Content area
Full Text
Abstract
In the 19th century more understanding for children's rights was acknowledged and in the 20th century child abuse was discovered in 1962 after many years of "looking with the blind eye." The number of reported cases of child abuse worldwide has ever since exploded into a public health epidemic with a much higher incidence than for example cancer. Child abuse and neglect is a complex field, where many professionals and agencies are involved, which can be one of the reasons, why the field has not been able to attract enough resources for prevention, treatment, education and research. Child abuse must be looked upon as a major public health problem and professionals must make the 21st century a "century for the child."
Keywords: Childhood, adolescence, abuse, neglect. maltreatment, history
Introduction
Abuse and maltreatment of children has been part of our history for a very long time (1-8). In international medical literature, intentional injuries to a child was mentioned in the year 900 by a Persian physician working in the harems of Baghdad (2). Greek physicians in the early second century also seemed aware of newborn babies at high risk for later abuse and neglect, and even advocated infanticide in some circumstances (2). Throughout the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, children were raised under the rule of the "Schwarze Paedagogik" (8), with parents as the supreme masters of their children. Parents made all decisions, had complete power and ruled with a firm hand. Tradition and child rearing instructions cautioned parents to begin "breaking in" their children at a very early stage in order to gain complete control over them. This tradition has unfortunately continued to this very day.
During the 18th century, poverty, violence and alcohol abuse were part of daily life in London and indeed in all of Europe. The English artist William Hogarth (1) made the well-known engraving "Gin Lane" in 1751, showing the total disintegration of society, children with the characteristics of fetal alcohol syndrome, neglect and even fatal child abuse.
The 19th century brought more understanding for children's rights, as well as the acknowledgement of child maltreatment. In Paris, Ambrois Tardieu (2, 3, 5, 6), professor of forensic medicine, reported on 32 cases of child abuse in 1860: nine cases of...