Violence against children

“Listen to the children of this land”


In Africa the joy of many children are ripped away by the reality of abuse. One extreme, but common, form of abuse is FGM. FGM is Female Genital Mutilation (Violence against children). This is done on young girls, many times using dirty tools. They shave the girl’s genital area and actually sew her vagina close, which not only leads to infections, but pain during intercourse later in life. This abuse is overlooked because of its strong religious orientation (Violence against children). Child abuse is by far isolated to Africa, but carries its pain through out the world.

In South Asia abuse is just as prevalent. Many times girls are the target of the abuse. Because boys are preferred baby girls are put at such great risk. Because of this preference many times girls are neglected or even killed (Violence against children). Even though abuse isn’t completely focused on girls they are at greater risk. At times young girls are even forced to be sex servants or sold as prostitutes. Boys at times will be forced to traffic drugs and labor under harsh conditions (Violence against children).

As Americans we look at this and think how barbaric these countries must be, but before we begin to judge we should remember that in 2003, 906,000 children living in the United States have experienced some type of abuse (Violence against children). One statistic that sickens me is that parents are normally the perpetrator of abuse. My whole life I have heard parents tell their children not to talk to strangers because strangers are dangerous when in reality we should teach children not to talk to their parents because their parents are more likely to harm them than a strangers. In America the most dangerous age to be is not 16, when you can drive, or 18 when you could be drafted in war, or even 21 when you are allowed to drink, but under one year old. At this age a child is more likely to be killed by a family member (Violence against children).

As a Human Development and Family Studies major this topic is close to my heart. Children are born so innocent and trusting and I believe that one day there will be great judgment poured out on these people who take that innocence from those children. This burden is not only carried by me but many others. In an attempt to look at child abuse nationally many countries came together to fight for children’s rights at The Regional Consultation. At the Regional Consultation children were able to vocalize their concerns. One child summed up what it takes to begin to change this horrible reality by writing a simple poem. It begins, “Listen to the children of this land. For we are praying, lifting our voices and our eyes.”(Violence against children) This poem paints a picture of a child looking up at us begging us to notice him/her. Have we forgotten the children of this land? Do they not deserve the same human rights that we take for granted? For me the answers to these questions are so simple. I think we have forgotten. We have accepted child abuse as inevitable. It is one of those problems that seem so big that we just throw in the towel. Personally I refuse to throw in the towel. It is time to stand up and demand people to open their eyes and ears to these children children’s cries.


"www.violencestudy.org." Violence against children. 2005. 1 Sep 2006 .