Abstract
This is a qualitative study based on reports from young adults, both exposed and not exposed to child abuse. The aim of the present study has been to analyse young adults' thoughts and feelings about child abuse. The data consisted of 358 responses to an open-ended question included in a national postal questionnaire study carried out by the Swedish Committee Against Child Abuse (Kommittén mot barnmisshandel). The analysis of data involved qualitative content analysis. Four main categories emerged: children's rights, consequences of child abuse, the role of the society, and causes of child abuse. The respondents who were abused as children wrote about the experience and the psychological long-term consequences of the abuse. The psychological abuse was particularly detrimental. The sexually abused expressed feelings of shame and guilt, in particular the young men. The non-abused respondents reported primarily on more general issues. They expressed children's right to a safe childhood and they strongly believed in stricter penalties for child abusers.
Highlights
Child abuse is a public health problem which exists all over the world regardless of culture, ethnicity, and social class
The CRC contains 54 articles, of which article 19 is of greatest relevance to child abuse because it requires states to take a variety of measures – legislative, administrative, social, and educational – to protect children from all types of abuse (UNICEF, 2002)
The main aim of the present study was to analyse young adults’ thoughts and feelings about child abuse based on the following three research questions: Did the respondents with experience of child abuse express different thoughts and feelings compared to the respondents without experience of child abuse? Did the thoughts and experiences differ depending on what type of abuse the persons had been exposed to? Were there any gender differences?
Summary
Child abuse is a public health problem which exists all over the world regardless of culture, ethnicity, and social class. Studies from countries around the world demonstrate that between 80 and 98 per cent of children experience corporal punishment in their homes, with a third or more suffering severe physical punishment (Waterston & Mok, 2008). 2.4 percent of the world’s children are legally protected from corporal punishment in all settings, home, school, and penal systems (Pinheiro, 2006), even though all countries, except the United States and Somalia, have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The CRC contains 54 articles, of which article 19 is of greatest relevance to child abuse because it requires states to take a variety of measures – legislative, administrative, social, and educational – to protect children from all types of abuse (UNICEF, 2002). Since the corporal punishment ban was introduced, there have been further changes in the legislation to protect children from abuse.
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