Children entering foster care and child protection are continually on the increase around the world. The most significant by-product that comes from family breakdown in respect to any child is rejection. Understanding why abuse and rejection takes place is imperative in the process of mending family relationships and providing the love and care our children so desperately seek and deserve.
In 2010 there are around 35,000 children in Foster Care or Child Protection in Australia. In the United States of America there are over 500,000 children in Foster Care or Child Protection. The only thing that appears likely to slow this trend is the availability of families willing or capable of taking into their homes any more children other than those they may already care for. Or the facilities to place children where they will be looked after properly and receive as close as possible the love and attention they would normally receive in a functioning family home. Sadly, these resources are lacking.
1 2 Impact
So what happens to kids who don't have this support, and why then is this epidemic of unwanted or abandoned kids so sharply on the increase around the world?
Maybe we can touch on a couple of things that may be contributing to this unraveling of family structures. Some statistics suggest that 1 in 3 girls experience sexual abuse as young children and somewhere between 1 in 4 to 1 in 6 boys. The reason to why the statistics surrounding males is not so accurately defined is likely due to the reluctance of men to come forward to disclose their experiences in this area.
These figures represent more than 25% of a population. Given Australia's population being around 22 million, there are likely to be in excess of 5 million people who are displaying harmful behavior patterns as a result of their past childhood experiences. America's population being around 308 million would then suggest over 70 million may be in need of healing from childhood sexual abuse. The United Kingdom with around 61 million would suggest that there is at least 15 million who may also require some help to find freedom from these hurtful past events.
As a victim of sexual abuse myself from around 12 years of age, now at the age of 59 and having been through an intensive healing process these past 6 years, I recognize many behavior patterns that I adopted throughout my life. These behavior patterns have been proven to be consistent in men and women of all ages throughout the world who have experienced similar types of abuse.
One of the behavior patterns that are quite common is the inability to handle the responsibility of raising children properly, or showing them the love they need to grow up confident that they are truly valued. In many cases the children, of abuse victims who are not healed, can become victims of their parent's out of control anger and are exposed to horrendous acts of violence. As a result we regularly hear of young children being physically abused which sometimes lead to the death of a child.
Being a victim of significant rejection as a child can also have similar results. Things such as parents divorcing or separating, which in itself seems to be a common ritual by many more people these days compared to years gone by. You have to wonder how much the divorces or breakups of high-profile people such as movie stars, highlighted so much throughout the media, influences people in making these decisions. You would think many people would be influenced by this thinking that if it's Ok for them to do it then it must be Ok for me. Strange how people can be so strongly drawn to similar attitudes of people who earn their living pretending to be somebody else for much of their lives.