,,Settling on a single definition is complicated. We can focus on the one provided by the World Health
Organization [
]: “Any form of physical and/or emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect or inconsiderate
treatment, or commercial or other exploitation that causes a real or potential harm to the health,
survival, development or dignity of the child in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or
power.
In every child abuse situation, there is a victim and an aggressor. We could define as child abuse’s
victims, as indicated by the United Nations Children’s Fund, “Those children and adolescents up to
18 years old who suffer occasional or habitual acts of physical, sexual or emotional violence, whether in
a family group or in social institutions”. Child abuse, in addition to producing consequences
at the time, can have negative effects in adulthood, including psychological, emotional, behavioral and
neurobiological consequences.
In Spain, the Ministry of Social Rights and 2030 Agenda, through “Childhood in Data”,
collects the most relevant data related to the situation of children in the country. In relation to the
population under 18 years old, it pointed out that in 2018, the latest year for which such data are
available, there were 6532 cases of child abuse in Spain. The cases have been increasing with respect to
previous years. In 2017 there were 6038 cases. In 2014 the number of cases was significantly lower,
at 4674 cases. Several studies suggest that it is very difficult to know the real figures. Pereda points out
that “the percentages vary according to the sex of the victim and the origin of the sample analyzed,
although they place this experience between a 10 and 20% of the community population.
In recent years child abuse has become more visible. More and more action protocols and
prevention plans are being developed. Even so, there is a part of the population that is not aware of
this problem. Save the Children, in a national study on the importance of violence against children,
found that 65.2% of the population described it as a very serious social problem, 25.5% as a serious
social problem, 3.9% as a minor social problem, 2% did not consider it a social problem and 3.4% of
the population found it better not to answer. If these data are extrapolated to the Spanish population,
with a population of almost 47 million inhabitants, that would mean that more than two and a half
million inhabitants do not consider it as a social problem, or consider it not very relevant”
,,The role that schools play in the detection of and intervention into child abuse is fundamental. This study investigates and compares knowledge of child abuse among trainee teachers and in-service teachers in Spain. To this end, a total of 224 teachers (144 teachers in training and 80 teachers in service) working in Early Childhood Education and Primary Education participated in this study, using self-developed scales (Scale of knowledge of child abuse, Scale of action against child abuse, Scale of aspects for improvement in child abuse). The results indicate that there are no significant differences between trainees and teachers in the previous training and in the level of knowledge and action in relation to child abuse. However, significant differences were found in the cases detected and intervened in, with a greater number of teachers in service having detected and acted on cases of child abuse. In regard to the interest in improving the way that child abuse is dealt with, teachers in training obtained a higher average score. In conclusion, we note that the relationship between knowledge about child abuse, action taken and the aspects for improvement is significant and positive, so if a teacher has more knowledge about child abuse, he or she will also know how to act better and will have greater interest in implementing improvement measures."
Organization [
]: “Any form of physical and/or emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect or inconsiderate treatment, or commercial or other exploitation that causes a real or potential harm to the health,
survival, development or dignity of the child in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or
power.
In every child abuse situation, there is a victim and an aggressor. We could define as child abuse’s
victims, as indicated by the United Nations Children’s Fund, “Those children and adolescents up to
18 years old who suffer occasional or habitual acts of physical, sexual or emotional violence, whether in
a family group or in social institutions”. Child abuse, in addition to producing consequences
at the time, can have negative effects in adulthood, including psychological, emotional, behavioral and
neurobiological consequences.
In Spain, the Ministry of Social Rights and 2030 Agenda, through “Childhood in Data”,
collects the most relevant data related to the situation of children in the country. In relation to the
population under 18 years old, it pointed out that in 2018, the latest year for which such data are
available, there were 6532 cases of child abuse in Spain. The cases have been increasing with respect to
previous years. In 2017 there were 6038 cases. In 2014 the number of cases was significantly lower,
at 4674 cases. Several studies suggest that it is very difficult to know the real figures. Pereda points out
that “the percentages vary according to the sex of the victim and the origin of the sample analyzed,
although they place this experience between a 10 and 20% of the community population.
In recent years child abuse has become more visible. More and more action protocols and
prevention plans are being developed. Even so, there is a part of the population that is not aware of
this problem. Save the Children, in a national study on the importance of violence against children,
found that 65.2% of the population described it as a very serious social problem, 25.5% as a serious
social problem, 3.9% as a minor social problem, 2% did not consider it a social problem and 3.4% of
the population found it better not to answer. If these data are extrapolated to the Spanish population,
with a population of almost 47 million inhabitants, that would mean that more than two and a half
million inhabitants do not consider it as a social problem, or consider it not very relevant”
,,The role that schools play in the detection of and intervention into child abuse is fundamental. This study investigates and compares knowledge of child abuse among trainee teachers and in-service teachers in Spain. To this end, a total of 224 teachers (144 teachers in training and 80 teachers in service) working in Early Childhood Education and Primary Education participated in this study, using self-developed scales (Scale of knowledge of child abuse, Scale of action against child abuse, Scale of aspects for improvement in child abuse). The results indicate that there are no significant differences between trainees and teachers in the previous training and in the level of knowledge and action in relation to child abuse. However, significant differences were found in the cases detected and intervened in, with a greater number of teachers in service having detected and acted on cases of child abuse. In regard to the interest in improving the way that child abuse is dealt with, teachers in training obtained a higher average score. In conclusion, we note that the relationship between knowledge about child abuse, action taken and the aspects for improvement is significant and positive, so if a teacher has more knowledge about child abuse, he or she will also know how to act better and will have greater interest in implementing improvement measures."
