EMOTIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ABUSE

A) Exploitation and phsychological abuse, the core of all forms of abuse
B) Bullying

A) Exploitation and psychological abuse, the core of all forms of abuse

What  is emotional and psychological abuse?

Emotional and psychological abuse of a child is commonly defined as a pattern of behavior by parents or caregivers that can seriously interfere with a child’s cognitive, emotional, psychological and social development. Emotional abuse is a non-physical form of undermining the integrity and dignity of a child. It may involve belittling, blaming, threatening, frightening, ridiculing, withholding affection, corrupting, cruelty, extreme inconsistency, finding fault, using harsh words, harassment, ignoring, inappropriate control, isolating, rejecting, terrorizing, extreme punishment or discriminating against a child. It also may include restriction of movement. (WHO and www.apa.org)

Did you know?

Emotional abuse is one of the most common and harmful forms of child maltreatment and can have a lifelong impact – affecting children’s ability to feel safe and loved, the way they relate to others and their self-esteem.

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B) Bullying

What is bullying?

Bullying is repeated hostile behavior by one or more children, which is intended to harm other children. It may include physical violence. More often bullying involves taunting, ridiculing, threats or intimidation. (Adapted from www.bullying.org and www.kidshealth.org). Bullying UK www.bullying.co.uk is the world’s leading website providing free help and practical advice on bullying to more than 1.2 million people a year.

Did you know?

° Bullying is a learnt behavior, which can be changed. Surveys indicate that as many as half of all children are bullied at some time during school years, and at least 10 per cent are bullied on a regular basis. www.k12academics.com/sherryl_kraizer.htm

° Technology (increasingly, bullies use a new medium for bullying and has given rise to new terms such as ‘cyber-bully’ and ‘cyber-bullying’ (World Report on Violence against Children).

What you can do. Make the difference!

• Address bullying (verbal and physical)
• Help create a way to change the behavior of bullies
• Check the places where bullying takes place including school buses, hallways and restrooms
• Go and tell a teacher, a parent or another adult if you observe bullying
• Be involved in preparing rules and regulations to correct bullying in your school
• Know and share skills for non-violence and codes of conduct
• Promote school-community partnership
• Give special attention to vulnerable youth with mental and/or physical disabilities
• Introduce and use the Danish “Class Teacher” model in your school. This model establishes a particular teacher in a complementary parental role as a trusted person, advocate and mentor who meets daily with the same set of children throughout the course of their school career. This relationship greatly increases the likelihood that child treatment will be monitored. file://localhost/(http/:www.socwork.net:2009:2:special_issue:brixjensen)
• Set up a support group for children who have been bullied www.bullying.org
• No bully should ask you to keep the bullying secret
• Learn about ‘good ways’ to respond to a bully. www.safechild.org/bullies.htm