Physical Abuse Victimology
Victimology refers to the study of victimization both the psychological impacts of victims as well as the relationship between victims and the offenders of the crimes. It also includes the interactions between the victims and the criminal justice system. Hence we can say that victimology is an aspect that applies to all areas of life where is the possibility of crime and the involvement of victims and offenders.
Child physical abuse victimization is one of the challenges the society, together with the criminal justice systems, are facing. Child physical abuse has been defined in various ways by different scholars. For instance, the National Center on Child Abuse and neglect (NCCAN) explained child physical abuse to be the acts of commission that include demonstrable harm and engendering of a child (Vlahovicova et al. 2017). Another research Kelly defined child physical abuse as the non-accidental injury that a child is exposed to as a result of a commission from the elderly and adult members in society. According to the 2013 statistics, the world rate of child abuse is estimated to be 22.6%. Although many years have passed by, there is still much to be done about this health problem. This is because of the possible future increase in victimization. Moreover, this is supported by the fact children who have undergone violence may develop patterns of vulnerability. Such physical abuse situations deny them the chance to grow under healthy relationships and acquire positive moral values that are against physical abuse.
When it comes to the aspect of victimology, research studies have been done on why some victims are susceptible to victimization. According to the assertion laid out by the routine activity theory, victimization is a consequence of a person’s exposure and proximity to possible crime offenders, in this case, physical abusers. Besides, it may be the proximity to the state of guardianship available to protect them against victimization.
Based on previous research studies, there is a possible link between child physical abuse, routine activities as well as victimology. For instance, according to a research study done in 2012, there is indeed a possible relationship that exists between childhood mistreatment and also violent victimization. In this research, a risky lifestyle was considered to be mediating this relationship. Alongside looking at such a form of relationship, the research also evaluated the various experiences such as childhood neglect, sexual and physical abuse on violent victimization (Tillyer, 2015). From the research, it is clear that there are no known impacts of childhood physical abuse or any form of abuse of future victimization.
Despite the lack of enough evidence, the criminologist still uses the routine activity theory to evaluate the relationship existing between the child’s physical abuse and violent victimization. From the assertion of this theory, the two factors may be related. For the victims, physical abuse, whether you are a child or an adult, maybe a traumatic experience. This is because of its relationship to various negative impacts like low experience self-esteem, emotional, and interpersonal problems (Norman et al. 2012). All these negative outcomes may determine the life course of the victim’s trajectories. For the victims, indeed, child physical abuse is a challenging moment. It is accompanied by various long-life impacts which may hamper the victim’s life.
Based on the research studies as well as real-life experiences, physical child abuse tends to expose a person as well as his or her proximity to possible offenders, personal attractiveness, and also guardianship states, which acts as a protection against victimization. All these factors, in general, increases the risk of being a victim of violent victimization in the future.
The issue of offenders is another issue of concern. Offenders of a crime of physical abuse are pushed to such crimes due to various factors. One such factor is the relationship between child physical abuse and exposure to motivated criminals. According to research studies that had proved this issue is that people who have been abused when they were children are likely to child physical abuse offenders. This is because they tend to be susceptible to the acquisition of aggressive behaviors from an early age. Due to a lack of proper early childhood growth and development, they tend to lack the environment to learn that such behaviors are not morally right in society (Norman, et al. 2012). In addition to that, there is the issue of substance or drug abuse. It is a factor that has been perceived as to be contributing to victimization. Alongside such factors, Other research studies have documented that engaging in deviant behaviors increases the chances of a person coming into contact with offenders. There are just some of the factors leading to physical abuse.
Authorities have given physical abuse strong attention. In the united states, several legislations prohibit physical abuse children and even adult people. This outlines the aspect of offenders and victim’s interactions with the criminal justice system. Criminal justice systems are meant to protect the victims. There are various child abuse and neglect policies. These laws are outlined in the child abuse prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA). The laws cover a wide range of areas on child physical abuse. Besides, the laws are applicable in states and federal aspects. According to the criminal justice system, the physical abuse of a child is classified into emotional abuse, emotional neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. Offenders of any type of abuse category have to face the full force of law (Norman et al. 2012).
References
Tillyer, M. S. (2015). The relationship between childhood maltreatment and adolescent violent victimization. Crime & Delinquency, 61(7), 973-995.
Vlahovicova, K., Melendez-Torres, G. J., Leijten, P., Knerr, W., & Gardner, F. (2017). Parenting programs for the prevention of child physical abuse recurrence: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical child and family psychology review, 20(3), 351-365.
Norman, R. E., Byambaa, M., De, R., Butchart, A., Scott, J., & Vos, T. (2012). The long-term health consequences of child physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS medicine, 9(11).