Recent research shows that more than 100,000 children are abused, neglected or abused every year in the Netherlands alone. This article lists and describes the different forms of abuse. The Youth Care Act provides a clear definition of child abuse, child abuse consists of various components.
Youth Care Act
The Youth Care Act provides the following definition of child abuse in the Netherlands: ,Child abuse is any form of threatening or violent interaction of a physical, psychological or sexual nature for a minor that the parents or other persons towards whom the minor is in a relationship of dependency or lack of freedom state, actively or passively, which causes or threatens to cause serious harm to the minor in the form of physical harm or mental disorders. This also includes neglect and deprivation of essential assistance, medical care and education.,
Psychological neglect
It is psychological or emotional neglect if a child does not receive the necessary attention. For example, ignoring a child, showing no interest in his environment or leaving him to his fate, which prevents the child from developing mentally and socially in a healthy way.
Psychological abuse
With psychological abuse, the child is regularly exposed to verbal aggression. For example, making one feel inferior or belittling the child. This also includes placing too high demands on the child, for example by requiring him or her to study more than is healthy in order to perform better. Abusing loyalty to parents also falls under child abuse.
Loyalty abuse
When a parent or caregiver abuses the dependent child’s obvious emotional devotion and loyalty by making the child do things that are not beneficial to him. For example, by using the child for a partner conflict, especially when a parent abuses the child’s love and loyalty to ensure that the other parent is seen in a bad light.
Physical neglect
In this form of neglect, the child does not receive sufficient care in the form of healthy food, appropriate and clean clothing, the necessary hygiene and medical care when necessary.
Physical abuse
If physical violence is used against a child, this is referred to as physical abuse. This can mean hitting, kicking or pinching, but also burning, dropping or tying up the child.
Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse refers to any act of a sexual nature between a minor and a person in authority. This can include sexually explicit touching, sexual assault, rape, child prostitution, but also child pornography.
Perpetrators
Parents
It turns out that mothers abuse their children more often than fathers. This could be explained by the fact that mothers spend a longer time with their children on average. And that it is less easy to correct misbehavior by mothers because they are often alone with their children and there are therefore no third parties who could correct them.
Stepparents
The risk of stepparents abusing their stepchildren is considerably higher. This is partly because many stepfamily situations take place at the bottom of society. It is often women who have children without being married by a man who abuses them, after which she leaves him and starts dating the same kind of man. There is a good chance that this man will abuse not only his wife but also the stepchildren.
Single-parent families
Of the families in the Netherlands, 14.9% are single-parent families, and of the reported children, 37.5% live in a single-parent family. Most single-parent families are mother families.
Family members
Perpetrators can also include siblings, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins.
By a third party
There are also perpetrators who do not belong to the family. These are often people on whom these children depend. Perpetrators on whom children depend are, for example, teachers at schools or sports clubs, the babysitter or the supervisor at a holiday camp.
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