ELI

We are accustomed to viewing the family as a source of unconditional love, warmth and support. Our society expects a family to be protective of its children and parents are legally and morally bound to carry out this expectation. Indeed, the overwhelming majority of parents love, protect and properly care for their children. Unfortunately however, there are cases where parents themselves present a serious danger to their own children and the home itself becomes unsafe. It is only in the last thirty years that this phenomenon is recognized in Western countries as child abuse and includes four main categories:

Physical abuse
Indicated by visible injuries — bruises, burns, fractures — withdrawal, visible anxiety, depression, cruel or violent behavior and avoidance of the home.

Emotional abuse
Indicated by neurotic, obsessive or compulsive behavior; eating or sleeping disorders; extremely passive behavior; excessive obedience and suicidal tendencies.

Sexual abuse
Indicated by difficulties in sitting or walking; complaints of pain or irritation in their genital areas, evidence of sexually transmitted diseases, visible injuries, inappropriate sexual awareness or knowledge, preoccupation with sexual activity or issues; etc.

Neglect
Indicated by excessive hunger, improper hygiene, inappropriate clothing, chronic fatigue, untreated medical problems, lack of supervision, tendency toward substance abuse.

The tiered, L-shaped benches in the children's room allow therapists to use different seating levels to convey empowerment and support to children in therapy.

Expression through using
sandbox figures can open crucial lines of communication between an ELI therapist and an abused child, who may find it initially too painful to talk about his or her experience.

Occasionally there is one single act that could be considered as abuse because of its severity, and in other cases less severe but still cruel behavior is considered abuse because of its ongoing pattern over a lengthy period of time.There are numerous and varied causes for abusive behavior towards children. Sometimes it is a result of psychological problems that parents have and in other instances it is influenced by cultural factors. Social and environmental situations contribute as well, such as unemployment, marital stress, substance abuse, and, unique to Israel, wars, frequent military service and the trauma of being a new immigrant in an unfamiliar country. In many cases, the abusing parents were abused themselves as children. In most cases of abuse, the parents are the perpetrators, but other family members or adults closely involved with the family can be involved as well. In spite of the fact that in many cases only one parent is the abuser, the other bears no less of a responsibility because of his or her failure to protect the child.

Child abuse leaves psychological scars long after the actual acts of abuse end. Abused children lose their ability to trust other people, encounter difficulties in establishing meaningful relationships, develop a fatalistic approach to life and suffer from low self esteem. Consequently, people who were abused as children are generally unhappy and lack the ability to function successfully in family, work and other social situations.

One of the major challenges in the field of child abuse and neglect is to accurately identify the victims. Child abuse occurs in a closed family setting. Usually neither the child/victim or the parent/perpetrator are willing or able to seek help. Outside observers — neighbors, friends or professionals — tend to refrain from getting involved.

In Israel, as in most states in the U.S., child abuse is considered a felony. It is also required by law that cases of abuse be reported to the appropriate authorities.

The above information was provided by Hanita Zimrin and may be used for educational purposes as long as the author is cited.