On Child Abuse: You Have to Speak Up

Stories of child abuse enrage me. Most often than not a death of an innocent child can be prevented. Every story, like the one below, always has at least one person being interviewed admitting that they saw something or felt like something was not right. A three year old cannot speak for himself and if the adults around him, who hear and see abuse, don’t speak for him, then most often it will end with the child’s death.

I know all too well how difficult it is to inform authorities of possible abuse, especially if you are not in the household but on the outside looking in, and don’t want to get people in trouble. I had to make that call to social services when I I knew a one year old child close to my family was being neglected. It  still hurts my heart when I recall the mother calling me asking how could I take her child from her. Custody was given to the dad in this case and every other weekend when I see this little boy I know I made the right decision. His mother never made any moves to change her life, or to do the bare minimum of what the court asked her. His father on the other hand has done everything to make sure his son is happy including continuously reaching out to the mother to keep a relationship between them. She makes promises but hasn’t seen the boy in two years. The road the mom has headed down I know I was right to call CPS to protect him. He is now in a stable home with a father who loves and cares about him first.

It is very hard to ‘stick your nose’ into other peoples business but when it comes to children they need someone to acknowledge their bruises, to hear their screams, to offer comfort when they can’t get any at home. It’s not good enough to say I knew they were beating him AFTER the child is dead.

THAT  IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

Most often we ‘know’ but don’t want to get involved but we have to. You are no better than the abuser if you stand by and say nothing.

Gothamist: Dead 3-Year-Old Likely Suffered “History Of Abuse”he 3-year-old boy found dead in his Brooklyn apartment yesterday may have been fatally beaten by his aunt, according to authorities, and it’s believed he endured “a history of abuse.”

According to police, 3-year-old Ethan Ali (originally identified as 4 years of age) was found dead in his Brownsville apartment at around 1:27 p.m. yesterday. Police noticed bruising on his body, and the Post reports that officers are investigating whether Ethan’s 21-year-old aunt, Christen Dale, beat him to death with a belt. The boy’s grandfather told the Daily News that he had seen Dale hit the boy previously. “They did it all the time. They beat him and they beat him. He was always bruised,” he said. “She beat him with the belt. I told her to stop.”

Neighbors told the Times that Ethan had lived with a rotating number of family members in the apartment, and that they heard him crying on multiple occasions. “I heard spanking, like someone talking: ‘Don’t do that. Didn’t I tell you not to do that?’ ” one neighbor, who heard the boy crying on Tuesday, told the paper. “I didn’t think it was going to come to this. That was my first time ever hearing him getting a spanking.”

Dale and her boyfriend, who apparently found her holding Ethan’s body on Wednesday, were being interviewed by police officers yesterday, though no one had been arrested as of this morning. The boy’s mother, Natasha Ali, is reportedly cooperating with authorities; according to NBC News, the boy’s father had been fighting for custody of him.

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Shahidah