ALTRUISM IN SOCIETY CAMPAIGN AND PRESENTATION 2
ALTRUISM IN SOCIETY CAMPAIGN AND PRESENTATION 9
Altruism in Society Campaign and Presentation
Running head: ALTRUISM IN SOCIETY CAMPAIGN AND PRESENTATION 1
Altruism in Society Campaign and Presentation
Introduction
The aim of the paper will be to analyze child abuse. The history of the social problem, impact, persuasion campaigns, altruistic behavior and impact of the intervention methods will also be provided. Child abuse has become a common social phenomenon that is worth addressing. Unless the intervention strategies and persuasive elements are utilized, minimizing the incidences of child abuse will be a major challenge.
Nature and history of your issue
The society is grappling with the increased rates of child abuse. The phenomenon has been attributed to a rise in poverty levels and domestic violence. Child abuse takes different forms, which include inflicting pain through beating, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and child labor. The history of child abuse can be traced to the 18th century, especially during the industrial revolution (Bragg, 2003). Children were perceived as the source of cheap labor, therefore, were high demand in industries. Today, through concerted efforts of various government and human rights activists, the explicit forms of child abuse have been on the decrease. However, issues of child neglect, emotional abuse, and child labor remain a significant challenge.
According to the 2013 National Statistics on Child Abuse (NSCA), it was estimated that about 1,520 children below the age of 18 died of child abuse. The NSCA report indicated that close to 3.1 million children in the country were victims of maltreatment. As a result, the children received preventative services from various Child agencies in the U.S. close to 80% of the cases were related to child neglect. The report indicated that 2% of the children were victims of sexual abuse while 18% suffered physical abuse. Additionally, the report noted that both parents caused most of the violations.
In 2014, there was a rise in the number of children receiving emotional support from the Child Protective Services compared to the previous. Despite the child abuse campaigns, statistics indicated that cases of child neglect were still on the rise. In 2014, the victims of sexual abuse were more compared to those of physical abuse. It was reported that more than 205,438 were victims of sexual abuse compared to 60,897, who were the victims of physical abuse.
Contrary to the belief that strangers propagate ill-treatment of children, specifically sexual assault, studies provide a different perspective. It is reported that most of the abuses are committed by people who are close to the children, including their parents and close relatives (Sherman &.Holden, 2009) Demanding careers and poverty are some of the major issue factors contributing to child abuse. As mentioned before, neglect has been on the rise. This could be attributed to the fact that parents spend most of their time in their careers, such that they lack time to spend with their children. Increased unemployment and unequal distribution of resources have also led to a rise in child abuse. Children drop out of school to assist parents in looking for their daily needs. Domestic violence has also been a major challenge in the war against child abuse. Malfunctioned relationships in most marriages expose children to all forms of violence.
Advocacy programs have been initiated in different countries with an aim of addressing the challenge of child abuse. The legal approach has been found to be less effective, because despite being expensive for most victims, it does not reduce the incidences. One of the most effective means has been to work with various stakeholders, such as community organizations and industries to sensitize the society. The goal has also been to provide the self-help for abusive parents. Teaching parents alternative methods of disciplining their children is perceived to be important in assisting authoritarian parents. The prevention of child abuse requires a holistic approach. All the factors that lead to child abuse have to be addressed.
Impact of child abuses in society
Child abuse has adverse effects on children and the society. Child abuse has been attributed to slow mental and social development in children. Abused children have a problem in decision making. They are shy and lack the assertive skills. As a result, abused children could suffer a cycle of abuse. In class, the performance of abused children is found to be lower, compared to that of the rest. The concentration, abstract reasoning, and analytical skills are lacking or not fully developed.
Victims of child abuse suffer social development. The social interaction is usually minimal. Children may take a longer time before they can learn how to speak. The victims of abuse lack effective communication skills that are vital in social interactions. Children are likely to be lonely and pessimistic about the world. Some are callous about what is happening around them. As they become adults, victims of child abuse are found to be aggressive.
Child abuse may predispose the victims to emotional challenges. Children mistrust their parents/caregivers. The distrust leads to weaker parental bonds, which has negative implications for the relationships. Weaker healthy relationships between parents and their children are attributed to neglect. This is commonly caused by demanding careers, where parents only spend very insignificant time with their children. Parents play an imperative role in fostering emotional development in children. For instance, parents can train their children to become empathic through responding to their (children’s) emotional needs adequately. Children also learned to control their negative behavior when they are brought up by parents who spend quality time training and listening to their needs. Forming healthy relationships in future is normally a significant challenge to most of the children who have been victims of abuse. Parental neglect has been the principal cause of tantrums in most children and also the attention deficit hyperactive disorder.
Current studies indicate that children who have been through abusive relationships and neglect have low academic performance. The IQ level of the children is likely to be affected immensely. Upon reaching high school, students who have been through any form of abuse continue to perform poorly. Part of the reason is the lack of concentration and poor communication skills.
Elements of persuasion in campaign
As mentioned before, child abuse campaigns have not been effective as far as reduction of child abuse is concerned. One of the main weaknesses could be the lack of funds to reach all the target populations, especially in the villages and slums, where child abuse is commonly reported. One of the elements of the campaigns would be to use a channel of communication that is more convenient. Direct communication with parents, guardians, and other stakeholders will be the central element in the campaign. The use of the traditional media, such the radio, and TV has not been very effective. The campaign should use a strategy that will allow for the interaction between the advocates and the stakeholders. In this sense, the advocates will target the religious institutions, home based care units, health organization, and other social organizations. Secondly, the advocacy campaign will also conduct visits to schools, with an aim of teaching children about their fundamental rights, especially regarding where they can find help.
One of the main advantages of the one in one campaign is to ensure that citizens can ask questions concerning the problem in hand. In most cases, abused children or witnesses of child abuse do not report the incidences since they do not know where to get this information. Additionally, the one on one communication will assist the community and the relevant agencies dealing with children rights to build trust. The ability to establish healty relationships will allow the community to take active steps that will see the report anyone who is found to be abusing children. Empowering the community through information dissemination will be imperative in enhancing the war against child abuse.
The second element which will be considered in the campaign will be increasing awareness especially on how to intervene especially after abuse. The campaign will seek to propose counseling and legal interventions as the primary avenues that the victims and perpetrators of child abuse can use. The counseling services will be aimed at helping the victims of abuse heal mentally and emotionally. Counseling is important in ensuring that victims can lead a normal life. For instance, children can gain the social skills that are necessary for social interactions. Also, teenagers can accept themselves and have a positive perspective about life. However, one of the main challenges is the fact that many victims of abuse are unable to afford counseling services due to the high cost. With that in mind, the goal will be to ensure that the campaign advocates for increased resources towards assisting children who have been abused. The government can provide free counseling services or subsidize the cost to make sure that as many people can afford. Working closely with the community organization such as churches will also advocate for the help of the victims. Counseling parents who abuse their children will also be part of the process. Most of the parents who abuse their children use wrong disciplinary style. Authoritarian parents, for instance, are more likely to abuse their children physically. Counseling will teach such individuals the effective ways of disciplining their children without necessarily using excessive force. The legal intervention will only be advocated in the situation of serious matters such as sexual abuse. It will also be used to punish parents who have the habit of physically abusing their children even after being warned and taken through the counseling process.
Justification of use of persuasion elements in connection with altruistic behavior
Altruism refers to the ability to respond to the needs of other people (Elstad, 2011). It also relates to the capacity to show empathy, especially when others are going through distress (Shtatfeld, 2009). The elements discussed above demonstrate concern for the needs of the victims. Direct communication is done to ensure that the processes become more efficient. It gives the community an opportunity to participate in the process and get any information. The counseling services respond to the real issues affecting the victims of child abuse. The two elements demonstrate the willingness of the human rights groups in fighting the social injustices in the society. It shows the sacrifice and wiliness to improve the welfare of children and other victims of abuse. Seeing the emergency and taking necessary measures is a demonstration that one is altruistic.
Discuss the implications of your strategy regarding intervention and prevention.
The strategy discussed above has significant positive implications as far as the alleviation of the problem is concerned. As aforementioned, counseling will assist victims of abuse in regaining their normalcy. After counseling, children may be able to focus on their normal life, including pursuing their interests and forming healthy relationships. A major implication will be to assist parents in understanding the best strategies in disciplining their children. Counseling is the most efficient method of intervention because it is a holistic approach to the problem. Counseling focuses on the cause of the problem. The legal intervention will also be a deterrent to future possibilities of abuse. For instance, stiff penalties and sentences may help in minimizing incidences of child abuse.
In conclusion, child abuse has been on the rise despite the efforts taken by human rights groups to curb the problem. One of the main challenges has been the use of wrong approaches. The communication channels and methods of interventions utilized have been less productive. The strategy to minimize the incidences of child abuse should include directly interacting with the community and offering affordable counseling services. The legal intervention is recommended only when all other methods of intention have failed. In serious matters, such as sexual abuse, legal interventions ought to be considered.
References
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Elstad, E. (2011). “Social exchange theory as an explanation of organizational citizenship behavior among teachers.” International Journal of Leadership in Education 14 (4): 405–421.
Sherman,.B..F.,.&.Holden,.E..W..(2000)..How.do.I.assess.child.and.youth.behavior?.In.H..Dub with.&.D..DePanfilis.(Eds.),.Handbook for child protection practice. (pp..273 277).Thousand.Oaks,.CA:.Sage
Shtatfeld, R. (2009). “Factors Related to Initiating Interpersonal Contacts on Internet Dating Sites: A View from the Social Exchange Theory.” Interpersonal: an International Journal of Personal Relationships 3: 19–37.