Nashauna Drummond, Staff ReporterCHILD ABUSE constitutes any act that endangers or impairs a child's physical or emotional health and development. These may be physical, sexual or verbal abuse. Sexual abuse is an abusive sexual experience.
It may involve the use of physical force or mental manipulation. Verbal abuse includes name-calling, yelling, criticising, mean humour-teasing. This may include phrases such as "You're so stupid" or "You're worthless", which a parent may say in a state of anger but which has long-lasting emotional and psychological effects on a child.
Physical abuse is any non-accidental injury to a child. This includes hitting, kicking, slapping, shaking, burning, pinching, hair pulling, biting, choking, throwing, shoving, or whipping.
In Jamaica our culture condones not sparing the rod and spoiling the child. Most parents can admit to having spanked their children on a few occasions. In July of this year, Fitzgerald 'Donovan' Clarke bit and severely beat his 12-year-old daughter for failing to gain a place at a prominent high school in Kingston based on the GSAT results.
Severe beating
However, many parents easily distinguish between what can be considered a severe beating and legitimate punishment. A part of this, they claim, is that the child must know why they are being spanked and physical injury such as welts, bruises and especially bleeding should not occur. Mary Stevens, mother of three, notes that although she condones beatings, she does not inflict wounds, therefore she does not physical abuse her children.
She explains that if any accidental injuries occurs she apologises so that the child knows that it was not intended. Mary states that in the case of her children if she had to do it all over again, she would "still bus' dem behind". Stephanie, Mary's older daughter agrees. She points out that though she was flogged, she doesn't think she was physically abused. She remarks that the punishment was always justifiable and never seemed arbitrary.
Mr. Clarke was charged with cruelty to a juvenille under the Juveniles Act. When he appeared in court he and his daughter hugged each other and wept. He apologised to his daughter and Resident Magistrate Elenor Honeywell recommended that the girl and her father should both get counselling.
How much is enough?
When does discipline become child abuse?
Psychologist, Dr. Orlene Brown, says hitting a child should be the last resort to any form of discipline. She says the most important thing is listening to the child. Allow the child to explain why he has done what he did and find out what is going on. She urges parents to take time out when they get upset with a child so that when they administer punishment it is not so severe that it causes injury.
"No one should beat a child so severely that it injures them," says Dr. Brown. She defines physical abuse as non-accidental injury.
When injury results that is when discipline becomes physical abuse. She explains to Outlook that parents who physically abuse their children are not necessarily 'bad parents'. Abuse can result when parents are frustrated with the actions of the child which they do not understand.
If a parent has to constantly repeat herself/himself to a child it may be that the child has a learning or psychological problem. Therefore she advises that parents should use alternatives to hitting a child - take away privileges.
Hitting a child or other forms of violence towards him/her may teach the child that violence is the means by which a conflict may be resolved. Because some parents were beaten as children, they feel that excessive force is how they should discipline their children, perpetuating the 'Cycle of Violence'.
