Student Handout

  1. What are the four major types of child abuse per the California State Law?
    • Physical - bodily injury inflicted by other than accidental means on a child, including willful cruelty, unjustifiable punishment, or corporal punishment
    • Sexual - victimization of a child by sexual activities including touching in private parts
    • Emotional - nonphysical mistreatment, resulting in disturbed behavior by the child, such as severe withdrawal or hyperactivity. Emotional abuse includes willfully causing any child to suffer, inflicting mental suffering, or endangering a child's emotional well-being
    • Neglect - treatment which threatens the child's health or welfare, including malnutrition
  2. What is abuse?
    • When someone you are supposed to trust breaks that trust by hurting you or doing things to you that are against the law.
  3. What is discipline?
    • When someone does something wrong and is punished for it.  Spanking is OK if reasonable and age-appropriate to the buttocks where there is no evidence of serious physical injury.
  4. Instead of spanking, what discipline action can be done?
    • Time out, taking away privileges, giving extra chores, grounding, no TV, no computer, putting a "No" on the "No List" so that when the child asks for something later on the answer is "No".
  5. What law governs us that says child abuse is wrong?
    • California State Law.
  6. Does a family's culture affect the law?
    • No.  Everyone living in California has to follow the law on abuse.
  7. What is “Break the Silence” especially for sexual abuse?
    • When a child being sexually abused tries to get help by telling an adult other than the abuser.
  8. What is “Break the Cycle” especially for physical abuse?
    • When a parent disciplines a child by means other than hitting or hurting the child that is against the law.
  9. Whose fault is it when an adult abuses a child?
    • The adults.
  10. If a child says it is OK for an adult to touch them in private parts - is it OK?
    • Never.  It is against the law for one child to touch the private parts of another child.
  11. What do sexual abusers tell kids to keep them quiet?
    • They use threats against them or threaten to hurt other members of the family.
    • They lie about how they can all get into trouble.
    • They lie that it is OK.
    • They give them special treats.
  12. Who can be child abusers?
    • Anyone.  Parents, relatives, brothers, uncles, priests, teachers, and politicians.
  13. How does child abuse affect kids?
    • Low grades, withdrawn, overly outgoing and aggressive, bad behavior, bad dreams, wetting the bed, and feeling bad about themselves, typically for the rest of their life.
  14. Who are the best people to tell about abuse?
    • Teacher, counselor, nurse, parents, relatives, hotline resources.
  15. What can happen when a child lies about abuse?
    • They can be arrested.  Example of the three girls who lied about a homeless person molesting them on their way home, or Martha Stewart spending 7 months in jail for lying to the police.
  16. What is a good hotline number to call?
    • The Los Angeles County Child Abuse Hotline number 800-540-4000.

References:

  1. Legislative Analysts' Office
  2. Welfare and Institutions Code Section 300