Child abuse is the physical, psychological or sexual maltreatment of children. While most child abuse happens in the child's home, a significant portion also occurs in organizations involving children, such as churches, schools, child care businesses, and residential schools. There are four major categories of child abuse: neglect, physical abuse, psychological or emotional abuse, and sexual abuse. There are different subcategories within each type of abuse.[http://www.helpguide.org/mental/child_abuse_physical_emotional_sexual_neglect.htm Child Abuse and Neglect: Types, Signs, Symptoms, Help and Prevention ]

Since there are many forms of abuse and neglect, many governments have developed their own legal definition of what constitutes child maltreatment for the purposes of removing a child and/or prosecuting a criminal charge. In the United States, the Federal Government puts out a full definition of child abuse and neglect and creates a summary of each State definition. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines child maltreatment as any act or series of acts or commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child. Examples of acts of commission include physical, sexual, and psychological abuse. Examples of acts of omission include failure to provide (physical, emotional, medical/dental, or educational neglect) or failure to supervise (inadequate supervision, or exposure to violent environments.)

Types of Abuse

Neglect can take many forms. An example of physical neglect would be the failure to provide adequate food, clothing, or hygiene. An example of emotional neglect would be inadequate nurturing or affection. Physical abuse may include striking, burning, shaking, pinching, or pulling hair or ear. Child Sexual Abuse is said to include penetration, fondling, violations of privacy, exposure of children to adult sexuality and rape

Psychological or Emotional abuse includes verbal abuse, withholding affection, extreme punishment and corruption, ignoring, rejecting, terrorizing, and isolating. It may also entail the abuser minimizing, or "downplaying" the severity of abuse along with the act of invalidation. Invalidation is to reject, ignore, mock, tease, judge, or diminish someone's feelings. It is an attempt to control how they feel and for how long they feel it.

Prevalence

According to the (American) National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, in 1997 neglect represented 54% of confirmed cases of child abuse, physical abuse 22%, sexual abuse 8%, emotional maltreatment 4%, and other forms of maltreatment 12%. 30% of children are threatened. According to a recent UNICEF report on child well-being in the United States and the United Kingdom ranked lowest among first world nations with respect to the well being of their children. This study also found that child neglect and child abuse are far more common in single-parent families than in families where both parents are present. Recently a study conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that 1 in 50 infants in the United States are victims of nonfatal neglect or abuse.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nonfatal Maltreatment of Infants – United States, October, 2005--September 2006. MMWR 2008;57:1. In the US, neglect is defined as the failure to meet the basic needs of children including housing, clothing, food and access to medical care. Researchers found over 91,000 cases of neglect over the course of one year (from October 2005- September 30, 2006) with their information coming from a database of cases verified by protective services agencies.