Criminology (Case Study Sample)

Child abuse
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Child abuse
Introduction
Child abuse is a global problem that has received tremendous attention in Western Countries. The term “Child Abuse” refers to the intentional acts that result in physical or emotional harm to children. Child abuse covers a wide range of behavior from physical assault by parents or other adult caretakers to neglect of child basic need. Traditionally, parent or adult have been entrusted by the society with the responsibility of caring for and guiding their children's' best interest. Many people have difficulty understanding why any person would hurt a child. The public often assume that people who abuse their children suffer from some form of mental disorder, but contrary to the belief, many of these people are quite ordinary people. There is no single explanation for child abuse or maltreatment, child abuse result from complex combination of factors.
The case of Daniel Pelka
Daniel Pelka was a four year old boy who was tortured and killed by his parents. The authorities failed to save the child from severe abuse he underwent through. Welfare officers, teachers, medical officers and social worker did not do enough to help the child from his cruel parents. The perpetrators of this horrific act were his biological mother, 27 years old Magdalena Luczak, and the step father, a 34 years old Mariusz Krezolek. Although report finding shows that professional negligence contributed to the unfortunate fate of Daniel Pelka, there is no single professional who has been disciplined for their high degree of negligence in this case (Robinson, 2013).
Report shows that the child was tortured, starved and beaten to death by his mother and step-father. What surprises many most is that none of the professionals such as teachers and police men who interacted with the child and his parents could not identify that there was a problem. The cruel parents subjected the boy to starvation and salt poisoning, before holding him in a bath till he passed out.
The policemen were very frequent in the house where the boy lived since his mother was a drunkard who often got into a fight with her lovers. How they failed to identify the trauma the boy underwent through is still a mystery. The police ought to have found out how the boy lived in such a hostile environment, and at least offer support to the boy the best way they could. Unfortunately, they were too blind to notice anything. All seemed to be normal to them, and they never bothered to question the boy on how he managed to live with such parents. Daniel Pelka's teachers also failed to identify his deteriorating health status due to starvation and emotional problems. The boy had lost considerable weight, and was emotionally disturbed. He ate left over foods in the schools dustbin, and stole food from his colleagues to relief himself from starvation. All these were enough to indicate to the teachers that there was something wrong in the life of David Pelka, and therefore necessary measures should be taken to take care of the his welfare. There was a high degree of negligence that contributed to the unfortunate fate of David Pelka (Robinson, 2013).
Some few months before David Pelka was killed, he came to school with a broken arm, and dark spots on his eyes. His teachers took no further action since they agreed with the report from accident experts. The boy was sad, desperate, and lonely. He resembled an old man, although he was quite young. The effects of child abuse by those who ought to love him were quite visible, but his teachers chose to give it a blind eye. A good teacher should always enquire about the welfare of his/her students, but in this case the teachers were very complacent, and never bothered to help the needy boy. Social workers and welfare officers failed to diagnose the child for signs of child abuse (Robinson, 2013).\.
Daniel Pelka was subjected to child abuse until he succumbed to death due to several reasons. Firs...