More enforcement of penalties is needed to protect children from being abused in the United States. Child abuse is usually divided into four major types: Physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, and emotional maltreatment. Millions of children each year become victims of abuse. In "1986, there were 2.2 million reports of physical or sexual, or neglect, which was more than triple that of a decade earlier (Steitfeld E5)." The Health and Human Services Department found that in "1996, 3 million children were maltreated or abused (Seattle 1)." These numbers will continue to rise until the laws are made more strict.
             Abuse in all forms has many short and long term effects on the young victims. Children who are physically abused are "wary of physical contact with adults (Sloan 4)", "are afraid to go home (4)", and "demonstrate extremes in behavior (4)." When a child is neglected, they tend to have "rare attendance at school and addictions to alcohol and other drugs (5)." Sexually abused children suffer from "bruises or bleeding in the genital area and have poor peer relationships (6-7)" throughout their lives. Emotional maltreatment can appear by itself, although it is usually accompanied by other forms of abuse. These children often display "anti-social behavior, behavior extremes whether it be extreme withdrawl, or extreme aggression, and they may even attempt suicide (8)."
             In my opinion, if he punishment for child abuse was more harsh, then less children would be abused. For children who are neglected and emotionally abused, I feel they should be taken away from their families immediately. I believe the same for children who are physically abused, however I also think that the abuser should get a taste of what he/she did to the child. Send them to a jail and let the inmates give him a good beating. The people who sexually abuse children I fe...