Neglect

"A type of maltreatment that refers to the failure by the caregiver to provide needed, age-appropriate care although financially able to do so or offered financial or other means to do so." When a family fails to use information and resources, and the student's health or safety is at risk, then student welfare intervention may be required.

Neglect may be:

• Physical (e.g., failure to provide necessary food or shelter, or lack of appropriate supervision)
• Medical (e.g., failure to provide necessary medical or mental health treatment)
• Educational (e.g., failure to educate a student or attend to special education needs)
• Emotional (e.g., inattention to a student's emotional needs, failure to provide psychological care, or permitting the student to use alcohol or other drugs)

Physical Abuse

Physical abuse is non-accidental physical injury (ranging from minor bruises to severe fractures or death) as a result of punching, beating, kicking, biting, shaking, throwing, stabbing, choking, hitting (with a hand, stick, strap, or other object), burning, or otherwise harming a student, that is inflicted by a parent, caregiver, or other person who has responsibility for the student. Physical discipline, such as spanking or paddling, is not considered abuse as long as it is reasonable and causes no bodily injury to the student.

Emotional Abuse

Emotional abuse is a pattern of behavior that impairs a student’s emotional development or sense of self-worth. This may include constant criticism, threats, or rejection, as well as withholding love, support, or guidance. 

Examples of Emotional Abuse

• Ignoring. Either physically or psychologically, the parent or caregiver is not present to respond to the student. He or she may not look at the student and may not call the student by name.
• Rejecting. This is an active refusal to respond to a student’s needs (e.g., refusing to touch a student, denying the needs of a student, ridiculing a student).
• Isolating. The parent or caregiver consistently prevents the student from having normal social interactions with peers, family members and adults. This also may include confining the student or limiting the student’s freedom of movement.
• Exploiting or corrupting. In this kind of abuse, a student is taught, encouraged or forced to develop inappropriate or illegal behaviors. It may involve self-destructive or antisocial acts of the parent or caregiver, such as teaching a student how to steal or forcing a student into prostitution.
• Verbally assaulting. This involves constantly belittling, shaming, ridiculing or verbally threatening the student.
• Terrorizing. Here, the parent or caregiver threatens or bullies the student and creates a climate of fear for the student. Terrorizing can include placing the student or the student’s loved one (such as a sibling, pet or toy) in a dangerous or chaotic situation or placing rigid or unrealistic expectations on the student with threats of harm if they are not met.
• Neglecting the student. This abuse may include educational neglect, where a parent or caregiver fails or refuses to provide the student with necessary educational services; mental health neglect, where the parent or caregiver denies or ignores a student’s need for treatment for psychological problems; or medical neglect, where a parent or caregiver denies or ignores a student’s need for treatment for medical problems.

Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse includes activities by a parent or caregiver such as fondling a student's genitals, penetration, incest, rape, sodomy, indecent exposure, and exploitation through prostitution or the production of pornographic materials. Sexual abuse is defined by the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act as "the employment, use, persuasion, inducement, enticement, or coercion of any student to engage in, or assist any other person to engage in, any sexually explicit conduct or simulation of such conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct; or the rape, and in cases of caretaker or inter-familial relationships, statutory rape, molestation, prostitution, or other form of sexual exploitation of children, or incest with children."

Identifying Sexual Abuse Among Students

Students who are sexually abused may exhibit behavioral changes, based on their age.

Children ages 2 to 9 may exhibit:

• Fear of particular people, places or activities
• Regression to earlier behaviors such as bed wetting or stranger anxiety
• Victimization of others
• Feelings of shame or guilt
• Nightmares or sleep disturbances
• Withdrawal from family or friends
• Fear of attack recurring
• Eating disturbances

Symptoms of sexual abuse in older children and adolescents include:

• Depression
• Nightmares or sleep disturbances
• Poor school performance
• Promiscuity
• Substance abuse
• Aggression
• Running away from home
• Eating disturbances
• Early pregnancy or marriage
• Suicidal gestures
• Anger about being forced into situation beyond one’s control
• Pseudo-mature behaviors

Information provided by: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Student Welfare Information Gateway, the American Humane Association and Prevent Child Abuse of America.