“Is it my fault?” she cries as they lead her away, handcuffed and
tearful.
Right now there is a child out there who is thinking this same
thought, as they huddle in a ball in the corner, as the blows rain down on their
frail little forms. Child abuse is happening at an alarming rate today. Children
are being abused, even killed by those who are supposed to care for them. The
consequences of abusing a child reach far into every crevice of the world.
A child is raised in a dysfunctional, abusive environment. He is
beaten and put down from the day he is brought home from the hospital. This is
what he grows up believing is normal. He learns to fear adults and authority. He
is taught that he is worthless. He eventually leaves or is kicked out of that
house and finds his way to the street where he continues to follow this pattern
of abuse. He is easily angered. He strikes out when he is faced with a difficult
situation. He does not know how to react without anger and violence. He lashes
out and hurts someone. That person dies from his injuries. “Is
it my fault?”he thinks as the sheriffs take him away.
A little girl craves attention from her mommy. She doesn’t get
it. She does get attention from her mommy’s new boyfriend, though. She gets
presents when she makes him happy. She learns from the tender age of 5 years old
that all she has to do is smile really cute and do what the nice man says and
she can have any treat she wants. As she gets older she is given money for
pleasing him and his friends. One day, she realizes this is not normal. She is
confused and scared. “Is it my
fault?” she says to her teddy bear as she tucks him in her backpack
before sneaking out the back door. She feels so ashamed and dirty inside. She
runs away from her pain and confusion, only to find that she now has to support
herself in the only way she knows how. In desperation, she finds escape from
this reality by picking up a needle and filling her veins with the hypnotic
effects of heroin. “Is it my
fault?”she whispers years later as she lay dying in a downtown hospital
room, her body emaciated from AIDS and many years of drug
abuse.
“I wish you were never born!” a young teenage mother screams to
her tiny son who lay helpless in a crib. She picks up a cup and throws it across
the room, shards of glass land beside the child’s trembling hand. In her mind
she has a faint hint of a memory…her mother’s voice…so many years before…same
anger…same words…. She picks up a phone to call the social worker that came to
visit her in the hospital. The one who told her about her choices…Adoption…
“Is it my fault?”she screams
and a tear slowly rolls down her cheek and she watches her baby boy as he is
carried out of her dingy hotel
room.
The consequences of child abuse reach far in the world today.
The addict on the corner selling crack cocaine and heroin, the hooker on the
stroll waving at the men, and the man shackled in the courtroom facing the death
penalty or a life sentence. One thing they all have in common is they were all abused as children.
They all have demons they want to escape from. They all need
help.
Something must be done to stop this abuse. We need to recognize
those who need help and be willing to give this help. Innocent lives are lost as
far too often we ignore those who are hurting and still running from their pain.
Child victims grow up into adult victims and the cycle continues. Don’t let any
more innocent lives fall through the cracks of the system. Help stop child abuse
today. Please…
tearful.
Right now there is a child out there who is thinking this same
thought, as they huddle in a ball in the corner, as the blows rain down on their
frail little forms. Child abuse is happening at an alarming rate today. Children
are being abused, even killed by those who are supposed to care for them. The
consequences of abusing a child reach far into every crevice of the world.
A child is raised in a dysfunctional, abusive environment. He is
beaten and put down from the day he is brought home from the hospital. This is
what he grows up believing is normal. He learns to fear adults and authority. He
is taught that he is worthless. He eventually leaves or is kicked out of that
house and finds his way to the street where he continues to follow this pattern
of abuse. He is easily angered. He strikes out when he is faced with a difficult
situation. He does not know how to react without anger and violence. He lashes
out and hurts someone. That person dies from his injuries. “Is
it my fault?”he thinks as the sheriffs take him away.
A little girl craves attention from her mommy. She doesn’t get
it. She does get attention from her mommy’s new boyfriend, though. She gets
presents when she makes him happy. She learns from the tender age of 5 years old
that all she has to do is smile really cute and do what the nice man says and
she can have any treat she wants. As she gets older she is given money for
pleasing him and his friends. One day, she realizes this is not normal. She is
confused and scared. “Is it my
fault?” she says to her teddy bear as she tucks him in her backpack
before sneaking out the back door. She feels so ashamed and dirty inside. She
runs away from her pain and confusion, only to find that she now has to support
herself in the only way she knows how. In desperation, she finds escape from
this reality by picking up a needle and filling her veins with the hypnotic
effects of heroin. “Is it my
fault?”she whispers years later as she lay dying in a downtown hospital
room, her body emaciated from AIDS and many years of drug
abuse.
“I wish you were never born!” a young teenage mother screams to
her tiny son who lay helpless in a crib. She picks up a cup and throws it across
the room, shards of glass land beside the child’s trembling hand. In her mind
she has a faint hint of a memory…her mother’s voice…so many years before…same
anger…same words…. She picks up a phone to call the social worker that came to
visit her in the hospital. The one who told her about her choices…Adoption…
“Is it my fault?”she screams
and a tear slowly rolls down her cheek and she watches her baby boy as he is
carried out of her dingy hotel
room.
The consequences of child abuse reach far in the world today.
The addict on the corner selling crack cocaine and heroin, the hooker on the
stroll waving at the men, and the man shackled in the courtroom facing the death
penalty or a life sentence. One thing they all have in common is they were all abused as children.
They all have demons they want to escape from. They all need
help.
Something must be done to stop this abuse. We need to recognize
those who need help and be willing to give this help. Innocent lives are lost as
far too often we ignore those who are hurting and still running from their pain.
Child victims grow up into adult victims and the cycle continues. Don’t let any
more innocent lives fall through the cracks of the system. Help stop child abuse
today. Please…