain introverted and does not feel free in expressing their feelings in public. They can face difficulty participating in public events and fulfilling their potentials. A child can also feel mentally stressed if they can not express their inner feelings regarding any situation or problem in front of anyone. Negligence of the grievances of the child can also lead to depression. When a child is abused a person is doing the abuse and also a person neglecting it. In some cases, these two persons may be the same and can be a person that is trusted. Several countries make treaties with others to prevent these cases and investigate in their countries. The relationship of the child and the adult is not of an equal platform. In order to seek care and protection, they depend upon the adults. The child protection policy of the administration gives a direct message that these offenders cannot be tolerated and will be brought against the law.
Mandatory Reporting In Community Service - Child Abuse Protection
Reporting child abuse is an important part of decreasing the threat in the community. Mandatory reporting is stated as narrating the issue of any abuse that is taking place or that is in view to the verified authority and this is abided by the law of the administration. It is related mainly to the children whereas can be done in case the abuse is done in a residential area. The law needs these cases to be reported with the help of the locals or the people concerned about it (1800respect.org.au, 2021). Different states and territories have various laws about the person that is required to report abuse.
Certain professionals and workers need to report cases of child abuse. This helps in assisting the child suffering and helps in strengthening the mental condition. The laws regarding reporting of the abuse that developed to bring a large number of unidentified cases into consideration by the government. Laws against these are not the same in countries and their different parts. There is a list of specific jobs of people that can report against the cases of abuse. The list includes professions that are directly related to the children and are in direct contact with them. It includes teachers, health workers, medical practitioners, doctors, nurses, police and the basic teachers in childhood.
There are differences in reporting the issue of abuse in various parts of the country. Almost all of the cases are considered important and are taken into account seriously. Sexual abuse is different from other types of abuse as it contains a risk of physical damage to the victim. Higher reporting rates and conviction rates can help mitigate the crime against children. The reporters of these cases are given special protections and their identity is kept secret. Their community identification is not disclosed and several protocols are followed to protect the person. As these cases need trials of court, the person cannot be taken to the court or indulged in civil, criminal or administrative activities without taking prior consent.
In order to report the issues effectively, the basic people entitled are teachers. They can read the mental condition of the children potentially and can report any suspicious behavior or action of the child. The parents of the child can also take care of the behavioral changes occurring in them and report against them. Guardians can also deal with the situations and can solve the issue of the child. There are several barriers also in reporting the abuse as the people that suspect someone does not understand their duties towards the community and do not report it. Legal procedures are also responsible for less reporting of the cases.
People fear to report the problems as they can be called for a detailed investigation and the police might suspect him for the matter. The consequences of the legal actions make the people feel feared and they avoid reporting the issue. In order to keep a healthy relationship with the victims family, the person does not report abuse. This can also lead to the vandalisation at the people house or harming their families. This system is also helpful as reporting can increase the number of cases found and identified in the community. It can lead to the decrement of the cases in the country and community
Conclusion
The essay concludes with the abuse of children and its lack of reporting and the way it can be irradiated. Children that are below a certain age can not able to understand the abuse they go through. They are even incapable of understanding the situation they are in. A child that is of small age cannot report violence to others due to their lack of knowledge. Therefore it is the duty of the community to identify the issue and report it accordingly to the officials of the administration. Different people of the society have various duties regarding the identification of the issue.
A teacher can understand the child mind better and they can identify the problem related to the child. These issues need to be taken care of and reported as this can lead to the mental depression of the child and also cause various health disorders. Reporting about these issues also need to be done and help the child to display his feelings. This can benefit the child in mental development and make them strong mentally. The child can be able to tackle the situation by themselves and perform better in life. These methods can help remove the social evils in society.