What Is Child Abuse And Neglect Morally Wrong?

Child abuse and neglect is an uncontrolled problem in the United States today. There are different kinds of child abuse and neglect such as sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and physical abuse. Child abuse often happens when children take all the blame from adults. Usually, the child that they are looking after is not their own, and often the parents are addicted to alcohol and drugs. An abuser may lie and deny the fact that there is nothing wrong with the abuse.
No one has the right to cause pain or harm to any individual. However, there is an exception to this rule such as a self-defense against violence or a threat where there is no other option. Child abuse is defined as maltreatment or causing harm to a child (Maguire et al, 2015, p. 4). Therefore, child abuse and neglect are morally wrong for many reasons.
As researchers, Teicher and Samson (2016) explained, child maltreatment should be prevented because it causes a risk of childhood-onset psychiatric disorder. In the United States alone, 45 percent of the population is at risk of childhood-onset psychiatric disorders. Researchers believed that maltreatment modifies the trajectory of brain development. Evidence shows that maltreatment itself can cause impaired on the development of the brain. Also, traumatic stress alters the development of psychological and physiological stress-response system. This event will result in long-term neurobiological changes. In addition, deprivation and later abuse may develop structural and functional abnormalities. Both researchers agreed that survivors of child abuse are at risk of depression, anxiety, and personality disorder (p.