Violence against Children

This paper develops a definition and conceptual model of violence against children on the basis of a series of nationwide epidemiologic studies, public opinion, and press surveys. Culturally sanctioned use of physical force in child rearing, poverty and discrimination, deviance in bio-psycho-social functioning, and chance events are identified as causal dimensions of physical child abuse. The scope of the phenomenon and selected findings from the surveys are discussed and social policies aimed at primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention are suggested. Attention is drawn to massive societal abuse of children, which is a related but much more serious social problem.