Term
| Why might kids or teenagers not tell someone if an adult is abusing them? |
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Definition
| Sometimes it's hard for other people to understand why kids don't talk about abuse, but there are lots of reasons why kids might not tell. Sometimes, the person who did the abuse tells the child that it's 'a secret,' and that they shouldn't tell anybody. Sometimes the person makes threats and say they'll hurt the kid or a family member if they tell. The person might say no one will believe that they were abused. Sometimes, kids don't tell because they're ashamed or embarrassed or afraid that they'll get in trouble. |
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Term
| Who is responsible for physical abuse - whose fault is it? |
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Definition
| Some kids may believe that they're responsible when an adult hurts them, but that’s not true. All kids misbehave sometimes and do things that adults don't like. It's important to remember that no matter what kids do or say, kids are not responsible for an adult’s behavior. Adults are responsible for how they behave. |
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Term
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Definition
| Hurting someone's body on purpose and causing physical harm or injury. Examples are being hit, kicked, or tied to something. Others are not being fed, taken to the doctor, or allowed to sleep. |
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Term
| Physical abuse always leaves marks (True or False?) |
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Definition
| False - a person doesn't have to leave a mark for them to abuse a kid or teenager. If it causes physical harm and it hurts, it might be abuse. |
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Term
| What might be some reasons parents fight or argue? |
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Definition
| Lots of reasons! But, sometimes kids blame themselves when their parents fight and argue. It's really important to know that it’s not a kid’s fault when grown ups disagree. Adults should never hit each other, even when they're really mad. People who live together disagree about lots of things, and it's ok to be angry. But, there are better ways to handle things than hitting and yelling at each other. It's part of an adults job to find better ways to handle things when they're feeling mad at each other. It's ok to be mad, but it's not ok to hurt someone. |
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Term
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Definition
Dissociation is a way children sometimes cope or deal with during frightening or overwhelming experiences. It is a
survival tool children use when they feel helpless, afraid, or unable to escape a dangerous situation.
When children dissociate, they block off thoughts, feelings, or memories about the trauma. Kids may even feel like they are in a dream or somewhere else in the room watching what is happening. |
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Term
| What feelings do kids have about parents who hurt them or other family members? |
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Definition
Most children have a lot of complicated feelings about an abusive adult.They may feel afraid, angry, or sad about what’s happened in the home. They may also feel confused because the person who was
hurtful was also loving and fun at other times. Many children feel that the abuse was their fault, not the parent’s. They may think they have to choose between loving one parent or the other. |
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Term
| Who can help a child is being physically abused? |
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Definition
| Any adult - other parent, therapist, teacher, any adult in School, other family like cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, family friends, law advocate, legal guardian. It is important to tell someone else if the first person does not believe the child or do something to help. |
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Term
| How might happen when a child who has been abused or seen abuse tries to sleep at night? |
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Definition
| Sometimes children have trouble going to sleep or sleeping alone, especially if they are under stress. They may be afraid of having nightmares or scary thoughts. They may be worried that something terrible will happen while they are sleeping. Other kids may sleep really deeply and sleep a lot more than usual. |
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Term
| There is a special number you can call if someone is being abused (True/False) |
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Definition
Yes - anyone can call 911 if they are in danger.
Anyone can call this number any time to tell an adult that you or someone you know is being abused. 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) |
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Term
| How common is domestic violence or fighting between adults at home? |
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Definition
| 1 in 15 children see violence in their home each year, and 90% of these children are eyewitnesses to this violence (meaning they see the violence with their own eyes and instead of hearing about it) |
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Term
| All domestic violence gets reported to the police (True or False) |
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Definition
| Only a little more than half of violence in homes is reported to the police. There are many reasons people do not call the police when there is violence at home. |
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Term
| Domestic violence usually includes other types of abuse (like emotional abuse, name calling). True or False? |
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Definition
| True, it is common for someone who is physically abusive to also be emotionally abusive. They might act very controlling and try to be dominant over the person they are abusing |
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Term
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Definition
| Emotional abuse includes humiliating someone, controlling what they can or cannot do, lying, doing something to make the victim feel really embarrassed, saying they can't see friends and/or family, denying them access to money or other basic needs, stalking or following them around, shaming them in public or in private, hurting their confidence and/or sense of self-worth, convincing them that they are crazy |
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Term
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Definition
| Anytime a person uses words to hurt someone else, including name calling, swearing, screaming at someone, and making them feel ashamed or embarrassed especially in front of other people |
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