The National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome focuses its efforts on the specific issue of preventing child abuse that is manifested as shaken baby syndrome.NICHD, also known as the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development is an organization that helps victims of child abuse through one of its branches. Through the Child Development and Behavior (CDB) Branch, NICHD raises awareness efforts by supporting research projects to better understand the short- and long-term impacts of child abuse and neglect. They provide programs and observe National Child Abuse Prevention Month every April since 1984. The United States Childrens Bureau, a federal agency tasked to improve child abuse protection leads activities for the Month, including the release of updated statistics about child abuse and neglect, candlelight vigils, and fundraisers to support prevention activities and treatment for victims. The Bureau also sponsors a "Blue Ribbon Campaign," in which people wear blue ribbons in memory of children who have died from abuse, or in honor of individuals and organizations that have taken important steps to prevent child abuse and neglect. Canada
Charitable organizations exist in each province to assist children and families with abuse. Organizations such as the Canadian Red Cross, Kids Help Phone, and Guardians of the Children Canada, are able to direct people to locally available resources. See also
References
Further reading
Crosson-Tower, C. (2008). Understanding Child Abuse and Neglect. Boston, MA: Pearson Education. ISBN 978-0-205-50326-1. OCLC 150902303. Finkelhor, D. (19 February 2008). Childhood Victimization: Violence, Crime, and Abuse in the Lives of Young People. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.
Treatments
A number of treatments are available to victims of child abuse. However, children who experience childhood trauma do not heal from abuse easily. Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, first developed to treat sexually abused children, is now used for victims of any kind of trauma. It targets trauma-related symptoms in children including PTSD, clinical depression and anxiety. It also includes a component for non-offending parents. Several studies have found that sexually abused children undergoing TF-CBT improved more than children undergoing certain other therapies. Data on the effects of TF-CBT for children who experienced non-sexual abuse was not available as of 2006. The purpose of dealing with the thoughts and feelings associated with the trauma is to deal with nightmares, flashbacks and other intrusive experiences that might be spontaneously brought on by any number of discriminative stimuli in the environment or in the individuals brain. This would aid the individual in becoming less fearful of specific stimuli that would arouse debilitating fear, anger, sadness or other negative emotion. In other words, the individual would have some control or mastery over those emotions.Rational Cognitive Emotive Behavior Therapy is another available treatment and is intended to provide abused children and their adoptive parents with positive behavior change, corrective interpersonal skills, and greater control over themselves and their relationships.Parent–child interaction therapy was designed to improve the child-parent relationship following the experience of domestic violence. It targets trauma-related symptoms in infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, including PTSD, aggression, defiance, and anxiety.