Contemporary Issue in Health: Child Abuse and Maltreatment in the UK

The increasing incident of child abuse has become the greatest threat for the society. The prevalence of child abuse in the UK is a major social issue that affects the physical and mental health of children. The causes of child abuse include poverty, social and family problems, poor mental health, substance abuse, and cultural factors.

Running head: CONTEMPORARY ISSUE IN HEALTH
CONTEMPORARY ISSUE IN HEALTH
Name of the student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................2
Case study:.......................................................................................................................................3
Issues:..............................................................................................................................................4
Prevalence:...................................................................................................................................4
Causes:.........................................................................................................................................5
Theories/ concept:........................................................................................................................6
Ethical issues and principles:.......................................................................................................7
Criticality:........................................................................................................................................8
Conclusion:....................................................................................................................................11
Reference:......................................................................................................................................13

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Introduction:
The incident of child abuse or child treatment is defined as the psychological, physical
and sexual abuse, neglect or maltreatment of children especially by the intimate partner or by the
care giver. The event of child abuse also includes failure to act properly by the parents or the
care giver that leads to the actual harm to the children. Such incident could occur in the home,
school, organization or in the community to which the child is associated with (Kleinman 2015).
The causes of child abuse may include poverty, common social and family problem, poor mental
health and substance abuse. However, such causes has shown similar trend in order to correlate
with the case of child abuse around the world. Beside such factors that contribute to the incident
of child abuse, there are some cultural prospective that play an important role in the maltreatment
of children (McCoy and Keen 2013). Due to such event of child abuse the children suffer from
emotional distress, physical assault affects the health of the children and it disrupts the
educational ability of the children thus affects their future in an effective manner. Due to such
childhood trauma most of the children face psychological problem as well. Thus, it can be said
that, such maltreatment affects both the physical and mental health condition of the children and
even in some severe cases it could leads to death as well (Young and Widom 2014). According
to the World Health Organization the prevalence of child abuse differs according to the country
(World Health Organization 2018). It is difficult to study the case of child abuse as the incident
is usually hidden from the view of others and the children are too young and frightened to share
such event. According to the statistics of 2017, there are more than 58000 children that are the
victim of child abuse (NSPCC 2018). Many acts and legislations are also present in order to
reduce the incident of child abuse; however they are not effective enough (Sperry and Widom

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2013). Thus it is important to focus on the study of child abuse in order to understand the central
cause and effects of such incident so that effective steps could be taken by the government to
resolve such issue.
The focus of the assignment is the incident of child abuse. The following paper will
provide a brief case study regarding intimate partner abuse and the prevalence, cause, theories
and ethical issues related with intimate partner violence. The paper will also provide critiques
regarding the legislation and acts related to the child abuse and will discuss the criticality of the
situation.
Case study:
The case study is about Wilson Fred a two years old boy who had suffered from child
abuse and was found dead by the staffs of emergency service in the home after being alerted by
Julia Wilson the mother of the little boy. Julia was living with her companion Monica Smith at
that time. The abuse of Wilson Fred was started one year ago from the time of his death when
they have shifted to the new residential place. Julia and her companion Monica have got a civil
partnership very soon. The couple desperately wanted to get rid of the little boy in order to work
without any impediment. The couple usually locked the two years old boy in a filthy room.
Monica and Julia often abused the little boy physically by using a metal frame, ropes, cable ties
and chains as well. Wilson Fred was caned and beaten almost every day without any apparent
reason. After that the couple locked him up in a birdcage for the whole night with tied up his
hands. The child was forced to rake cold baths that has lead to deterioration of health condition.
The nursery of the Fred Wilson has notified the staffs of social service as they have recognized a
tremendous change in the behaviour of the child for example; the child became dull and silent

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from joyful nature. The investigation and assessment process after the death of Wilson Fred has
identified that the child had suffered from more than thirty injuries including ruptured heart and
double fractures of the thigh bone and arm.
Issues:
Prevalence:
One of the main social issues in the United Kingdom is the prevalence of child abuse that
lead to the disruption of child growth thus affect the development of the nation. The child abuse
in the UK has been reported throughout the history of the nation. However, it is difficult to
recognize all events of child abuse or maltreatment as most of the case of child abuse is hidden to
the view of others and the children are too young, frightened and ashamed due to the assault thus
unable to explain the incident to the teacher or parents. Three broad range of abuse has been
identified such as physical abuse, sexual abuse and mental abuse (Reder and Duncan 2013). The
world health organization has stated that death of a significant number of children has been
occurred due to the child homicide (World Health Organization 2018). The girls and boys both
are vulnerable to the incident if child abuse. According to the statistics 41000 children under the
age of 15 years are the victims of child homicide. It has been found in the research that 90% of
the children that has faced child abuse were abused by the people that are known to them for
example parents, teacher, care giver and other family members. More than 58000 children are
found to be abused in UK according to the statistics of 2017. In England 43522 cases of child
sexual abuse has been reported in which most off the cases are intimate partner abuse (NSPCC
2018). The case study of Wilson Fred also indicates the factor that child abuse is conducted by
the people that are known to the child. In this case the mother of the two years old boy and her

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friend are responsible for the death of the child. The case study has reflected the true fact of
prevalence of child abuse in UK. However, the numbers of incident of child abuse still remain
doubtful and it seems to be larger as many cases of child maltreatment were unreported (Saied-
Tessier 2014).
Causes:
There are many factors that could contribute the incident of child abuse or maltreatment,
for example, parental factors, child factors, social factors, educational factors and family factors.
However, all the factors have been shown to contribute equally to the incident of child abuse.
Some situation such as low self esteem, isolation, low intelligence, depression, hostility,
loneliness, apathy, anxiety, distrust also contribute to the event of child abuse (Weder et al.
2014)). In some cases the parents lack the information related to development of children. Lack
of such parental skills and presence of inappropriate attitude could lead to abusive behaviour, for
example adaptation of violence as a way to resolve the problem (Godbout et al. 2014). Some
specific situation such as unwanted pregnancy, inability to empathise with the children, physical
illness could increase the prevalence of child abuse (Herrenkohl et al. 2013). Some family
factors such as marital conflicts, unemployment, domestic violence, financial stress could
contribute to the incident of child abuse (Straus et al. 2017). Some child factors also involved in
the incident of child abuse, for example, age of the children, mental and physical condition and
many others. Poor mental status and physical condition and poor development status make the
children more vulnerable to the child maltreatment (Flaherty et al. 2013). In combination with
the above factors the environmental factor also contributes to the event of child abuse. The rate
of child maltreatment is higher in some communities and cultures. The economic pressure and
poverty play an important role in providing value to the role of the child in the family. Stress due

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to poverty has been reported as the most common cause of child abuse (Bywaters et al. 2016).
Another effective factor that contributes to the child maltreatment is substance abuse. Abuse of
alcohol, drugs and substances could lead to the increase of child abuse in the community. Such
factors play an important role in the incident of child abuse (Kaminer 2013). In case of Wilson
Fred the family factors lead to the incident of intimate partner violence. The desire of Julia and
Monica to get rid of the child in order to work without any hindrance increase the physical
violence to an extent that the child had died.
Theories/ concept:
The social disorganization theory is one of the most relevant theories for child abuse and
maltreatment. In the isolated family or nuclear family the rate of child abuse is high. The
dependence of the parents on care giver could lead to such incident of child abuse. In case of
nuclear family there is no one to protest against the abusive behaviour. The situation influences
the abusive parents and care givers thus, increases the rate of abusive behaviour in the family
(McNeeley 2014). In case of Wilson Fred the theory of social disorganization theory is
applicable. As there was no one to protest against the abusive behaviour done by Julia and
Monica, the duo have increased their torture such as beating the child with ropes, metal frames,
cable ties and chain as well. The social disorganization theory also provides the importance of
the involvement of neighbourhood in case of child abuse (McNeeley 2014). In case of Fred the
Sunshine Nursery School could help the child by informing the police regarding the abusive
behaviour, but the school authority has ignored the responsibility which leads to the death of the
two years old boy. Another theory related to the child abuse is the attachment theory. The
attachment theory describes that it is important for the parents and the care givers to establish
effective relationship with the children in order to increase the development of the children. In

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the case study Julia, the mother of Wilson has failed to build emotional attachment with her child
(Goldberg, Muir and Kerr 2013). Lack of emotional attachment has made it easier for Julia to
induce in abusive behaviour. Thus, she has not faced any difficulties or emotional barrier while
beating her child and locked him up in the birdcage. The theory of social learning is also related
with the incident of child abuse thus related with the case study of Wilson Fred. It is important
have proper knowledge regarding the abusive behaviour and its effect on the children. The lesson
from the social development and family play an important role in case of child abuse. It can be
considered that the abusive behaviour of the parents could affect the mental condition of the
children so that they could become abusive parents in future (Akers 2017). It can be assumed
that such social learning has influenced Julia to induce in abusive behaviour. Thus, she has failed
to find any misdeed in her behaviour.
Ethical issues and principles:
The incident of child abuse leads to the occurrence of some ethical issues in the society.
It is a common fact that the information related to the incident of child abuse remain unclosed
and confidential, thus most of the child abuse case remain unreported or neglected. Such incident
leads to ethical issue for example it is important to provide information about the social injustice
so that the society become aware regarding the incident and take proper steps in order to mitigate
such issues (National Research Council 2014). In case of Fred, the society was unaware
regarding the abusive behaviour of Julia and Monica or the society has neglected the incident,
thus the child had to suffer from the painful experience. The social ethics indicates that it is
important for the individual in the society to fulfil their responsibilities in an effective manner
(Reamer 2013). However the society to which the child was involved has failed to comply with
the social ethics and the principle of deontology that defines the duty of individual in the society

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(Conway and Gawronski 2013). For example, the authority of Sunshine Nursery School has
neglected their responsibility in this case. Such incident has led to ethical issues. On the other
hand the event of child abuse leads to issues regarding individual rights. It is the right of
individual to be treated well in the society. The social ethics also provides freedom to all in the
society (Reamer 2013). In case of Wilson Fred the two years old boy, his mother and her
companion Monica has locked the boy in the bird cage and in filthy room. Thus it is clear that,
the abusive behaviour of Julia and Monica has violated the human rights, principle of autonomy,
and justice which is unacceptable according to the guidelines of social ethics (Reamer 2013).
The principle of non-malfeasance that provides the guidelines for not to harm anyone in the
society is also related with the case of child abuse. Thus, it is important for individual to
understand their responsibilities towards the society and maintain ethical behaviour in order to
reduce such illegal incident in the society and induce social change. In this regards the principle
of beneficence and utilitarianism is needed to be applied that provides guidelines for the actions
that results in greatest good and creates benefit for the society (Page 2012).
Criticality:
The increasing incident of child abuse has become the greatest threat for the society. The
extensive incidents of child maltreatment and humiliation have influenced the UK government to
introduce effective legislations in order to induce social change (National Research Council
2014). The case study of Wilson Fred is the example of the incident of child abuse and it has
reflected the current scenario of UK in an effective manner. The UK government has started to
introduce significant policies and laws in order to cope with the incident of child abuse and
reduce the rate of such illegal activities in the population. In this regards the Children Act has

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been introduced in the year 1989. The aim of the act is to provide welfare to the children. The act
provides guidelines for the parental responsibilities towards their children, orders regarding the
children in family proceedings, guidelines for the local authorities in order to provide support to
the children and families, guidelines for the care and supervision of the children and provides
protection to the children. There are some significant strength of the Children Act 1989. In order
to make the implementation successful the act provides rules and regulations for registered
children’s home, community home, voluntary home and organization. Despite of providing such
facilities the act has significant limitations. The accountability of social care workers that are
involved in the case of child abuse is less. In order to avoid the public scrutiny court cases
related to child protection are heard privately. Such limitations of the act restrict it to create
awareness and inform the population about the illegal activity (Legislation.gov.uk 2018).
The government of UK has introduced effective policies as well. One of such policies
includes Working together to safeguard children, 2015. It is guidance for the inter-agency that
works for providing safeguard to the children and promote welfare. The aim of introducing such
policy is to provide adequate protection to the children. The policy provides guidelines for
referral of allegations against the people that works with the children. According to the policy it
is important to notify incidents that involve child care. The policy provides significant
description for serious harm to the children. Such guidelines help to create awareness in the
population and such factors act as the strength of the policy. However there are some limitations
of the policy, for example the guidelines are limited to the inter-agency that works in order to
promote child safety and welfare. However, the policy does not describe about the action that
needs to be taken if the abusive behaviour is done by the social workers. Such factors have raised
question regarding the effectiveness of such policy (NSPCC 2018).

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Another important act that needs to be discussed is the Safeguarding Vulnerable Group
Act, 2006. The act has been introduced in order to provide effective protection t the vulnerable
groups such as children, vulnerable adults, old aged person and person with mental or physical
disabilities. The act provides rules and regulation for Independent safeguarding authority. The
act also provides the list of regulated actions and restrictions regarding the participation in
regulated activities such as physical abuse, mental abuse, sexual abuse and other activities that
lead to the violation of safety and rights of individual. The main strength of the act is that it
provides different supervisory authority for different vulnerable groups. Despite of having such
strengths the act is not that much effective in providing safeguard to the children and the case
study has proved the limitation of the act. Thus the government has decided to introduce
effective changes and implement the new law in the July 2018 (Legislation.gov.uk 2018). The
UK government has taken interventions related to the adequate fund for improving the safety of
the children. In this regards the King’s Fund play an important role. The organization provides
support to the health care and social care system of the England, but the funding is limited to the
national organization level, the local authority lacks the access to the facilities (The King's Fund
2018). The role of Audit commission is also involved with the incident of child abuse. The
commission was formed in the year 1983 in order to monitor the local government and the
National Health Service Trust. The commission introduced some research to find out the social
and financial issues. However, the commission has been criticised for its methods especially
their process of rating health organizations. Such incident indicates the limitation of the
commission in order to identify the social issues in the population. Thus, the commission has
been dissolved in 2015 (Gov.uk 2018). It is clear that the UK government has taken many
initiatives in order to counter the issue of child abuse, but they are not efficient. The limitations

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of the legislations and policies creates barrier in the way of success. Thus, the Government of
UK needs to focus on the matter in order to resolve the limitations and introduce effective
legislations and legal punishments that could help to reduce the incident of child abuse and
provide safety to the children in an effective manner.
Conclusion:
From the above discussion regarding the case study of Wilson Fred related to the incident
of child abuse it can be concluded that, the incident of child abuse or maltreatment includes
physical, mental and sexual abuse of the children and it has been found that the failure to act
properly by the parents or the care giver leads to the potential harm to the children. In most of the
cases of child abuse, the person that is engaged in the abusive behaviour is found to be known to
the children such as their parents, care giver, other relatives and teacher as well. The main factors
that lead to the event of child abuse include family factors such as unemployment, income issue,
marital conflicts and unwanted pregnancy. Some child factors such as age, mental growth and
physical disabilities make the children more vulnerable to the incident of child abuse. Parental
factors such as inability to understand the development of children could lead to some actions
related to physical or mental abuse of the children. Social factor such as education, substance
abuse, culture and poverty also contributes to the incident of child abuse. Such incident affects
both the mental and physical health condition of the children; even it could leads to the death of
the children. The case study of Wilson Fred has provided the example of child abuse. The
excessive physical and mental torture such as beating with ropes, cable ties, metal frames and
chains and capture the child in the birdcage has resulted in the death of the child. The case study

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has reflected the current scenario of the UK in an effective manner. Such incident of child abuse
leads to some ethical issues in the society such as violation of human rights, principle of
autonomy and social ethics. The increasing rate of child abuse has become the threat for the
society. Thus it is important to introduce effective interventions to cope up with the current
situation. In this regards the UK government has introduced enormous laws and policies for
example Children Act 1989, Safeguarding Vulnerable Group Act 2006, Working Together for
Safeguard Children Policy 2015 and many others. However, such legislations have some
limitations that create obstacles in the way of success of such interventions. Thus it is important
for the UK government to provide focus on the interventions in order to reduce the barriers and
improve the legislation. It could help the UK government to provide protection to the children in
the population in an effective manner.

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