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Module 8.1 Types of Maltreatment

Warning: This Module contains information about child abuse and neglect which may be triggering for some readers.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this module, you should be able to:

  • Define the four types of child maltreatment (physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect).
  • Identify risk factors for child maltreatment.
  • List signs of each type of maltreatment.

Introduction

One more responsibility educators have to protect children’s safety is to understand what child maltreatment is, risk factors for child maltreatment, signs of different forms of child maltreatment, and what they should do to support children and families and what they must legally do if they suspect child maltreatment.

Looking at the Data

According to Statistics Canada “…results from the 2019 General Social Survey (GSS) – Canadians’ Safety revealed that 62% of respondents experienced “harsh parenting” (e.g., spanking, emotional abuse, physical neglect), while 22% experienced physical abuse; 21% were exposed to physical violence committed by a parent or step-parent or guardian against another parent or guardian, caregiver, adult or child; and 6% experienced sexual abuse (Cotter, 2021)”. (Statistics Canada, 2023)

Chart 1

Self-reported types of child maltreatment in Canada, 2018 (n = 43,064)

A bar graph showing self-reported types of child maltreatment in Canada.
Source – Statistics Canada, Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces

Definitions

Child maltreatment includes all types of abuse and neglect of a child under the age of 18 by a parent, caregiver, or another person in a custodial role (such as clergy, a coach, a teacher) that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child. There are four common types of abuse and neglect: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect.

Physical Abuse

Physical abuse is a nonaccidental physical injury to a child caused by a parent, caregiver, or other person responsible for a child and can include punching, beating, kicking, bCiting, shaking, throwing, stabbing, choking, hitting (with a hand, stick, strap, or other object), burning, or otherwise causing physical harm. Corporal punishment (e.g., spanking) is allowed in Canada under Section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada. Section 43 states: “Every schoolteacher, parent or person standing in the place of a parent is justified in using force by way of correction toward a pupil or child, as the case may be, who is under his care, if the force does not exceed what is reasonable under the circumstances.” (Government of Canada, 2021). Injuries from physical abuse could range from minor bruises to severe fractures or death.

Abusive Head Trauma

Abusive head trauma (AHT), which includes shaken baby syndrome, is a preventable and severe form of physical child abuse that results in an injury to the brain of a child. AHT is most common in children under age five, with children under one year of age at most risk. It is caused by violent shaking and/or with blunt impact. The resulting injury can cause bleeding around the brain or on the inside back layer of the eyes.

Nearly all victims of AHT suffer serious, long-term health consequences such as vision problems, developmental delays, physical disabilities, and hearing loss. At least one of every four babies who experience AHT dies from this form of child abuse.

AHT often happens when a parent or caregiver becomes angry or frustrated because of a child’s crying. The caregiver then shakes the child and/or hits or slams the child’s head into something to stop the crying. Crying, including long bouts of inconsolable crying, is normal behavior in infants. Shaking, throwing, hitting, or hurting a baby is never the right response to crying.

How Can Abusive Head Trauma be Prevented?

Anyone can play a role in preventing AHT by understanding the dangers of violently shaking or hitting a baby’s head into something, knowing the risk factors and the triggers for abuse, and finding ways to support families and caregivers in their community.

The Bottom Line

Shaking a baby can cause death or permanent brain damage. It can result in life-long disability.

Healthy strategies for dealing with a crying baby include:

  • Finding the reason for the crying.
  • Checking for signs of illness or discomfort, such as diaper rash, teething, tight clothing.
  • Feeding or burping.
  • Soothing the baby by rubbing their back, gentle rocking, offering a pacifier, singing, or talking.
  • Taking a walk using a stroller or a drive in a properly secured care seat.
  • Calling the doctor is illness is suspected.

All babies cry. Caregivers often feel overwhelmed by a crying baby. Calling a friend, relative, or neighbour for support or assistance lets the caregiver take a break from the situation. If immediate support is not available, the caregiver could place the baby in a crib (making sure the baby is safe), close the door and check on the baby every five minutes. And just breathe.

If an educator is growing frustrated with a child’s crying or other behaviors, it is important that they follow the same advice they would give a parent/caregiver and find a co-worker to relieve them while they re-group.

Sexual Abuse

Child sexual abuse is a significant but preventable adverse childhood experience and public health problem. According to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, “Child sexual abuse includes a wide range of behaviours and situations — offences can range from one-time occurrences to multiple experiences; from one offender to multiple offenders; with or without the use of violence. Offences can also vary from non-contact sexual offences, such as voyeurism or exposing a child to pornography, to hands-on sexual offences.” (Canadian Centre for Child Protection, n.d.)

Canadian Statistics

  • According to research, 1 in 10 Canadiansreported being sexually victimized before they turned 18.2
  • In the majority of child sexual abuse cases, the offender was known to the child.
  • The majority of adult survivors of child sexual abuse report that they did not disclose the abuse to anyone when they were children.
  • 93% of child abuse casesare never brought forward to police or child welfare.
  • There are strong connections between child abuseand mental health conditions. (Canadian Centre for Child Protection, n.d.)

Emotional Abuse

Emotional abuse (or psychological abuse) is a pattern of behavior that impairs a child’s emotional development or sense of self-worth.

Emotional abuse can include:

  • Putting a child down or humiliating a child
  • Constantly criticizing a child
  • Constantly yelling at a child
  • Threatening to harm a child or others
  • Keeping a child from seeing their family or friends without good reason, or
  • Threatening to move a child out of their home

Some forms of emotional abuse are crimes in Canada, including:

  • Threatening to harm a child
  • Threatening to harm another person
  • Threatening to destroy the child’s personal property
  • Threatening to hurt the child’s pet
  • Harassing the child on the telephone
  • Deliberately intimidating a child, and
  • Advising a child to commit suicide

Other forms of emotional abuse are not crimes, but they are still very serious. The provinces and territories also have laws that protect children from emotional abuse. These laws protect children even if the type of abuse is not a crime.” (Government of Canada, 2021)

Children can also suffer emotional abuse from seeing or hearing violence between other family members and/or by seeing the results of violence.

Neglect

Neglect is the failure of a parent or other caregiver to provide for a child’s basic needs. Neglect generally includes the following categories:

  • Physical (e.g., failure to provide necessary food or shelter, lack of appropriate supervision)
  • Medical (e.g., failure to provide necessary medical or mental health treatment, withholding medically indicated treatment from children with life-threatening conditions)
  • Educational (e.g., failure to educate a child or attend to special education needs)
  • Emotional (e.g., inattention to a child’s emotional needs, failure to provide psychological care, permitting a child to use alcohol or other drugs)

Sometimes cultural values, the standards of care in the community, and poverty may contribute to what is perceived as maltreatment, indicating the family may need information or assistance. It is important to note that living in poverty is not considered child abuse or neglect. However, a family’s failure to use available information and resources to care for their child may put the child’s health or safety at risk, and child welfare intervention could be required.

Abandonment

Section 218 of the Criminal Code of Canada makes it a criminal offence to abandon a child under the age of ten when there is a risk to their life or permanent injury. In general, a child is considered to be abandoned when the parent’s identity or whereabouts are unknown, the child has been left alone in circumstances where the child could suffer serious harm, the child has been deserted with no regard for his or her health or safety, or the parent has failed to maintain contact with the child or provide reasonable support for a specified period of time.

Safe Haven Laws

In most of Canada, there are no safe haven laws that allow parents to safely surrender a live infant without legal consequences. Parents can leave an infant at a hospital, but it cannot be anonymously and there will be an investigation. 

Domestic Violence

Given the magnitude of the problem of children’s exposure to violence, including the co-occurrence of domestic violence and child maltreatment, early learning and childcare programs are serving children and families impacted by violence. Here are some key facts about domestic violence and intimate partner violence:

  1. Intimate partner violence describes physical, sexual, or psychological harm by a current or former partner or spouse. This type of violence can occur among heterosexual or same-sex couples and does not require sexual intimacy. Intimate partner violence can vary in frequency and severity. It occurs on a continuum ranging from one hit that may or may not impact the victim to chronic, severe beating.
  2. Domestic violence is the second leading cause of death for pregnant women, and some 25 to 50 percent of adolescent mothers experience partner violence before, during, or just after their pregnancy.
  3. Witnessing family assault is among the most common victimizations experienced by toddlers (ages 2 to 5). Other common forms of victimization are assault by a sibling and physical bullying.
  4. In 30 to 60 percent of families where either child abuse or domestic violence is present, child abuse and domestic violence co-occur.

Children may very well experience the violence themselves; however, even when they are not directly injured, exposure to traumatic events can cause social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties. Children exposed to domestic violence have often been found to develop a wide range of problems, including externalizing behavior problems, interpersonal skill deficits, and psychological and emotional problems such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Children exposed to domestic violence may also experience physical symptoms such as stomach aches, headaches, ulcers, and asthma. (Provincial Association of Transition Houses and Services of Saskatchewan, n.d.)

Indigenous Perspective

See Welfare Statistics here. A study led by Simon Fraser University criminology researchers has found that rates of child sexual abuse (CSA) among Indigenous Canadians surveyed were three to five times higher than global estimates, while those with parents or family members who attended residential schools are at significantly greater risk of experiencing abuse.

In Ontario, Indigenous children are approximately two and a half times more likely to have a substantiated case of maltreatment in comparison to non-Indigenous children. In 2018, Indigenous children made up 10% of all substantiated investigation in Ontario. This is pushing to the Truth and Reconciliation’s fourth call to action fourth call to action: “enact Aboriginal child-welfare legislation that establishes nation standards for Aboriginal child apprehension.” (Sinicropi, 2023).

Pause to Reflect 💭

Consider a situation that would be an example of each type of abuse and each type of neglect. Keep these in mind to revisit in another “Pause to Reflect” later in this module.

Risk Factors

Risk factors are those characteristics linked with child abuse and neglect—they may or may not be direct causes. A combination of individual, relational, community, and societal factors contribute to the risk of child abuse and neglect. Although children are not responsible for the harm inflicted upon them, certain characteristics have been found to increase their risk of being abused and or neglected.

Individual Risk Factors for Victimization

  • Children younger than 4 years of age
  • Special needs that may increase caregiver burden (e.g., intellectual disabilities, mental health issues, and chronic physical illnesses)

Indigenous Perspective

“Higher rates of victimization observed among Indigenous people appear to be related to the increased presence of other risk factors – such as experiencing childhood maltreatment, perceiving social disorder in one’s neighbourhood, having been homeless, using drugs, or having fair or poor mental health.” (McKinley, 2022).

Risk Factors for Perpetration

There are different levels of risk factors for the perpetrators of child maltreatment. 

Individual Risk Factors

  • Families’ lack of understanding of children’s needs, child development and parenting skills
  • Parental history of child abuse and or neglect
  • Substance abuse and/or mental health issues including depression in the family.
  • Parental characteristics such as young age, low education, single parenthood, many dependent children, and low income
  • Nonbiological, transient caregivers in the home (e.g., mother’s male partner)
  • Parental thoughts and emotions that tend to support or justify maltreatment behaviours.

Family Risk Factors

  • Social isolation
  • Family disorganization, dissolution, and violence, including intimate partner violence
  • Parenting stress, poor parent-child relationships, and negative interactions

 Community Risk Factors

  • Community violence
  • Concentrated neighborhood disadvantage (e.g., high poverty and residential instability, high unemployment rates, and high density of alcohol outlets), and poor social connections.

Signs of Child Maltreatment

It is important to recognize high-risk situations and the signs and symptoms of maltreatment. If you suspect a child is being harmed or the child directly discloses that they have experienced abuse or neglect, reporting suspicions may protect him or her and help the family receive assistance. Any concerned person can report suspicions of child abuse or neglect. Reporting your concerns is not making an accusation; rather, it is a request for an investigation and assessment to determine if help is needed.

Table 8.1 – Signs of General Maltreatment

Child
  • Shows sudden changes in behaviour or school performance
  • Has not received help for physical or medical problems brought to the families’ attention
  • Has learning problems (or difficulty concentrating) that cannot be attributed to specific physical or psychological causes
  • Is always watchful, as though preparing for something bad to happen
  • Lacks adult supervision
  • Is overly compliant, passive, or withdrawn
  • Comes to school or other activities early, stays late, and does not want to go home
  • Is reluctant to be around a particular person
  • Discloses maltreatment
Parent/caregiver
  • Denies the existence of—or blames the child for—the child’s problems in school or at home
  • Asks teachers or other caregivers to use harsh physical discipline if the child misbehaves
  • Sees the child as entirely bad, worthless, or burdensome
  • Demands a level of physical or academic performance the child cannot achieve
  • Looks primarily to the child for care, attention, and satisfaction of the parent’s emotional needs
  • Shows little concern for the child
Parent/caregiver and child
  • Touch or look at each other rarely
  • Consider their relationship entirely negative
  • State consistently they do not like each other

It is important to pay attention to other behaviors that may seem unusual or concerning. Additionally, the presence of these signs does not necessarily mean that a child is being maltreated; there may be other causes. They are, however, indicators that others should be concerned about the child’s welfare, particularly when multiple signs are present, or they occur repeatedly.

Table 8.2 – Signs of Physical Abuse

Scenario

Characteristics
A child who exhibits the following signs may be a victim of physical abuse:
  • Has unexplained injuries, such as burns, bites, bruises, broken bones, or black eyes
  • Has fading bruises or other noticeable marks after an absence from school
  • Seems scared, anxious, depressed, withdrawn, or aggressive
  • Seems frightened of his or her parents/caregivers and protests or cries when it is time to go home
  • Shrinks at the approach of adults
  • Shows changes in eating and sleeping habits
  • Reports injury by a parent or another adult caregiver
  • Abuses animals or pets
Consider the possibility of physical abuse when a parent or other adult caregiver exhibits the following
  • Offers conflicting, unconvincing, or no explanation for the child’s injury or provides an explanation that is not consistent with the injury
  • Shows little concern for the child
  • Sees the child as entirely bad, burdensome, or worthless
  • Uses harsh physical discipline with the child
  • Has a history of abusing animals or pets

Table 8.3 – Signs of Sexual Abuse

Scenario

Characteristics
A child who exhibits the following signs may be a victim of sexual abuse:
  • Has difficulty walking or sitting
  • Experiences bleeding, bruising, or swelling in their private parts
  • Suddenly refuses to go to school
  • Reports nightmares or bedwetting
  • Experiences a sudden change in appetite
  • Demonstrates bizarre, sophisticated, or unusual sexual knowledge or behaviour
  • Becomes pregnant or contracts a sexually transmitted disease, particularly if under the age 14
  • Runs away
  • Reports sexual abuse by a parent or another adult caregiver
  • Attaches very quickly to strangers or new adults in their environment
Consider the possibility of sexual abuse when a parent or other adult caregiver exhibits the following
  • Tries to be the child’s friend rather than assume an adult role
  • Makes up excuses to be alone with the child
  • Talks with the child about the adult’s personal problems or relationships

Table 8.4 – Signs of Emotional Abuse

Scenario

Characteristics
A child who exhibits the following signs may be a victim of emotional abuse:
  • Shows extremes in behaviour, such as being overly compliant or demanding, extremely passive, or aggressive
  • Is either inappropriately adult (e.g., parenting other children) or inappropriately infantile (e.g., frequently rocking or head-banging)
  • Is delayed in physical or emotional development
  • Shows signs of depression or suicidal thoughts
  • Reports an inability to develop emotional bonds with others
Consider the possibility of emotional abuse when a parent or other adult caregiver exhibits the following
  • Constantly blames, belittles, or berates the child
  • Describes the child negatively
  • Overtly rejects the child

Table 8.5 – Signs of Neglect

Scenario

Characteristics
A child who exhibits the following signs may be a victim of neglect:
  • Is frequently absent from school
  • Begs or steals food or money
  • Lacks needed medical care (including immunizations), dental care, or glasses
  • Is consistently dirty and has severe body odour
  • Lacks sufficient clothing for the weather
  • Abuses alcohol or other drugs
  • States that there is no one at home to provide care
Consider the possibility of neglect when a parent or other adult caregiver exhibits the following
  • Appears to be indifferent to the child
  • Seems apathetic or depressed
  • Behaves irrationally or in a bizarre manner
  • Abuses alcohol or other drugs

Pause to Reflect 💭

Think back to your example situations. What signs might a teacher or educator notice for each of these?

Important Things to Remember

  • Child maltreatment includes all types of abuse and neglect of a child under the age of 18 by a parent, caregiver, or another person in a custodial role that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child.
  • There are four types of abuse and neglect: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect.
  • Nearly all victims of Abusive Head Trauma (AHT) suffer serious, long-term health consequences such as vision problems, developmental delays, physical disabilities, and hearing loss.
  • Children exposed to domestic violence have often been found to develop a wide range of problems, including externalizing behavior problems, interpersonal skill deficits, and psychological and emotional problems such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Children exposed to domestic violence may also experience physical symptoms such as stomach aches, headaches, ulcers, and asthma.
  • A combination of individual, relational, community, and societal factors contribute to the risk of child abuse and neglect.

Resources for Further Exploration

Canadian Centre for Child Protection

Stop Family Violence (Government of Canada)

Life Inside a Catholic-Run Residential School (Time Magazine)

Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) among Indigenous Canadians (Simon Fraser University)

References

  1. Canadian Centre for Child Protection (n.d.) Understand and Identify Child Sexual Abuse. https://protectchildren.ca/en/resources-research/understanding-child-sexual-abuse/
  2. Government of Canada (2021). Child Abuse is Wrong: What Can I Do? https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/cj-jp/fv-vf/caw-mei/p6.html
  3. Government of Canada (2021). Criminal Law and Managing Children’s Behavior. https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/cj-jp/fv-vf/mcb-cce/index.html
  4. Government of Canada (2019). Indigenous overrepresentation in the criminal system. https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/jr/jf-pf/2019/may01.html#:~:text=Rather%2C%20the%20higher%20rates%20of,fair%20or%20poor%20mental%20health.
  5. McKinley, C. E. (2022). “It just took something from me”: A mixed-methods examination of intimate partner violence victimization and perpetration among U.S. Indigenous peoples. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 14(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001088
  6. Provincial Association of Transition Houses and Services of Saskatchewan (n.d.) How Can Witnessing Abuse Affect Children? https://pathssk.org/about-abuse/cev/
  7. Sinicropi, E. (2023). Indigenous child welfare in Ontario: Reconceptualizing neglect investigations. University of Toronto. https://ppgreview.ca/2022/04/20/indigenous-child-welfare-in-ontario-reconceptualizing-neglect-investigations/
  8. Statistics Canada (2023). What do we know about physical and non-physical childhood maltreatment in Canada? https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/36-28-0001/2023001/article/00001-eng.htm

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Health, Safety and Nutrition in Canadian Early Learning Environments Copyright © 2023 by Loyalist College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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