Understanding Child Abuse and Neglect - Research Paper Example

In the early years of the 19th Century, families were larger than they are today. Most family members were children and people did not expect all of them to survive. This was due to high infant mortality those days. Boys were forced to climb chimneys so as to clean themselves. This practice was later ended in 1875 by law (Crosson-Tower, 2013). In schools, children’s discipline was savage. They were beaten by the birch that replaced the cane prior to this century. Children who were not active in class or poor at lessons faced humiliation by being forced to wear a mark showing they were poor in class (Crosson-Tower, 2013).

Children were subjected to all forms of child sexual abuse and neglect. They underwent rape especially girls, sexual trafficking, sex slavery, among many other brutal forms. This would eventually lead to death, contraction of sexually transmitted infections, psychological torture, and other harmful effects. The perpetrators did not find it hard to do whatever they did. (Crosson-Tower, 2013) Conclusion Children were subjected to the most crucial treatment in history. They worked as slaves, were overworked, murdered, abused sexually, and many other brutalities.

Since then, governments have been trying to reduce it by enacting laws to curb it though only some are always successful.