AN ENTIRE COMMUNITY, AS WELL AS FAMILY MEMBERS, REPORTED THIS ABUSE FOR OVER 6 MONTHS, BUT NO ONE TOOK ACTION TO INTERVENE AND SAVE THIS CHILD.
LOOK AT HOW MANY REPORTS WERE FILED OF ABUSE ON THIS POOR, HELPLESS CHILD!
The Department of Child and Family Services documents. "The red flags were all over the place,” county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky says. “They were ignored. It is just inexplicable to me.”
The Department of Child and Family Services documents show that the boy's beating death could have been avoided.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/newly-released-documents-show-abuse-boy-missed-torture-murder-death-article-1.1371360
http://laist.com/2013/05/31/boy_beaten_to_death_had_penned_suicidal_note.php
May 28, 2013
When paramedics arrived at the Palmdale home of Fernandez last Wednesday [May 22] they found the boy barely breathing and broken. His "skull was cracked, three ribs were broken and his skin was bruised and burned," reports the L.A. Times. "He had BB pellets embedded in his lung and groin. Two teeth were knocked out of his mouth." He died at the hospital Friday [MAY24]. His mother, 29-year-old Pearl Fernandez, told paramedics his injuries were the result of self-mutilation.
He was transported to Children's Hospital Los Angeles and listed in critical condition.
He died on Friday.
Fernandez had previously written a note contemplating suicide [WHICH HIS TEACHER REPORTED.]
His teacher told authorities he appeared bruised and battered at school, bruises from BB pellets were evident on his face.
His therapist submitted a complaint in late March that the boy had been forced to perform oral sex on a relative and a referral to conduct an investigation into child abuse at the home lingered two months past deadline.
Says the Times, "The social worker assigned to that case did not make first contact with the family until 20 days after the complaint was received, and then 'made minimal attempts to investigate,' according to an internal county report." Every investigation except for one was determined "unfounded."
Pearl Fernandez, Gabriel's 29-year-old mother, admitted to watching as Isauro Aguirre, her 32-year-old boyfriend, repeatedly beat the boy for lying and "being dirty," per documents obtained by the Times. Aguirre admitted to the beating and Pearl admitted to doing nothing to stop the assault. The couple was arrested and later charged with capital murder.
Grandparents claim an investigator kept silent about abuse and instead asked the boy's mother out on a date! When Gabriel was a month old, his mother – the boy’s
sole living biological parent – turned over custody to her parents,
“stating that she did not want Gabriel and had no love for the child,”
the lawsuit reads.In October 2012, Pearl Fernandez enlisted the help of DCFS to regain custody of her then-7-year-old son.
JUST 7 MONTHS LATER, GABRIEL WAS DEAD...
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Gabriel-Fernandez-Grandparents-File-Wrongful-Death-Lawsuit-LA-County-DCFS-221360651.html
Pearl's history with the department goes back at least 10 years, when her oldest son, wearing no seat belt, suffered a head injury in a car accident. A report surfaced a year later that Pearl was beating the son and no longer wished to care for him, but the complaint was "unfounded." Pearl also told social workers of her history of gang involvement, drug use and mental problems. Another complaint surfaced in 2007 that she was starving one of her daughters and threatened to break the girl's jaw for crying. She also spent time in jail in Texas for using a weapon in a reckless manner.
Yet somehow she regained custody of Fernandez and his two siblings in October. Gabriel had lived with his grandparents up until October, when Fernandez won legal custody of him. Up until then, Fernandez had little interaction with his mother.
Speculation points to welfare money as the motive behind the custody request.
The calls and complaints continued for months.
[According to the LA Times, at the time of the boy's death, an open complaint with Los Angeles County social workers had been pending for over 60 days.]
Both Fernandez and Aguirre have been charged with capital murder today and are expected to be arraigned today [May28] after 1:30 p.m.
[AN UPDATE SAYS THAT THE ARRAIGNMENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL JUNE11.]
CNS reports that the capital murder charge includes the special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission of torture. Whether or not the death penalty will be sought against the pair will be decided by the District Attorney's Office. Prosecutors planned to ask during Tuesday's arraignment that the two be held without bail.
Officials said that authorities had previous contact with Fernandez over treatment of the boy, and County Supervisor Michael Antonovich has called for an investigation of all county social workers and supervisors involved in Gabriel's case.>>
Sheriff's officials have also said they plan to investigate any contacts deputies may have had with the family.
Gabriel's two siblings were taken into protective custody by the department.
A neighbor, Claudia Sergoviano, told KCAL-TV that whenever she saw the boy he was covered in bruises.
[WHAT DID THE NEIGHBOR DO, ACTUALLY DO ABOUT THAT, I MUST WONDER?]
His grandfather noticed the bruising and said he called police. “Everybody called. People were calling, teachers were calling, and nothing was done,” says the grandfather.
“The social workers were there. And what did they do? They closed their eyes and didn’t see nothing?” Gabriel’s uncle, Michael Lemos Carranza, said.
DEATH BY TORTURE AND ABUSE OF THE HIGHEST ORDER.
BUT SADLY, AND TO THE SHAME OF MANY, GABRIEL IS ONLY ONE OF MANY TO DIE SO YOUNG FROM CHILD ABUSE AND MOLESTATION.FIVE CHILDREN DIE EACH DAY FROM THAT!
A "NEW" CHILD IS ADDED TO THESE STATISTICS OF ABUSED/MOLESTED CHILDREN EVERY 13 SECONDS IN AMERICA, MORE THAN ANY OTHER INDUSTRIALIZED NATION ON EARTH!
FOR EACH ABUSE CASE REPORTED, CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATES ARE THAT 200 TO 500 MORE ARE NOT!
HERE ARE 3 MORE SUCH STORIES, ALL RELATED IN THAT, BECAUSE OF SOME TYPE OF ABUSE, OR SOME TYPE OF NEGLIGENCE, SOME FAILURE OF OUR "SYSTEM" TO SEE WHAT WAS HAPPENING AND DOING SOMETHING TO STOP IT, CHILDREN DIED, AND ARE DYING IN RECORD NUMBERS IN AMERICA.
FOLLOWING THESE STORIES, I HAVE PROVIDED WARNING SIGNS AND TIPS TO TELL YOU IF YOUR CHILD, OR ANY CHILD, MAY BE SUFFERING FROM MOLESTATION, OR CHILD ABUSE .
FOR THE SAKE OF OUR CHILDREN, PLEASE READ AND HELP SPREAD THESE FACTS SO OTHERS MAY BE AWARE.
THESE CHILDREN NEEDED US, ALL CHILDREN NEED US TO HELP SAFEGUARD THEM, TO HELP THEM LIVE TO ADULTHOOD.
HAD JUST ONE PERSON RECOGNIZED WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO THEM AND ACTED ON THAT, HAD JUST ONE PERSON DONE SOMETHING TO HELP THEM, THEY WOULD ALL LIKELY BE ALIVE TODAY.
YOU MAY BE THAT ONE PERSON FOR SOME CHILD YOU ENCOUNTER.
DEATH BY REPEATED RAPE, TORTURE AND BEATING
About a year ago, also in May, 2012, two-year-old Koralynn Fister was found drowned in a bathtub. She was systematically tortured prior to her death, and raped repeatedly, a court has heard.
[One source: http://www.lewiscountysirens.com/?p=17588]
Her injuries were beyond description. It is unknown how long she had been molested and tortured. Four hard blows to the head after anal and vaginal penetration likely killed her, but her assailant, Koralynn's mother's new boyfriend of 2 1/2 months, tried to make it look like she drowned in the bathtub.
Lewis County Superior Court Judge James Lawler gave James M. Reeder the maximum allowed, given the the charges Reeder was convicted of pursuant to a plea agreement. While Reeder had pleaded guilty, he did so without admitting any wrongdoing.
The judge said he would have given more time if he could.
“I didn’t hear, but I can imagine, her screams and her cries as she was tortured by you,” Lawler said. “I wish I wasn’t limited by the statute, I wish I wasn’t limited by these charges.”
Koralynn’s mother Becky Heupel sat next to her daughter’s father in the front row behind prosecutors.
In a statement read to the court for her, Heupel spoke of how she felt betrayed by her then live-in boyfriend pretending to help her with her child.
“You made me doubt my own sanity by your evil act,” Heupel wrote. “I pray that God gives you whatever he feels you deserve.”
Heupel and her 4-year-old daughter had left the home about three hours prior to little Koralynn's horrific death. She left the baby with a man she'd only known and had lived with for 10 weeks.
Evidence indicated Koralynn was penetrated both in front
and behind that day, anally and vaginally, and at another time or times previously, according to Halstead.
Her rectum was ruptured and her body had injuries such as bruises,
including on her hands, missing toenails and her bottom was basically
raw down to the muscle, consistent with rubbing over time.
When questioned by the mother, Reeder had explanations such as the dog jumping on her toes, the child
running around barefoot and also said that she would slide down the gate
to her bedroom, Prosecutor Will Halstead said. The day before the toddler's death, one of Koralynn's maternal aunts noticed an injury on the child's bottom and told Koralynn's mother about it [WAS THE MOTHER BLIND?], according to court documents. Koralynn's mother discussed the injury with Reeder, who convinced her that the toddler did not need medical care and that the injuries were "simple, childhood injuries," according to court documents.
[THE MOTHER SAID THAT REEDER TALKED HER OUT OF TAKING THE CHILD TO THE DOCTOR. HOW COULD A MOTHER NOT TAKE A CHILD IN WITH THOSE TYPES OF INJURIES? HER TOENAILS WERE MISSING, HER BUTTOCKS WERE RUBBED RAW!
I am of the opinion that the mother should have done much more than question.
A visit to the pediatrician would have found the truth of what this child was going through.]
A search warrant of the home revealed marijuana and what police believe to be methamphetamine.
WHY DID HEUPEL LEAVE HER BABY WITH A MAN USING THOSE DRUGS?
IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR...
http://www.lewiscountysirens.com/?p=17939
<<Almost a year after losing her 2-year-old daughter to torturous sexual abuse of a new live-in boyfriend, Becky M. Heupel today faced a judge, charged with failing to protect the little girl.
Heupel, 31, admitted to police, according to prosecutors, that if she had witnessed injuries on someone else’s child that she saw on her own daughter, she would have called the police.
The Centralia woman pleaded not guilty this afternoon to second-degree criminal mistreatment in Lewis County Superior Court. It’s a class C felony.
When interviewed by Centralia police this past January, Heupel confirmed
she wanted a relationship with Reeder and ignored warnings from others
about the relationship, as well as signs she saw herself, such as
controlling behavior and signs of abuse to the child, according to
prosecutors.
AT WHAT POINT COULD ANYONE WHO KNEW, WHO SAW WHAT WAS GOING ON HAVE STEPPED IN AND SAVED LITTLE KORYLYNN?Full timeline and a most disturbing video of the sentencing in this case here:
http://www.chronline.com/article_977344ac-a9e5-11e1-b3fd-001a4bcf887a.html
http://www.chronline.com/article_1d7edc36-aa87-11e1-8692-0019bb2963f4.html
http://www.chronline.com/html_a654c0ee-86b8-11e2-b55c-0019bb2963f4.html?mode=jqm
GABRIEL MYERS, AGE 7
Another Gabriel, Gabriel Myers, 7 committed suicide by hanging himself with a shower cord on in May, 2012, in Florida. [One story source: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20000546-504083.html ]
Gabriel was on Seroquel - used to treat bipolar disorder - and other psychiatric drugs linked by federal regulators to potentially dangerous side effects, including suicide, but the risks may not have been adequately communicated to his foster parents.
Gabriel's death prompted a statewide investigation that found 13 percent, or 2,699, of all foster children in that area are on such drugs, according to a Department of Children and Families (DCF) study.
The drugs are not approved for use by young children. But doctors often prescribe them 'off-label,' for purposes for which the drugs have not been approved.
Gabriel Myers had been addled with Lexapro, Zyprexa and Symbyax — a drug cocktail no real parent would countenance. On April 15, 2010, Gabriel locked himself in the bathroom of his Margate foster home, coiled a shower hose around his neck and shocked Florida into . . . nothing. NOTHING!
HIS DEATH DID NOT CHANGE HOW THESE DRUGS ARE PRESCRIBED TO CHILDREN!
Gabriel’s doctor, Dr. Sohail Punjwani, said he did not recall Gabriel.
This statement sums up part of my problem with modern psychiatry today.
HOW COULD A DOCTOR WHO PRESCRIBED SUCH A DANGEROUS, UNTESTED MIXTURE OF DRUGS ON A SMALL CHILD NOT REMEMBER HIM?
“I don’t accept that the only way to reach a child who is 7 years
old is through psychotropic drugs,” said Florida Sen. Ronda Storm,
during hearings over Gabriel’s death. “I do not accept that.”
Punjwani settled a lawsuit in 2010 accusing him of
prescribing a toxic cocktail of psychotropic drugs to a 16-year-old
patient, who suffered a sudden heart attack and died. Punjwani settled
that case but admitted no wrongdoing.
NO ONE WAS PROSECUTED FOR THIS, NO ONE "ADMITTED WRONGDOING".It is clear that, throughout his placement in foster care, Gabriel Myers was no one's child. No individual or agency became a champion to ensure that his LIFE was safeguarded.
NO ONE HAS ENACTED ANY LAWS OR PROTOCOLS TO KEEP THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN1
Across America, doctors are putting foster children on powerful, mind-altering drugs at rates up to 13 times that of children in the general population. What’s more, doctors are prescribing foster children drugs at doses beyond what the Food and Drug Administration has approved, sometimes in potentially dangerous combinations, according to a new report by the federal Government Accountability Office.
“It’s just almost beyond comprehension,” said Sen. Thomas Carper, D-Del., who asked for the GAO investigation. “We want the doctors and nurses that are prescribing these medicines to look at their behavior and think and ask this question. Are we doing something wrong here?”
There have been very limited long-term studies on antipsychotics in children. And for drugs already on the market, the duration of the studies that were used to get FDA approval for children have been as short as three to six weeks.
ABC News interviewed a social worker now working in a state foster care system, who asked not to be identified.
“Every child that I saw was basically on some type of psychotropic medication,” the social worker told ABC News. “It’s much easier to medicate a child than it is to physically restrain them, than it is to pay $200 an hour to a therapist to talk through their problems with them.”
CARL JOSEPH WALKER, AGE 11
"WORDS CAN KILL"
Carl Joseph Walker, 11 committed suicide in April, 2009, after being relentlessly bullied in school for over 6 months.
Though Carl wasn't gay, other kids used that term to bully him.
"As was the case with Carl, you do not have to identify as gay to be attacked with anti-LGBT [Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender] language," Byard said. "From their earliest years on the school playground, students learn to use anti-LGBT language as the ultimate weapon to degrade their peers. In many cases, schools and teachers either ignore the behavior or don't know how to intervene."
"WORDS CAN KILL"
Carl Joseph Walker, 11 committed suicide in April, 2009, after being relentlessly bullied in school for over 6 months.
Though Carl wasn't gay, other kids used that term to bully him.
"As was the case with Carl, you do not have to identify as gay to be attacked with anti-LGBT [Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender] language," Byard said. "From their earliest years on the school playground, students learn to use anti-LGBT language as the ultimate weapon to degrade their peers. In many cases, schools and teachers either ignore the behavior or don't know how to intervene."
April 14, 2009
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/story?id=7328091#.Ual4Btj4KaM<<Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover was 11-- hardly old enough to know his sexuality and yet distraught enough to hang himself last week after school bullies repeatedly called him "gay."
[HIS MOTHER AND SISTER FOUND THE YOUNG MAN'S LIFELESS BODY HANGING BY AN EXTENSION CORD IN AN UPSTAIRS BEDROOM MINUTES BEFORE THEY WERE TO HAVE MET WITH SCHOOL OFFICIALS YET AGAIN ABOUT THE BULLYING.]
The Springfield, Mass., football player and Boy Scout was ruthlessly teased, despite his mother's pleas to the New Leadership Charter School to address the problem.
"There was no reason for the mother to believe he was gay," said Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network spokesman Daryl Presgraves. "It just happens he was someone his peers targeted, calling him, 'girlie,' 'gay' and 'fag.' According to the mother, it was a daily occurrence."
"When you are in elementary school, one of the first things you learn is the feeling of hurt when you are called 'gay' or 'fag,'" said Presgraves. "It doesn't matter if you are gay or straight. The term 'gay' has become synonymous with "uncool."
The National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center estimated that nearly 30 percent of American youth are either a bully or a target of bullying.
"Anecdotal data is increasingly strong that bullying is a major factor in kids' lives," she told ABCNews.com. "The risk is very real and it underscores the fact that these kids are absolutely helpless in terms of having adults they can turn to and who can protect them."
"I am determined for the rest of my life to advocate on behalf of students who are voiceless and silent," [Carl's mother] said.
"I have been homeless, but Carl and I made it through," said Mrs. Walker. "I was a victim of domestic violence, and we made it through. The one thing we couldn't get through was public school."
School officials did not return numerous calls for comment from ABCNews.com. >>
CARL WALKER, DEATH BY BULLYING, BY ABUSE OF HIS PEERS, WHICH DROVE HIM TO SUICIDE.
PLEASE BE AWARE: It is estimated that around 4.400 young people, teens and younger, commit suicide every year. That's up from about 4,100 in 2008. About 220 of those were kids aged 10 to 14.
That was up 50% from 2006.
For every completed suicide by youth, it is estimated that 100 to 200 attempts are made, many never reported.
About 10% of students grade 9-12 are reported to have attempted suicide at least once.
(11.5% of all females and 5.4% of all males).
IT IS NOT TRUE THAT THOSE WHO TALK ABOUT SUICIDE NEVER ACT!
TAKE ALL SUCH TALK SERIOUSLY!
5 CHILDREN DIE OF CHILD ABUSE EVERY SINGLE DAY IN AMERICA, AND EVERY 13 SECONDS ANOTHER CHILD JOINS THE RANKS OF THE ABUSED.
80% OF CHILD ABUSE IS CARRIED OUT BY PARENTS.
ABUSE AND NEGLECT OF AMERICAN CHILDREN HAS INCREASED 134% SINCE 1980, PHYSICAL ABUSE HAS INCREASED 84% IN THAT SAME TIME FRAME AND SEXUAL ABUSE IS UP 350% FROM 30 YEARS AGO AND CHILD NEGLECT IS UP 320%.
ALL RACES HAVE HISTORIES OF CHILD ABUSE.
48% of abused children are boys
52% of abused children are girls
45% of abused children are white race
22% of abused children are African American race
22% of abused children are Hispanic race
Every year 3.3 million NEW reports of child abuse are made in the United States involving nearly 6 million children (a report can include multiple children). The United States has the worst record of chil abuse in ALL industrialized nations – losing five children every day due to abuse-related deaths.
Approximately 80% of children that die from abuse are under the age of 4.
80% OF THOSE WHO DIE FROM ABUSE ARE UNDER 4 YEARS IN AGE.
THINK ABOUT THAT!
About 30% of abused and neglected children will later abuse their own children, continuing the horrible cycle of abuse.
[Long - Term Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect. Child Welfare Information Gateway.Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2006. Retrieved from http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/long_term_consequences.cfm]
Children whose parents abuse alcohol and other drugs are three times more likely to be abused and more than four times more likely to be neglected than children from families where druds and alcohol are not a problem.
Children who experience child abuse & neglect are 59% more likely to be arrested as a juvenile, 28% more likely to be arrested as an adult, and 30% more likely to commit violent crime. [ibid]
VERY, VERY IMPORTANT FOR PARENTS!
THE PHYSICAL SIGNS OF SEXUAL ABUSE:
~ ANY GENITAL IRRITATION OR TRAUMA, URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS, PAINFUL URINATION OR BOWEL MOVEMENTS, INCESSANT STOMACH ACHES, ABDOMINAL TENDERNESS, FREQUENT VOMITING.
~UNEXPLAINABLE BRUISES, ESPECIALLY OF THE INNER THIGHS, WAIST AREA, BUTTOCKS, WRISTS, FACE (ESPECIALLY THE MOUTH) OR ARMS.
MANY CHILDREN WHO ARE MOLESTED MAY SAY THEY 'FELL DOWN' OR 'RAN INTO SOMETHING'.
~BITE MARKS
~LACERATIONS/SCRATCHES ON SIDES, HIPS, LEGS, GENITAL AREA
~FRACTURES IN AREAS THAT WOULD NOT NORMALLY COME FROM PLAY.
~SKIN DISCOLORATION OR RASH IN GENITAL AREAS.
~NAIL-BITING OR ANY SELF-MUTILATION.
~UNEXPLAINED, SUDDEN CRYING OR TEMPER OUTBURSTS WHEN TOUCHED OR PUT IN A TIGHT SPACE.
~BECOMES DEMANDING, AGGRESSIVE, LOUD.
~FREQUENT NIGHTMARES OR NIGHT TERRORS.
~FEAR OF CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS OR NOT WANTING TO BE NEAR CERTAIN ADULTS OR OLDER CHILDREN.
~OVERLY WATCHFUL, NERVOUS, OR CONCERNED ABOUT "SOMETHING BAD" HAPPENING.
~OBVIOUS INJURIES OF ABUSE, LIKE HAND PRINTS ANYWHERE ON THE BODY, OR BURNS, WELTS, CUTS.
~WEARS LONG SLEEVES IN HOT WEATHER TO COVER BRUISES, CONTUSIONS.
~IS IN OBVIOUS PAIN WHEN MOVING, STANDING, OR SITTING NORMALLY.
~SUDDEN BED-WETTING
THIS SITE OFFERS EVEN MORE PHYSICAL SIGNS TO WATCH FOR:
By Vincent Iannelli, M.D.
https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/signs.cfm
EMOTIONAL/BEHAVIORAL SIGNS OF ABUSE
ANY SUDDEN CHANGES IN BEHAVIOR SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED BUT THESE MAY BE MOST OBVIOUS:
~AVOIDS CONTACT WITH OTHERS, RECLUSIVE.
~ALARMED OR DISTRAUGHT WHEN OTHER CHILDREN CRY.
~FLINCHES, CRIES OR BOLTS AT LOUD, OR SUDDEN NOISES.
~SUDDENLY DOESN'T LIKE TO BE TOUCHED.
~DOESN'T WANT TO GO HOME OR TO CERTAIN ADULTS' OR OLDER CHILDRENS' HOMES.
~BECOMES EXTREMELY SHY ABOUT BEING SEEN UNCLOTHED AT DOCTORS APPOINTMENTS, GYM SHOWERS, BATH TIME.
~SEEMS OBVIOUSLY OVERLY FRIGHTENED OF PARENTS OR OTHER SPECIFIC PEOPLE.
~MAY SKIP SCHOOL, OR SPORTS, OR PUT OFF GOING HOME, WHEREVER THE ABUSE MAY BE TAKING PLACE.
~HAS THE SAME "PAT" ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ABOUT INJURIES.
~DEVELOPS A QUICK TEMPER OR SUDDENLY FINDS IT HARD TO GET ALONG WITH OTHERS.
~SUDDENLY SHOWS NO RESPECT OF ANYONE, BECOMES CRUEL OR CALLOUS.
~"ACTS OUT" ON SIBLINGS, PETS, PLAYMATES IN SEXUAL WAYS.
~SUDDEN USE OF PROFANE LANGUAGE.
~IS EITHER OVERLY COMPLIANT/SUBSERVIENT/EASILY DOMINATED OR REFUSES TO DO ANYTHING ASKED. BOTH ARE COPING TECHNIQUES FOR ABUSED CHILDREN.
~RUNS AWAY FROM HOME, SCHOOL, ETC, OR SPEAKS OF WANTING TO RUN AWAY
~REPEATEDLY MENTIONS THAT SOMEONE IS "MEAN" OR "SCARY".
THINGS TO WATCH FOR IN PARENTS:
~Shows little concern for the child
~Denies the existence of—or blames the child for—the child's problems in school or at home
~Asks teachers or other caregivers to use harsh or unusual physical discipline if the child misbehaves
~Sees the child as entirely bad, worthless, or burdensome
~Demands a level of physical or academic performance the child cannot achieve
~Looks primarily to the child for care, attention, and satisfaction of emotional needs
~Speaks ill of the child, reiterates what a liar or troublemaker the child is, calls the child names or paints him/her in a bad light.
~Changes doctors frequently or doesn't take the child to doctors even when he/she is sick or injured.
SIGNS TO LOOK FOR IN PARENT/CHILD RELATIONSHIPS:
~Parent is clingy, always touching the child, anxious or corrective when the child speaks
~Rarely touch or completely AVOID touching each other or looking at each other
~ Express that their relationship is mostly or entirely negative
~State that they do not like each other
SIGNS OF CHILD NEGLECT
Consider the possibility of neglect when the child:
~ Is frequently absent from school
~ Begs or steals food or money, seems too thin
~Lacks obviously needed medical or dental care, immunizations, or glasses
~Is consistently dirty and has severe body odor
~Lacks sufficient clothing for the weather
~Abuses alcohol or other drugs
~States that there is no one at home to provide care
OF COURSE NOT EVERY CHILD WHO EXHIBITS THE ABOVE SIGNS AND CLUES WILL BE A VICTIM OF CHILD ABUSE OR MOLESTATION.
80% OF CHILD ABUSE IS CARRIED OUT BY PARENTS.
ABUSE AND NEGLECT OF AMERICAN CHILDREN HAS INCREASED 134% SINCE 1980, PHYSICAL ABUSE HAS INCREASED 84% IN THAT SAME TIME FRAME AND SEXUAL ABUSE IS UP 350% FROM 30 YEARS AGO AND CHILD NEGLECT IS UP 320%.
ALL RACES HAVE HISTORIES OF CHILD ABUSE.
48% of abused children are boys
52% of abused children are girls
45% of abused children are white race
22% of abused children are African American race
22% of abused children are Hispanic race
Every year 3.3 million NEW reports of child abuse are made in the United States involving nearly 6 million children (a report can include multiple children). The United States has the worst record of chil abuse in ALL industrialized nations – losing five children every day due to abuse-related deaths.
Approximately 80% of children that die from abuse are under the age of 4.
80% OF THOSE WHO DIE FROM ABUSE ARE UNDER 4 YEARS IN AGE.
THINK ABOUT THAT!
About 30% of abused and neglected children will later abuse their own children, continuing the horrible cycle of abuse.
[Long - Term Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect. Child Welfare Information Gateway.Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2006. Retrieved from http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/long_term_consequences.cfm]
Children whose parents abuse alcohol and other drugs are three times more likely to be abused and more than four times more likely to be neglected than children from families where druds and alcohol are not a problem.
Children who experience child abuse & neglect are 59% more likely to be arrested as a juvenile, 28% more likely to be arrested as an adult, and 30% more likely to commit violent crime. [ibid]
VERY, VERY IMPORTANT FOR PARENTS!
THE PHYSICAL SIGNS OF SEXUAL ABUSE:
~ ANY GENITAL IRRITATION OR TRAUMA, URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS, PAINFUL URINATION OR BOWEL MOVEMENTS, INCESSANT STOMACH ACHES, ABDOMINAL TENDERNESS, FREQUENT VOMITING.
~UNEXPLAINABLE BRUISES, ESPECIALLY OF THE INNER THIGHS, WAIST AREA, BUTTOCKS, WRISTS, FACE (ESPECIALLY THE MOUTH) OR ARMS.
MANY CHILDREN WHO ARE MOLESTED MAY SAY THEY 'FELL DOWN' OR 'RAN INTO SOMETHING'.
~BITE MARKS
~LACERATIONS/SCRATCHES ON SIDES, HIPS, LEGS, GENITAL AREA
~FRACTURES IN AREAS THAT WOULD NOT NORMALLY COME FROM PLAY.
~SKIN DISCOLORATION OR RASH IN GENITAL AREAS.
~NAIL-BITING OR ANY SELF-MUTILATION.
~UNEXPLAINED, SUDDEN CRYING OR TEMPER OUTBURSTS WHEN TOUCHED OR PUT IN A TIGHT SPACE.
~BECOMES DEMANDING, AGGRESSIVE, LOUD.
~FREQUENT NIGHTMARES OR NIGHT TERRORS.
~FEAR OF CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS OR NOT WANTING TO BE NEAR CERTAIN ADULTS OR OLDER CHILDREN.
~OVERLY WATCHFUL, NERVOUS, OR CONCERNED ABOUT "SOMETHING BAD" HAPPENING.
~OBVIOUS INJURIES OF ABUSE, LIKE HAND PRINTS ANYWHERE ON THE BODY, OR BURNS, WELTS, CUTS.
~WEARS LONG SLEEVES IN HOT WEATHER TO COVER BRUISES, CONTUSIONS.
~IS IN OBVIOUS PAIN WHEN MOVING, STANDING, OR SITTING NORMALLY.
~SUDDEN BED-WETTING
THIS SITE OFFERS EVEN MORE PHYSICAL SIGNS TO WATCH FOR:
By Vincent Iannelli, M.D.
https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/signs.cfm
EMOTIONAL/BEHAVIORAL SIGNS OF ABUSE
ANY SUDDEN CHANGES IN BEHAVIOR SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED BUT THESE MAY BE MOST OBVIOUS:
~AVOIDS CONTACT WITH OTHERS, RECLUSIVE.
~ALARMED OR DISTRAUGHT WHEN OTHER CHILDREN CRY.
~FLINCHES, CRIES OR BOLTS AT LOUD, OR SUDDEN NOISES.
~SUDDENLY DOESN'T LIKE TO BE TOUCHED.
~DOESN'T WANT TO GO HOME OR TO CERTAIN ADULTS' OR OLDER CHILDRENS' HOMES.
~BECOMES EXTREMELY SHY ABOUT BEING SEEN UNCLOTHED AT DOCTORS APPOINTMENTS, GYM SHOWERS, BATH TIME.
~SEEMS OBVIOUSLY OVERLY FRIGHTENED OF PARENTS OR OTHER SPECIFIC PEOPLE.
~MAY SKIP SCHOOL, OR SPORTS, OR PUT OFF GOING HOME, WHEREVER THE ABUSE MAY BE TAKING PLACE.
~HAS THE SAME "PAT" ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ABOUT INJURIES.
~DEVELOPS A QUICK TEMPER OR SUDDENLY FINDS IT HARD TO GET ALONG WITH OTHERS.
~SUDDENLY SHOWS NO RESPECT OF ANYONE, BECOMES CRUEL OR CALLOUS.
~"ACTS OUT" ON SIBLINGS, PETS, PLAYMATES IN SEXUAL WAYS.
~SUDDEN USE OF PROFANE LANGUAGE.
~IS EITHER OVERLY COMPLIANT/SUBSERVIENT/EASILY DOMINATED OR REFUSES TO DO ANYTHING ASKED. BOTH ARE COPING TECHNIQUES FOR ABUSED CHILDREN.
~RUNS AWAY FROM HOME, SCHOOL, ETC, OR SPEAKS OF WANTING TO RUN AWAY
~REPEATEDLY MENTIONS THAT SOMEONE IS "MEAN" OR "SCARY".
THINGS TO WATCH FOR IN PARENTS:
~Shows little concern for the child
~Denies the existence of—or blames the child for—the child's problems in school or at home
~Asks teachers or other caregivers to use harsh or unusual physical discipline if the child misbehaves
~Sees the child as entirely bad, worthless, or burdensome
~Demands a level of physical or academic performance the child cannot achieve
~Looks primarily to the child for care, attention, and satisfaction of emotional needs
~Speaks ill of the child, reiterates what a liar or troublemaker the child is, calls the child names or paints him/her in a bad light.
~Changes doctors frequently or doesn't take the child to doctors even when he/she is sick or injured.
SIGNS TO LOOK FOR IN PARENT/CHILD RELATIONSHIPS:
~Parent is clingy, always touching the child, anxious or corrective when the child speaks
~Rarely touch or completely AVOID touching each other or looking at each other
~ Express that their relationship is mostly or entirely negative
~State that they do not like each other
SIGNS OF CHILD NEGLECT
Consider the possibility of neglect when the child:
~ Is frequently absent from school
~ Begs or steals food or money, seems too thin
~Lacks obviously needed medical or dental care, immunizations, or glasses
~Is consistently dirty and has severe body odor
~Lacks sufficient clothing for the weather
~Abuses alcohol or other drugs
~States that there is no one at home to provide care
OF COURSE NOT EVERY CHILD WHO EXHIBITS THE ABOVE SIGNS AND CLUES WILL BE A VICTIM OF CHILD ABUSE OR MOLESTATION.
OF COURSE NOT EVERY PARENT WITH A CHILD WHO DOES SHOW SUCH SIGNS IS THE GUILTY PERSON, THE PERPETRATOR.
BUT SOMEWHERE, RIGHT NOW, CHILDRREN ARE SUFFERING THE SAME THINGS OUR FOUR SEEN HERE SUFFERED, AND, LIKE THOSE FOUR, SURELY ARE HOPING SOMEONE, ANYONE COMES TO HELP THEM, TO SAVE THEM.
WHEN NO ONE COMES, WHEN NO ONE HELPS, WHEN THEY THEMSELVES GIVE UP HOPE, SOMETIMES THEY SEE SUICIDE AS THEIR ONLY WAY OUT OF THE NIGHTMARE.
REMEMBER THIS, REMEMBER THESE CHILDREN....WATCH AND NEVER BE AFRAID TO HELP A CHILD. IF YOU DO NOTHING BUT CALL POLICE, CALL THEM OFTEN IF THINGS DON'T SEEM IMPROVED, CALL THE STATE TROOPERS, THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY, WHOMEVER YOU HAVE TO CALL IF LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OR AGENCIES DON'T ADDRESS THE SITUATION IN A TIMELY MANNER.
SOURCES:
~http://cachouston.org/child-sexual-abuse-facts/
~https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/signs.cfm
~http://www.parentsformeganslaw.org/public/statistics_childSexualAbuse.html
~http://pediatrics.about.com/od/childabuse/a/05_abuse_stats.htm
BUT SOMEWHERE, RIGHT NOW, CHILDRREN ARE SUFFERING THE SAME THINGS OUR FOUR SEEN HERE SUFFERED, AND, LIKE THOSE FOUR, SURELY ARE HOPING SOMEONE, ANYONE COMES TO HELP THEM, TO SAVE THEM.
WHEN NO ONE COMES, WHEN NO ONE HELPS, WHEN THEY THEMSELVES GIVE UP HOPE, SOMETIMES THEY SEE SUICIDE AS THEIR ONLY WAY OUT OF THE NIGHTMARE.
REMEMBER THIS, REMEMBER THESE CHILDREN....WATCH AND NEVER BE AFRAID TO HELP A CHILD. IF YOU DO NOTHING BUT CALL POLICE, CALL THEM OFTEN IF THINGS DON'T SEEM IMPROVED, CALL THE STATE TROOPERS, THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY, WHOMEVER YOU HAVE TO CALL IF LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OR AGENCIES DON'T ADDRESS THE SITUATION IN A TIMELY MANNER.
SOURCES:
~http://cachouston.org/child-sexual-abuse-facts/
~https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/signs.cfm
~http://www.parentsformeganslaw.org/public/statistics_childSexualAbuse.html
~http://pediatrics.about.com/od/childabuse/a/05_abuse_stats.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment