Is maltreatment a private family matter in which no one should try to interfere?
While parents do have the right to raise their children as they see fit, they do not have the right to discipline or punish them in an abusive manner. Everyone is legally and morally obligated to protect children and to report any suspected incident of abuse or neglect to the local department of social services or to the police. Maltreatment is a social as well as a family problem. The consequences are too far reaching for it to be considered strictly a private family matter. Research has shown that children who have been maltreated are at high risk of developing learning or behavior disorders. Severe abuse may also lead to permanent brain damage and mental and/or physical retardation. Another sobering fact is that large numbers of our prison population were abused and/or grossly neglected as children. For some adults, acting out their abusive tendencies is their way of asking for help. They may recognize that they have a serious problem but, at the same time, feel powerless to change
