Guilty By Passivity… A Series on Abuse 1
When it comes to Abuse, sometimes the only guilty ones are not the perpetrators of the act, those of us that sit down, fold our arms and watch are equally guilty.
Daily, we are bombarded with various scenarios where, as a result of negligence or not being vigilant, children suffer abuse from loved ones or even total strangers.
To abuse means to mistreat, maltreat, ill-treat, treat badly, ill-use or misuse. Any situation where a person is being treated with cruelty or violence, especially regularly or repeatedly is abuse.
And contrary to popular belief, abuse is not necessarily physical, it manifests itself in various forms.
Over the next few posts we want to consider the different types of abuse and how to protect your child from the trauma of abuse.
Abuse can be:
- Verbal/Emotional Abuse
- Sexual Abuse
- Physical Abuse
As moms we usually spend a great deal more time with our kids than dads. If we can recognise these forms of abuse, then, we can take active steps to keep our kids away from such situations.
Prevention they say, is better than cure.
To be Continued in the Next Post…
Oluseye Ashiru
This post was first published on www.strivingnigerianmom.com
This is a post that applies to us daily. This does not necessarily mean we abuse our children but being witnesses to such abuse. Unfortunately in Nigeria, when child abuse is displayed by adults you are not familiar with, there is no appropriate agency/organization to take it up with such a person. For instance, some years ago when my younger sister was having her National Youth service in Enugu, she would come home every holiday narrating the ordeal of a young girl in the hands of her guardian. This young girl usually had her body battered from severe beating (which had become a regular occurrence) and would hawk for her guardian in rags. I was touched by the story and searched for government or private agencies that could punish the guardian and offer succor to the little girl. I found two of such and was hopeful there would be a solution to the case.
After several un-responded calls and mails, I gave up on the agencies and only God knows what would be the fate of the girl.
This is a wake up call to stand up for every child around us and eventually child abuse will vanish from our society.
True Talk. It’s only recently that the awareness on abuse has been hyped, thanks to the various social media platforms. As Nigerians, we often believe that our child is our property to be treated in whatever way we desire, and inflicting so much pain on a child all in the name of not wanting to ‘spare the rod’. The rod should be that of correction, and not of physical, and often emotional damage to a child.
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