Dear Next President,

My name is Emily Torres. I am 16 years old and I live in Philadelphia. I am currently a junior at Olney Charter High School. Over this year I’ve seen a lot of child abuse that’s been happening in Philadelphia and how the bad people don’t get sentenced for a lifetime. Child abuse is a very important topic to me because it’s sad to see innocent children get hurt in a way that is unexplainable. I am going to be talking about the number of children who have gotten mistreated or been taken from the DHS, counseling that children go to for help after trying to recover and finally the experiences children have of being abused and the aftermath of what children struggle with later on in the future because of the child abuse. Those are the three main topics I will be discussing in my letter to the next President.

The statistics surrounding child abuse represent the real people who suffer because of mistreatment of the parents/guardian.Let me tell you some facts about children that get taken away from their homes by the DHS. First of all, 95% of injurious domestic violence is committed by men against women. Second of all, 3.3 million children annually are exposed to domestic violence(Shawn 2000). In the United States, more than 4 children die from child abuse and neglect on a daily basis(Child Abuse Statistics and Facts). Over 70% of these children are below the age of 3(Child Abuse Statistics and Facts). Those kids who suffered so much are now being able to go to a therapist and get help from the emotional scars, suicide thoughts, and depression that they may have. Kids who have been abused are more likely to have problems building and maintaining relationships in their lives.

Next, child abuse counseling is a special field of counseling that focuses on treating children that has suffered at the hands of trusted loved ones. “Professionals will often witness the marks and scars on children”(Woar.org/counseling and Support).There are specific things that need to be told for children who have been abused. For instance, to be told that the abuse was not their fault and they did nothing wrong over and over again, to be believed and reassured that they were right to tell, to receive love and support, etc(Woar.org/counseling and Support).

Let me tell you about children who have experienced child abuse. First of all, “Victims of child abuse may feel that they are bad and deserve the abuse(Abuse and Neglect)”. Also “child victims may develop eating disorders or sleep disturbances, including nightmares(Abuse and Neglect)”. In addition, “children just start going through a hard time after they get abused because they might think it could happen again”(Abuse and Neglect). Finally, stress could also be another thing that could happen to children because being abused is probably their main thing they think about every morning.

In conclusion, trying to help children who have been abused is very important, that’s why the next President should take some actions now. In addition, helping with child abuse could help many children now and later on in the future. Children who have suffered from child abuse young are now trying to live life normal and now probably still remember the horrifying scenes that happen to them. Those are some reasons why the next President should take some actions on Child abuse because it can get worst if everything just stays the way it is now.