Our Ethical Duty to Prevent Child Abuse Essay -- Violence Against Chil

Beating children, chronically belittling them, using them for sexual gratification, or depriving them of the basic necessities of life are acts that cannot be permitted in a civilized society. Tolerating child abuse denies the worth of children as human beings. Each of us has a moral obligation to turn in a child abuser. In the United States, teachers are told to report child abuse to the Department of Community Services because the department has the responsibility and legal mandate to insure a child's safety, care, and welfare (Bender et al. 1). Why must this responsibility be separate among people who live in the same city and care for these children? The Department of Community Services (DCS) should not have to be concerned with the moral responsibility of protecting a child or doing everything correctly as to not violate a law. They should only have to be watching out for these children and find ways to stop child abuse. This needs to change by building a real community where everyone can feel active, involved, and as though they are making a difference. The presence of child abuse goes back as far as history can remember. It was present in such societies as Ancient Egypt and Rome. We remember these societies as being great and prosperous. On the down side child abuse was very common, and mostly by the elite who had the power and the gold. We also have cases of child abuse in the Church. And when the case of the child is over the priest is just sent away to another city to preach, with the chance of the abuse happening again. People need to speak out to stop this "higher Power" from getting away with such a hurtful crime (Pride 1). "The Social service ... ...ave no future if our children are treated worthlessly. Community is a big key here. And community needs to come together and fight against child abuse. Protection of children from harm is not just an ethical duty; it is a matter of national survival. Works Cited Bender, et al. Child Abuse-Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego CA, Green haven Press Inc., 2004. Jackson, Valerie. Racism and Child Protection-The Black Experience of Child Sexual Abuse. London: Cassell Press, 2011. Kalichman, Seth C. Mandated Reporting of Suspected Child Abuse, Ethics, Law, and Policy. Washington DC: APA, 2005. Pride, Mary. The Child Abuse Industry. Illinois: Crossway Books, 2009. http://www.alex.edfac.usyd.edu.au/LocalResources/DepartPol/Childprotect/Child%20prot%20html#index. Roystone, Jennifer. All of our Children. 2008. http://www.vcuethics.org/