[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 77 (Thursday, May 30, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E972-E973]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENT BY ALISON CARPENTER REGARDING CHILD ABUSE

                                 ______


                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 30, 1996

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, for the benefit of my colleagues I would 
like to have printed in the Record this statement by Alison Carpenter, 
a high school student from Brattleboro, VT, who was speaking at my 
recent town meeting on issues facing young people.

       Children suffer at the hands of adults. They are beaten, 
     kicked and burned with cigarettes. They are thrown against 
     walls, scalded by hot water, forced to stand in freezing 
     showers until they pass out, and thrown into running washing 
     machines. They are sexual molested: they are the victims of 
     incest. Child abuse is a serious issue that has existed 
     throughout history, and it is a major concern in our society 
     today. It was not until recently that it was recognized as a 
     medical and social problem.
       Child abuse takes many forms: it occurs whenever an adult 
     inflicts intentional physical, emotional or sexual harm to a 
     child. There are many steps that are being taken to prevent 
     all three forms of child abuse, but it will take a long time 
     to fully eliminate it. The most common form of abuse on 
     children is physical abuse. There are approximately 200 cases 
     of physical abuse for every one that is reported, according 
     to the National Committee for the Protection of Child Abuse. 
     A child is the victim of physical violence even if the anger 
     is not directly inflicted on him or her. A witness to 
     violence is a victim of violence. Children who witness abuse 
     at home can suffer in unseen ways. Quite often, their pain 
     goes untreated; they can suffer serious emotional damage.
       Children need a large amount of emotional support from 
     their families. Some elements of emotional support include: 
     respecting the child's needs, tolerating his or her feelings, 
     and a willingness to learn from their behavior. Our emotions 
     are one of our basic powers. Emotional abuse is form of 
     psychological battering. A child's earliest needs in life are 
     for a warm, loving person to be there, to mirror, echo and 
     affirm them. Children need to be prized, and applauded during 
     their growth achievement. If they do not get this, they will 
     do whatever they can in order to. These are basic needs. 
     Children need to be allowed to feel, and to express what they 
     feel. If a child is controlled compulsively, he or she will 
     become an adult with a compulsive, controlling and immature 
     childish side. Some forms of emotional abuse are yelling, 
     belittling, criticizing, humiliating and comparing a child.
       Incest, or sexual abuse, is the most shaming of any form of 
     violence, because it involves the betrayal of a supposed 
     loved one. It leaves a long-term effect on the child, 
     believing it was their fault. It is a violation of the 
     child's sexuality. Some people believe that children may 
     simply imagine episodes of sexual abuse. An argument that is 
     made by psychologists, is that a young child who has not been 
     molested, has not had the experience of with sex to 
     be capable of imagining such an experience.
       The profile of an abuser tends to be very similar in all 
     forms of child abuse. An abuser is usually someone who has a 
     poor self-image; someone who lacks sensitivity to others' 
     feelings. A person who abuses was most likely abused 
     themselves, or was deprived of basic parenting. An abuser has 
     usually had unmet needs for love or comfort, and is in denial 
     about his or her feelings. Child abuse has a tremendous 
     impact on victims throughout their entire lives. They tend to 
     feel helpless and out of control. The victims tend to 
     dissociate from all of their memories, and begin to feel a 
     sense of unreality. They may have recurring nightmares, sleep 
     disorders or flashbacks. As they get older, they tend to 
     develop split or multiple personalities. They have little or 
     no interest in anything, trouble completing thought 
     processes, confusion, and no trust. A girl who has been 
     abused sexually grows up to believe that she cannot escape 
     being battered. A boy who has been abused may believe in male 
     supremacy. Boy victims, more than girls, identify with the 
     offenders, and sometimes become offenders. This bonding with 
     abusers is a way to overcome the feeling of helplessness and 
     powerlessness.
       There are many actions that are being taken against child 
     abuse. Forty-nine States (except for Wyoming), have 
     established children's trust funds. All of the States have a 
     Child Protective Service system, which is a government system 
     that is responsible for investigating reports of child abuse 
     or neglect. This, however, lacks the resources needed to 
     respond to overwhelming number of reports. All States also 
     have a child abuse reporting law, requiring reports of 
     suspected abuse to be made by specified professionals, or 
     others whose work brings them in regular contact with 
     children. There are also family preservation services, that 
     are working to make it so the child can remain with his or 
     her family as long as his safety is not endangered. Private 
     organizations, such as Mothers Against Raping Children and 
     Mothers of Sexually Abused Infants and Children serve as 
     support groups, and fight for the rights of children. We Can 
     Help Ourselves is another organization that teaches children 
     how to handle abusive sitations.
       There are still many things that need to be done to help 
     prevent the abuse of children. States need to provide even 
     more services for victims of abuse. They need to look at the 
     quality of foster care, because it needs to be more than just 
     giving a child a place to live. People need to be more alert 
     to possible child abuse cases, and to report them to the 
     authorities. Those in a position of authority need to 
     investigate quickly and accurately, and take the first steps 
     to remove children from abusive situations. We need to bring 
     offenders to court, and most of all, we need to stop abusing 
     our children.
       Bringing a child into the world is a huge responsibility, 
     that two people make and

[[Page E973]]

     must live with forever. Parenting is not temporary; it is not 
     something that can be put aside when a person wants a break. 
     Child abuse is an awful cycle, which travels from generation 
     to generation. As author John Bradshaw says, ``It is about 
     the silence of nights spent holding in screams, holding back 
     tears, holding in one's very self.'' One of the main causes 
     of child abuse is the lack of education that this country 
     has. There are so many people who do not know what is morally 
     right from wrong. Children should be able to look up to their 
     parents without fearing them. Our society as a whole needs to 
     work together to stop child abuse.
       The first step in this long fight is to educate. Now is not 
     the time to cut back on education services.
       One quote I believe summarizes the issue is, ``If a child 
     live with criticism, he learns to condemn. If a child lives 
     with hostility, he learns to fight. If a child lives with 
     shame, he learns to feel ashamed.'' Thank you.
       Congressman Sanders: Thank you, Alison. Alison has touched 
     on one of the most tragic issues that we as a country face, 
     and that is that there are hundreds and hundreds of thousands 
     of little kids and teenagers who are being abused. And as 
     Alison indicated, that type of abuse has a profound impact on 
     one's ability to grow up to be a mature adult. Alison, let me 
     just ask you a couple of questions. Why is it, do you think--
     what goes through an adult's mind, a grown-up person's mind 
     who would abuse a child. What motivates somebody to do that, 
     do you think?
       Answer: I think that an abuser is one who has a lot of 
     inside pain, and they don't know any other way of handling 
     their pain, and they take it out on children, because 
     children don't really fight back. Children, they're the only 
     thing that they can take it out on, because they . . . don't 
     have the ability to fight back.
       Congressman Sanders: I think . . . that's a very good 
     answer. Let me ask you another question. Very specifically, 
     and I know you touched on this a little bit, what can we do 
     to ameliorate that problem? What do we as a community, as a 
     society, as a country, how do we address that tragedy?
       Answer. I think that the most important thing is to 
     educate, not only the abusers but the children of abusers, so 
     that children know that this isn't right; that what they have 
     been growing up in is not a good situation. Because, quite 
     often children who are abused grow up to be abusers, because 
     they don't know any better, and I think we need to educate 
     them and show them that this isn't the way that our society 
     should be.
       Congressman Sanders: Alison, thank you very much for that 
     excellent testimony.

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