Child Abuse Case Studies
The 70-year-old Asian-American woman
The 70-year-old Asian-American woman has been having severe arguments with her daughter, and she reports that her daughter slapped her giving her a black eye. She does not want this information disclosed because she depends on her daughter for care and support and she fears it may make the situation worse. According to Henion and Cho (2012), the Asian community associates violence with a sense of fear and shame. Cultural barriers for the victims often include language barriers, unavailability of culturally sensitive services and feelings of isolation. It is imperative to take this into consideration when analyzing the situation in order to protect her from further harm. The 70-year-old lady is also unable to take care of herself, having to depend on the daughter for basic needs such as food, shelter and clothing. Therefore, just like a child, she also needs to be protected from neglect and abuse. The California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA), explains that abusers lack the required internal control and they need numerous external controls until they can prove that they can restrain themselves (California Department of Social Services, 2003).
CANRA also states that a report needs to be made when there is suspicion that children might be at risk (California Department of Social Services, 2003). In this scenario, the daughter abuses her 70-year-old mother, which indicates that she is capable of abusing her children, if she has any. Moreover, the fact...
Thus the best course of action is to submit an abuse report to the police or the concerned welfare services on behalf of the Asian-American woman. The seriousness of the allegations and the daughter's statement will be used to determine the appropriate level of intervention.
Case 2: The 15-year-old Hispanic-American girl
The 18-year-old senior boy is having sexual relations with the 15-year-old Hispanic-American girl. CANRA states that child abuse and neglect includes sexual abuse, physical abuse, unjustified punishment, cruelty, and injury (California Department of Social Services, 2003). The law of California defines sexual abuse as sexual exploitation or sexual assault. CANRA further explains that child sexual abuse refers to sexual assault and exploitation of any individual under the age of 18. According to the California law, therefore, the 18-year-old is abusing the 15-year-old sexually.
The definition of child abuse for Hispanics and Americans differ considerably. While Americans protect all children under the age of 18, Hispanics may view the 15-year-old as mature adults and, hence, it may not be termed as sexual abuse. However, CANRA states that some actions that may be acceptable in native culture are unacceptable within the American culture, and they constitute child abuse and must be reported. Moreover, the abuse has had an adverse effect on the girl because she has recently become moody, which…
