Child Abuse and Steps for Its Prevention Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Child Abuse and Steps for Its Prevention - Essay Example Baby P was admitted in hospital several times before his death in which instances the healthcare providers, who offered complete and conclusive reports on their physical examinations, noted his battered body and the bruises on his skin (Marinetto, 2011). Over the course of 8 months while his mother was living with her boyfriend (not Peter’s biological father), the child experienced physical trauma resulting in over 50 injuries. This was indicative of a trend of physical abuse from the live-in boyfriend and should have been spotted and stopped before it got to such extents.While the physical abuse was being carried out, the family interacted with agencies that could have noticed the problem over 60 times, with none of these encounters being effective in stopping the abuse. Doctors’ reports analyzed during the inquiry over his death indicated that Baby P had swallowed a tooth broken during a beating, had a broken spine and several fractured ribs. The last of these reports was dated a day before his death and according to pathological reports, should have acted as the much needed wake-up call that could have saved his life. About 9 months and then again 2 months before his death, the child was placed under the protective care of a friend of the family to ensure his well-being. The second homecoming resulted in his death and from the wealth of evidence of abuse that had been accumulated, could have been prevented by the provision of better and more adept child welfare practices by all the professionals involved. Professionals in the social fields have a very important job of putting together the pieces that indicate that an individual needs more help from them than their position affords. As a result, agencies involved in such industries operate under a model of interdependency, with practitioners forwarding the cases that another agency will pick up on. This model allows for the sharing of information and the assessment of cases that social workers would, under normal circumstances, not review. This system depends on the communication between professionals and if this is not established, a lot of cases could go under the radar, as was the case with Baby Peter. This case was repeatedly analyzed by practitioners from several departments who ended up with the conclusion that he was safe in the environment that he was in, which is clearly a fallacy. It is therefore imperative that we understand the shortcomings of the agencies and agents that handled the case to negate the possibility of such c alamities in the future. The physical aspect of child abuse manifests itself in a condition that normally requires the attention of medical practitioners. This is the first line of defense and can create awareness if the neighbors and other individuals in the child’s environment are not aware or do not respond to the child’