The Untold Story of Millions
“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats
its children.” -Nelson Mandela. In a world that continually advocates for peace and
wellbeing, millions of children worldwide endure abuse silently afraid to confront their
abusers. Which in turn, casts a shadow of fear, depression, and anxiety the length of a
lifetime. Indeed, as Nelson Mandela explains the only way to understand a society’s
acceptance and kindness is to look at its children where dark and gloomy societies have been
shown to abuse children physically, mentally and even psychologically. Child abuse, majorly
caused by parental stress and a history of violence, leads to devastating effects such as a
chronic lack of trust in abused youth and a higher risk of substance abuse in adulthood.
To begin with, parental stress and the repeating cycle of violence are major causes of
child abuse. First, parental stress resulting from financial hardships, improper parenting
education and skewed societal views on violence exacerbates child abuse. To elaborate,
parents that have been laid off or are facing money pressures subject their children to physical
violence to better their behaviors. On the other hand, parents who may be financially stable
but lack proper parenting knowledge feel stressed and thus use unhealthy communication,
violence, and negative remarks to raise their children. Second, child abuse is also a result of
past trauma and a cycle of violence and abuse. To exemplify, it has been shown through
research that abused children have a history of becoming the abusers which adds to that cycle
even more vicious behaviors instead of taking initiatives to change its reality. To wrap up,
causes of child abuse vary; however, they can be attributed to past trauma and parental
overload.
Second, aside from the major causes mentioned above, child abuse has detrimental
effects such as the development of a chronic lack of trust in a child and his/her elevated risk
of substance abuse in adulthood. To start, abused individuals lack the ability to trust and
befriend anyone in their youth. To illustrate, those individuals miss out on the golden years
and long-life friendships that other kids form. For example, 15% of children worldwide can’t
easily trust or socialize where 90% of those children have been abused or have seen it
firsthand. Moreover, in adulthood, abused adults show a significant risk of substance abuse.
To explain, adults that have endured abuse turn towards substances to forget their pain and
psychologically hide their scars. This has been shown in research that indicates that abuse
individuals are 4.3 times more prone to substance abuse than others (America Addiction
Center). To sum up, devasting signs appear in abused children in the form of mental obstacles
such as lack of trust and psychological repercussions including the possibilities of addiction
in adulthood.
To conclude, the detrimental effects mentioned above are greatly attributed to child
abuse that has been shown, time and time again, to be caused by a cycle of past violence and
increased pressures on parents. Exhibiting the above conclusions is every child that has
“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats
its children.” -Nelson Mandela. In a world that continually advocates for peace and
wellbeing, millions of children worldwide endure abuse silently afraid to confront their
abusers. Which in turn, casts a shadow of fear, depression, and anxiety the length of a
lifetime. Indeed, as Nelson Mandela explains the only way to understand a society’s
acceptance and kindness is to look at its children where dark and gloomy societies have been
shown to abuse children physically, mentally and even psychologically. Child abuse, majorly
caused by parental stress and a history of violence, leads to devastating effects such as a
chronic lack of trust in abused youth and a higher risk of substance abuse in adulthood.
To begin with, parental stress and the repeating cycle of violence are major causes of
child abuse. First, parental stress resulting from financial hardships, improper parenting
education and skewed societal views on violence exacerbates child abuse. To elaborate,
parents that have been laid off or are facing money pressures subject their children to physical
violence to better their behaviors. On the other hand, parents who may be financially stable
but lack proper parenting knowledge feel stressed and thus use unhealthy communication,
violence, and negative remarks to raise their children. Second, child abuse is also a result of
past trauma and a cycle of violence and abuse. To exemplify, it has been shown through
research that abused children have a history of becoming the abusers which adds to that cycle
even more vicious behaviors instead of taking initiatives to change its reality. To wrap up,
causes of child abuse vary; however, they can be attributed to past trauma and parental
overload.
Second, aside from the major causes mentioned above, child abuse has detrimental
effects such as the development of a chronic lack of trust in a child and his/her elevated risk
of substance abuse in adulthood. To start, abused individuals lack the ability to trust and
befriend anyone in their youth. To illustrate, those individuals miss out on the golden years
and long-life friendships that other kids form. For example, 15% of children worldwide can’t
easily trust or socialize where 90% of those children have been abused or have seen it
firsthand. Moreover, in adulthood, abused adults show a significant risk of substance abuse.
To explain, adults that have endured abuse turn towards substances to forget their pain and
psychologically hide their scars. This has been shown in research that indicates that abuse
individuals are 4.3 times more prone to substance abuse than others (America Addiction
Center). To sum up, devasting signs appear in abused children in the form of mental obstacles
such as lack of trust and psychological repercussions including the possibilities of addiction
in adulthood.
To conclude, the detrimental effects mentioned above are greatly attributed to child
abuse that has been shown, time and time again, to be caused by a cycle of past violence and
increased pressures on parents. Exhibiting the above conclusions is every child that has
