Ashley Dunn
Mina Smudja
Rosemary Watts
Victoria Janik
Shannon Harris
Leah Yusuf
Stacey Dawkins
1. Art
Therapy
2. Physical
Abuse
3. Interview
with a Police Officer
4. Interview
with a Children’s Aid Worker about Foster Parents
5. Interview
with a Victim
6. Top
Six places to seek help
7. Child
Abuse Quiz
8. References
Imagine This/ My Wish
Imagine
not even born and not being able to breathe,
Imagine
being robbed of a normal mind and of a normal tongue,
Imagine
trying to be good with no acknowledgement,
Imagine
being treated like an unwanted piece of furniture,
Imagine
being hurt with words every day of your life,
Imagine
being ignored and left with a mechanical babysitter,
Imagine
being sent away,
Imagine
being wanted back just because you are a possession,
Imagine
being hurt by someone you know,
Imagine
that you are expected to just forget that hurt,
Imagine
being kept away from those who want to help you,
Imagine
being a pawn in a game,
Imagine
that those who gave you life are those who are playing the game,
Imagine
that you are ten years old and you are imagining my life.
I
could never imagine such a life,
I
wish that I could help you,
I
wish that I could give you a family deserving of such a good child,
I
wish that I could see you everyday and tell you how good you are,
I
wish that I could tell you that you are worthy of everything good in this
world,
I
wish that I could hurt the one that hurt you,
I
wish that I could make those who gave you life realise what they are doing to
you,
I
wish that your world were a better place,
I
almost wish that you were never born.
For J. Written by Leah Yusuf
What is Art Therapy?
By
providing a safe and non-threatening environment, the therapist invites the
individual to express their feelings through a variety of art media. The goal
is for the client to better understand themselves through self-exploration and
shared interpretation of their own art. The artwork can be spontaneous but may
also be directed by the therapist (from www.crosscreekcounseling.com).
Why Art Therapy is Helpful to Abused Children
The creative arts
are a powerful way for children who have suffered the trauma of abuse, neglect
and homelessness to express their innermost feelings.
Oftentimes,
children who have experienced abuse have many conflicting feelings at the same
time anger, fear, shame, sadness. Expressing these emotions through the
creative arts is a safe way for children to show how they feel.
According to a
study conducted by the British Columbia School of Art Therapy, the arts are
crucial to the healing of abused children.
·
Children are comfortable and fluent with art.
·
Creative art expression enhances self-esteem through mastery over
media.
·
Art allows a child the distance needed to build trust with an
adult.
·
Art accesses creative energy.
·
Art heals through the child's increased ability to control self
and media.
·
Art provides a safe outlet for expression of regressive impulses,
anger, and other difficult feelings.
·
Art allows for expression and the release of nonverbal feelings
and information.
·
The art process promotes insight and reduces defensiveness.
Some children have
no language to describe their thoughts and feelings; visual expression offers a
greater range of effective vocabulary than is possible through verbalization
(from www.freeartsaz.org).
How It Has Proven Effective with Child Abuse Survivors
Art therapy has
been used for a number of years on the treatment of abused children and
adults. Hanney
and Kozlowska (2002) used drawings to create a story
book in their family therapy sessions.
They found that creating drawings decreased the child’s anxiety and
increased their sense of control. The
child was able to express trauma related feelings, and the therapist was able
to clarify any erroneous beliefs the child may have held. Plus, it promoted empathy and understanding
by family members.
When a child is
abused, especially when they are very young, they store their memories visually
and can not access them verbally. Art
therapy allows the child to express their memories, and discuss them. It also enables them to create distance
between the painful content of the art and their self image (Hanney and Kozlowska, 2002;
Howard 1990).
Art therapy can be
used with individual or group therapy.
In using art in a group setting individuals create their own
pieces. They then interrupt their
picture and share their stories with the group.
This helps to develop and strengthen peer support (Bamgbose,
2002).
Individually art
therapy can help the child build trust and rapport with the therapist. It also gives the child “a non-threatening,
non-verbal conduit for buried emotions” (Mulder,
1995).
The Long-Term Affects
By: Shannon Harris
The Emotional Scarring: Physical abuse is often used as a method of control.
Researches have found that perpetrators are often looking
for that sense of power. Often, when a person feels as though they are “loosing
control” of a given situation, they may believe that the only way to take back
that control is be the physically abusive.
The long terms
affects of physical abuse can take on many forms. In many cases, the bruises
and scars heal…but the emotional/psychological damage is often left lingering.
Often times, victims are left with issues such as; “posttraumatic stress
disorder, anxiety disorders, depression, feelings of isolation, irritability,
nightmares and flashbacks and even the tendency to avoid others”. 1
Victims Facing Poverty: It is often those who are portrayed as weak
that are often victimized. Studies also show that mothers in abusive situations
“have trouble holding jobs”.2 As a result, they often struggle financially and can
therefore easily end up homeless. It becomes a constant struggle and is usually
a hole that continues to get dug deeper and deeper. Victims with children feel
this even worse, and as result, those poverty-stricken children are not given
many opportunities for success. It becomes a continuous cycle.
The Vicious Cycle: “Studies show that half of men who abuse their partners
also abuse their children”.3 This can be due to the common cycle of abuse. Often
times, abuse travels from the perpetrator towards not only his/her own partner,
but also other closely tied members. Knowing this, the cycle is then often continued
through young victims in particular. They are taught that physical abuse is the
“norm” and therefore many times, repeat it within their own family life.
“Behind the Scenes of Child Abuse”
Interview
by Victoria T. Janik
On Friday March 18, 2005 George Jurenas was interviewed regarding the topic of child abuse. George worked in the child abuse sector of the Metropolitan Police Services and is now retired. The following is a brief description of the questions and answers retrieved from the conversation.
I worked for
Metropolitan Police Services for a total of 30 years, and of that I worked for
5 years in the child abuse sector. I am now a professor at
The ratio of parents’ abuse would be the highest out of everything. A reason for this is that parents are the primary caregivers for most children in the world. Babysitters would be the second most common. Babysitters are otherwise most commonly reported; as they are usually a secondary caregiver that would possibly think of abusing a child.
The most vulnerable age group for child abuse is 10-14. This is merely because at this age group it is most commonly reported. When a parent is abusing a 2 year old, it is most commonly not heard of, and therefore there are no statistics for it. According to statistics, the age group of 10-14 is the most vulnerable for abuse.
Children who have been abused could display some or all of the following symptoms:
- Fear of going home
- Physical marks on the body including scars, burns, bruises, etc.
- An askew view of a socially acceptable relationship with a parent
- Become more socially maladaptive
It is possible to predict that parents with a history of abuse (with a child or even with a spouse/partner) will abuse their children once again. It is only a prediction though. One minute a parent can be the best caregiver in town, and the next minute she/he could be spanking them over their knee, enabling us to label them as a child abuser.
I would refer an abused child to a social service organization under the circumstance that their parent(s) and/or caregiver(s) have been charged with child abuse, and the child has no place to live or needs help coping with the situation they were put in.
The most common form of child abuse is physical.
No, I have not worked directly with workers or organizations. I have referred individuals to organizations though, such as the Catholic Children’s Aid Society and Kids Help Phone.
The most common was of reporting child abuse is going to your community police station. The second most common was of reporting these instanced is a child’s school calling, when abuse is suspected.
Working in the child abuse sector seriously affected my life. It opened my eyes to a whole other world out there. When working at times there was a strong emotional attachment to abuse victims that I worked with. There were also times that it would be difficult to leave these situations at work. It made my upset at times and I had some difficulty coping. This was one of the reasons why I left this area of work.
Foster Parents: Unsung Heroes in the World of Social
Services
Many children in our society suffer
through life in homes where abuse is an everyday part of life. To most of us
the very thought of hurting a child is unfathomable but this type of terror
does exist. Fortunately in some cases children are rescued from abusive
situations and are placed under the care of a few brave souls who opt to open
their homes and lives and hearts to the very less- fortunate. I had the
opportunity to speak to one of these brave souls who has been opening her home
and her life to abused and neglected children for the past twenty-five years.
For these many years, Debbie Stillmunkes has been a
Foster Parent or as her official title reads Operator of a Licensed Group Home
for Assessment and Treatment for the Children’s Aid Society along with being a
Foster Parent Support Worker, with the sole purpose of providing abused
children with a stable and loving environment in which to recover. Even with
her very busy schedule she made time to share her experiences with me regarding
her time with the Children’s Aid Society over the past twenty-five years.
The reward of helping the children has been the
deciding factor for me.
I
wanted to provide a home for children who needed one, and I had the time and
the space available.
For
twenty-one years they lived at my house but, for the last four years they have
lived at a home owned by Children’s Aid Society
The
ages ranged from two years old to nineteen years old, but generally there were
teenaged girls with me.
The issues that the children had included
violence, physical abuse, health issues such as diabetes, behavioural
issues, criminal behaviour and sexual abuse. Actually about eighty
percent of the abuse was sexual in nature.
Yes,
a tiny percentage did, but if the mental illness was extreme then the child was
turned over to the Mental Health Department and did not return to the foster
home.
What
was the most difficult issue that a child may have had that you had to deal
with?
The
most difficult thing that we had to deal with was when the children would, and
this happened quite often, was when they would make accusations about us
regarding their care at the house. This would start an investigation and create
a lot of stress and turn the house upside down. Plus it hurt us emotionally to
be accused of doing anything negative by the kids.
I
think that the most difficult part of the job had to be disassociating yourself
with the behaviours of the children that were personally directed at you. You
had to remember to not take things personally.
Only
about a million times, but I never did. I’m actually still involved with CAS
and I think that to some degree I always will be.
I
didn’t leave because someone always needed help.
If
the children didn’t follow the rules of the house, how were they reprimanded?
They
would be isolated from the rest of the children by being made to go to their
room and they would have their privileges taken away from them. And of course
their privileges included TV, radio, the phone, the Internet etc.
Actually,
when they turn seventeen years old they have the option of working together
with a social worker to get into a “Life Program” which essentially helps them
find a place to live and employment and provides
support until they are able to get on their feet. Also, when the children are
wards of the Crown support can be extended for an indefinite period of time.
In
some circumstances when the child is not able to get past the issues that
brought them into the fostering environment, then yes it has can be damaging.
Also, when the wrong child has been placed with the wrong family or in some
instances when a child has been placed with an unfit family, the process may be
damaging.
To
certain people yes. I would say that they would have to be willing to be
flexible, be willing to deal with the roller coaster that their life will
become, be willing to change their lifestyle and be willing to be re-trained
constantly.
What
advice would you give to someone who wants to get into fostering as a full-time
job?
I
would recommend that they speak to other foster parents first and I would also
recommend that they involve their family in their decision to foster children.
I
would provide more support for the foster parents in regards to emotional,
mental and financial support.
If you had to do the job all over again knowing
what you know now, would you do it and why?
Yes
I would do it, but I would do it differently. I would always make sure that the
kids would be five years apart from my own kids because this would help to
reduce the competition between the children.
Helping the children. It was always worth the
strain and effort.
SUBJECT: INTERVIEW WITH VICTIM OF PHYSICAL, MENTAL
& VERBAL ABUSE. For protection of the victim and accused the names have
been altered.
Question: Lauren, tell
me what transpired during this Physical Abuse
Answer: James was my boyfriend for over two years. Within that period, he would physically abuse me repeatedly.
It all started at the beginning with one slap in my face and he would justify his behavior by say that, this is his way of disciplining me.
As time progressed, James had gotten more and more violent. For instance, if it is raining and he cannot smoke his cigarettes outside, he would literally “burn me with his cigarette”. This was his way of taking out his anger.
James thought he was a teacher and it was his belief and way of disciplining me by physically and verbally abusing me, and similarly, uses it as punishment.
Question: Lauren, did James ever hit you in a
Answer: Yes! Another incident occurred when I went to the Shopping Mall with my friend Janet. Apparently, James found out through Janet that I was at the Mall with her having coffee and James decided to joint us girls.
When James arrived, my friend Janet when to buy the coffee; so James sat down with me and started apologizing for his violent and abusive behavior. Janet did not hear this conversation, as James was apologizing for his behaviour.
After we were finished drinking our coffee, James (like a perfect gentleman), offered to drive Janet and I home. Both Janet and I said no. However, James insisted and we agreed for his to drive us home.
Answer: James thought he was a teacher and it was his belief and way of disciplining me by physically and verbally abusing me, and similarly, uses it as punishment.
Question: Lauren,
how did everything go, (meaning when James drove you home)?
Answer: As soon as James dropped Janet home, he started with his verbal
abuse. Nonetheless, it wasn’t long
before James started swearing and calling me a “Slut”. Then he hit me in my face, grabbed my arm,
and twisted it, as a result of this violent abuse I had to wear a “wrist brace”
for one month.
Question: Lauren, did you ever consider leaving
James?
Answer: Yes, in fact, I thought about it numerous times.
Question: Can you please give me an Example Lauren?
Answer: James thought he was a teacher and it was his belief and way of disciplining me by physically and verbally abusing me, and similarly, uses it as punishment.
Question: Lauren, where did you try to sought help and Comfort?
I went to my friend’s home and stayed for a while, as her parents was on vacation. Having said that, some how James found out where I was staying and came over to visit and acted like a perfect gentleman. Once again, James apologized profusely and convinced me to go home. As soon as I entered his car, he stated wit his verbal abuse, then he stated hitting me in my arm and bashed my face into the dashboard of the car.
Question: What did you do after this severe abuse?
Answer: When James was sleeping, I snuck out of the house and James uncle drove me to the Hospital emergency room. There I was treated with a few bruised ribs, sprained wrist and broken nose.
Question: Did
you report the matter to the Police?
Answer: No, I couldn’t … because James’s Uncle told me to lie to the Hospital Staff and say that I fell down the stairs and hurt myself.
Question: What have you decided to do after you were set free?
Answer: James and I broke-up and when our separate ways, it has been know over 2 years.
Question: Lauren, are you seeing a counsellor or a Psychologist
Answer: Yes, I am presently seeing a Psychologist, and she has been extremely supportive, considerate and a good listener.
Reported By: Ashley Dunn
Victim: Lauren Sharp
February 7th, 2005
1) Prayer Line à 905-335-0100
2)
3) YMCA – Hamilton-
4) Kid’s Help Phone
1-800-668-6868
5) Suicide Prevention Crisis Line
905- 522 1477
6) Children’s Aid Society of Burlington
905-333 4441
Created by: Stacey Dawkins
a)
3/4
b)
1/2
c)
1/3
:
a)
“The
misuse of power”
b)
“The
misuse of love”
c)
“The
misuse of power or authority and breach of trust”
a)
excessive
discipline by parent(s)
b)
physical,
emotional or sexual mistreatment or neglect
c)
physical
marks caused by mistreatment
a)
deliberate
use of force on a child
b)
depravation
of food as punishment
c)
grabbing
the child to prevent him/her from wonder away
a)
minor
bumps and bruises
b)
bruises,
welts and abrasions in various stages of healing
c)
cuts,
scrapes and scars
a)
strangers
b)
parents
or relatives
c)
friends
True
False
a)
child
welfare agent
b)
police
department
c)
social
service agent
d)
all
of the above
a)
promise
the child the abuse will stop
b)
listen
to the child openly and calmly
c)
tell
the child there is nothing you can do
a)
listen
to the child but take no action afterwards
b)
report
the abuse to authorities
c)
kidnap
the child an flee
Elizabeth Smith, BA. January 25, 2005 EST. Diseases and Conditions Encyclopaedia: Injuries. http://health.discovery.com/encyclopedias/2780.html
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1
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By: Stephanie Mernajh
