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Charles Dickens Child Abuse Essay

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Charles Dickens Child Abuse Essay
“The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.” - Albert Einstein. Child abuse is a serious crime that is defined as inflicting pain on a child. Although child maltreatment both currently and in the Victorian era includes a surplus amount of physical wrongdoing and neglect, modern societies have social services to help the children get through these injustices. There are many examples of physical child harm in Oliver Twist, a book published by Charles Dickens in the Victorian Era, mostly in forms of some kind of striking the body. “...would flog him to death in a playful mood, some day after dinner, or would knock his brains out with an iron bar” (Dickens, …show more content…
There were no social services for the children to go to. The parish people, or the people who brought the orphans up, would also beat the children. “As for exercise, it was nice cold weather, and he was allowed to perform his ablutions every morning under the pump, in a stone yard, in the presence of Mr. Bumble, who prevented his catching cold, and caused a tingling sensation to pervade his frame, by repeated applications of the cane” (Dickens, 1838). Even the beadle, the man who was to ensure order and safety to the children, beat them. “In addition to state child maltreatment laws, all states have child protective services (CPS) agencies that investigate reports of abuse and neglect of children in a home. CPS also serves to place children who have been hurt or neglected in safer homes, either through adoption or foster care” (FindLaw: Child Abuse Overview, ND). But today, there are social service networks that can help children who are being manhandled. Social services are a group of organizations that strive to make stronger communities. Social services can be private or public, but they all try to make a better community. Part of creating a better society is reducing child abuse. Even if a child is too scared to go to someone, a friend, family member, teacher, or anyone who knows or has seen a child that does not look like they are completely well and is concerned about their health can help them. In 1990 the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, now approved by more than 190 countries came into work. It elevated concerns for children and helped with reducing child

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