Brief History of Child Abuse
Child abuse has been around for quite some time, some even say since the beginning of time. According to an article I found titled, Child Abuse Background and History, on the website Findlaw.com, children under English Common Law were considered property of their fathers. The fathers felt this entitled them to be able to do whatever they wanted to do to them. American colonists carried these traditions with them all the way up into the early years of the United States.
Child abuse truly hit national attention in the 1870’s with the story about Mary Ellen Wilson. Mary’s case brought a lot of confusion since there were no laws and or organizations in place at this time governing the abuse of children. Believe it or not Mary’s case fell on the shoulders of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) lawyers. Mary’s case did go to trial and her foster mother was only convicted of assault and battery. She only received a ONE YEAR sentence. On a positive note, this case enabled the creation of New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in 1874. Below is a video that goes over the details of Mary’s case.
In 1962 child abuse was again at the forefront of our attention due to an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association. This article stated that child abuse can be medically diagnosed. Within ten years after the publication of this article, all of the fifty states had put in place mandatory reporting laws. These laws required that certain professionals such as, teachers and doctors, to report suspicion of child abuse. In 1974 there was funding put in place to help identify child abuse and to provide protective services for the children. If you would like to read the full article, please see the link below.
Abuse on children has been around forever, but as we can see from the information above we have made strides forward to ensure the welfare of our children. We as citizens of the United States need to make sure that our voice is heard and that we continue to push our government officials to do what is best for our children. Please make sure that your voice is being heard and that we are ensuring that there is funding available for not only the children but also the case workers that look after the tiny humans, making sure they are safe.
