What to Do If You Suspect Child Abuse

Perhaps you have noticed that the children of your neighbors are never allowed outdoors. Maybe you have even heard adults screaming and children crying in terror, or have seen a neighbor kick, punch, or knock a child to the ground. It could be that you live close enough to have heard repeated loud thumps against walls, or the sounds of objects crashing and breaking. Or is it that it seems you can always hear a child crying, for hours and hours at a time?

Whatever your particular observations may be, it is always unnerving and heartbreaking to think of a child being hurt, especially when it seems there is nothing you can do to help them. Far too many children are seriously injured and even killed each year at the hands of their parents or caregivers. The neighbors of some of these children probably knew something was wrong, too.

Recently, a story surfaced about an officer, who received a call to respond to a home for a domestic situation involving a young child. A neighbor, recorded on her 911 call, pleaded with the dispatcher to send someone to help her neighbor-child, who she believed was being beaten. This good samaritan, was heard telling the dispatcher "they're going to kill her!", as she continued to ask for help for the little girl who was approximately four years old. The officer, who ignored the call for some time, did finally respond. The little girl was then removed from the home, having been found to be covered in welts and bruises.