Legal Definitions - child abuse

Child abuse refers to any act or failure to act on the part of a parent, guardian, or other caregiver that results in actual or potential harm to a child's health, survival, development, or dignity. It encompasses a range of behaviors and omissions that can cause physical injury, emotional distress, psychological trauma, sexual exploitation, or neglect of a child's basic needs.

Common categories of child abuse include:

• Physical abuse: Causing non-accidental bodily injury to a child.
• Emotional or psychological abuse: Behaviors that harm a child's self-worth or emotional well-being.
• Sexual abuse: Any sexual act or exploitation involving a child.
• Neglect: A failure to provide for a child's basic physical, medical, educational, or emotional needs.

Here are some examples illustrating child abuse:

• Example 1 (Physical Abuse): A parent, frustrated by their toddler's crying, intentionally pushes the child down, causing a broken arm. This incident would be considered child abuse because the parent's deliberate action directly resulted in physical harm and injury to the child.

• Example 2 (Neglect): A guardian consistently fails to provide adequate food, shelter, and medical care for a school-aged child. The child frequently misses school due to preventable illnesses, is noticeably underweight, and wears ill-fitting, dirty clothes. This situation illustrates child abuse through neglect, as the guardian's ongoing failure to meet the child's fundamental needs for health, development, and safety constitutes a harmful omission.

• Example 3 (Emotional Abuse): A caregiver regularly subjects a child to severe verbal degradation, calling them "worthless" and "a mistake," and constantly threatening to abandon them. Over time, the child develops significant anxiety, low self-esteem, and withdrawal from social interactions. This constitutes child abuse because the caregiver's persistent pattern of harmful verbal behavior directly damages the child's emotional and psychological well-being and development.