Abuse Matters

Spanking as "training" or physical abuse?

The world is making progress by becoming aware of spanking as a form of physical abuse. On May 19, 1996, Italy's Supreme Count ruled that corporal punishment is no longer an acceptable way to discipline children and proceeded to uphold the conviction of a man who spanked his 10-year-old daughter with a belt.

The case began in 1990 when a girl in a small northern town went to police and complained that her father hit her with his belt for doing poorly at school. The man was sentenced to 20 days in jail, though it was unclear if he would have to serve it as, in Italy, light sentences for first convictions are often suspended.

"Punitive measures whether administered by police, teachers, spouses or parents have well-known standard effects:
(1) escape -- education has its own name for that: truancy,
(2) counterattack -- vandalism on schools and attacks on teachers,
(3) apathy -- a sullen do-nothing withdrawal. The more violent the punishment, the more serious the by-products."

B. F. Skinner, Ph.D., author, Professor of Psychology,
 Harvard

Making a point by inflicting physical pain is undesirable, and it is a poor message to send. An enlightening overview by "Parents and Teachers Against Violence in Education" (PTAVE) called Plain Talk about Spanking stresses the ill affects of spanking. And, Effects of and Alternatives to Spanking is a beneficial read for people everywhere.

I would point out that in cases when a child is not getting enough love from their parents they may do things that will bring about a spank just to get the attention they are not getting in a positive manner. Also, some parents would define a child as anyone who is under 18. Then they would proceed to spank a teenager. In some cases the rational is do to extreme religious beliefs, though the believer in that same religion in Europe would only spank up to age 16 due to the European definition of adulthood as age 16. In cases where teenagers are being spanked, I think it is clearly physical abuse and should be dealt with as such by any person aware of it.

It is a role of the dice as to what state care for abused youth are like. Foster homes have all kinds of kids coming through and would probably come on with a set of hard line rules that must be followed to get along. There is some risk of sexual abuse in Foster Care because a small percent will sexually abuse, especially the younger, more-helpless child. Also, a female is probably more at risk.

However, an alternative home like Childhelp in California is a major step in breaking the chain of abuse, and another option for abused children might be to go to a safe shelter like Covenant House as the people running the shelter are good religious people. Although, they will (and legally must) identify a minor and notify the parents. If there is no evidence of abuse, then the minor would no doubt be returned home, except maybe in the case of the parents rejecting the return. If a minor has been physically beaten by the parents, then their policy is to allow the minor to stay. However, if the abusive parents went to a counselor and become "changed," They might convinced a counselor to help them return a minor through the court system. Even the good people at the shelter might want to assume the best and have faith that the parents would provide a good home.

Is there a way a minor can assume the rights of the majority?

Only in special cases in which the court will emancipate a minor, but a minor must prove that he/she is able to assume the responsibilities of adulthood by having the opportunity, and desire to work for a living. Also, he/she would need the services of a lawyer, if one or both parents do not support the idea of emancipation. A lawyer might not be necessary if both parents are in agreement as is the case when young movie stars are emancipated so that they can work longer hours.

As far as leaving without dual parental permission, look at it this way. If you are not being physically abused, now, would you accept that risk of physical violence by venturing into the world alone? Note, if you have been physically abused you can seek state care. And, there are emergency shelters that exist for youth in crisis.

Note, the Job Corps and the military are a few of the good structured programs available to youth age 16-24. In addition, there may even be another opportunity for young people of all ages, who are willing to get a job to help support themselves in an alternative home. See emergency shelters under Links for unique programs like YOUTH ON THEIR OWN/YOTO. The military, however, offers a 16-17 year old a more truly successful opportunity. In the military a person can be a shining success in life, and lets face it you deserve that. It's best not to throw the baby out with the bath water by unwisely taking out alone. Otherwise, would you be throwing away life for someone who does not deserve to cause such negative consequences?

The only hope of making it in a non-structured system with any safety would be to get together with a group of young people and rent a house. There are young people who have someone who has reached 18 rent a house, and they pool their money to pay the bills. We often here of illegal immigrants taking jobs away from American workers, and these jobs (labor-intensive, poverty-insuring, and crime-threatening) are available to youth. However, it is tough for anyone to go out on their own even when everything is going for them, so it would probably be even harder to leave home at an early age into a non-structured, potentially hazardous world. And, a person should not think crime will not happen to them (if other people know they are vulnerable, and they are in a low income area) as you can look no further then human nature, in something as small as a sport, to see how people will cheat to take advantage of others.

You may want to participate in a web-based discussion forum whose members discuss youth rights/youth independence issues described above. Also, this is a good place to ask a question, or interact with the like minded.

The U.S. Department of Labor gives minimum ages for employment and work hours for minors.

For a nice bundle of information with pointers to resources in book form on the prevention of child abuse, ask for your free copy of "You Can Prevent Child Abuse."
write to:

National Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse

332 S. Michigan Ave.

Chicago, IL. 60604

Click here for a list of youth Helpline numbers.

Also, find out how you can help prevent the death of every third baby.

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