Proposal

Proposal: Child Abuse  The topic I am choosing is child abuse, because I feel that the issue is hardly ever touched upon, because of the thin line between child abuse and discipline. Back in the day, children were beat much more badly than they are now. Adults used all sorts of devices to inflict pain on their child to “discipline” them, but sometimes they do not know how far is too far. There are even laws now that prohibit the use of such devices to discipline children. I’m not sure if I should include the topic of rape, especially since they are two completely different subjects, but are in the same general category.

 My main question that I want to explore is what the difference is between the public’s reaction to the the different genders that fall victim to child abuse or rape (depending whether I decide to do both). My general observation is that most times when a boy or male is victim of rape or child abuse, the public view it as tough love. But when a girl or female is victim, then the public goes crazy, saying that the perpetrator should be in jail for life. So I want to further explore and prove why it is like this and how gender plays a role in the public’s reaction.

Essential Question: What role does the victim's gender play in the public's reaction to child abuse?