The Continuation of Child Maltreatment
A Social Injustice Still Evident Today
Child abuse and neglect is a problem we have been dealing with for many centuries and is still far from over. The first cases of organized child protection began in the early 1900’s yet we are still fighting this battle.
Numbers and Statistics are one of the most powerful tools to help engage people regarding child abuse. And although we have made great progress over the past 100 years, we have also had many setbacks. Still to this day, an outrageous number of children are being neglected and showing these large numbers is one of the most influential ways to show this example of social injustice. The collage represents propaganda and how it is still presented in our media today. By taking all the images direct from our local newspaper this demonstrates how prevalent this issue is still today. It shows a wide spectrum of events from children succeeding, to children failing, and everything in between. Because without the variety, we would not be able to see what life should be like for children of the world and may start to think that abusive behavior is normal. We must all “UNITE” together to try and put an end to this horrible epidemic.
The Boys and Girls Club of America began in the 1860’s in Hartford, Connecticut. It was inspired by three women, Mary Goodwin, Alice Goodwin, and Elizabeth Hamersley. They saw young boys roaming the streets of Hartford and thought that they should have a more positive alternative, so they created the first club, that would later become the BGCA. These first few clubs were based upon character development, improving behavior, and increasing personal expectations and goals.
Since then, this organization has been taking off, and in 2006 they celebrated 100 years of providing hope and opportunity to children across the country. Studies have shown that children involved in this program do significantly better throughout their adolescent years than kids who are not. 68% of high school seniors that are involved in the BGCA volunteer at least once per month compared to only 39% of seniors that are not apart of it. A typical club experience would include, a safe environment, supportive relationships, a fun experience, opportunities and expectations, and recognition for their achievements. A wide array of staff and volunteers help to make the Boys and Girls Club of America possible, and who knows how many children would have gone down different paths if it were not for this amazing organization.