DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A COMPUTERIZED CHILD ABUSE DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
ABSTRACT
The computerized child abusedatabase management system is a project proposed to create awareness among masses on the issues related to child abuse. The computerized system will keep tracks of all the suspicious incidents of child abuse by generating reports, aid law enforcement agency based on numerous details. Implementing this computerized system will play a crucial role in child welfare. The management system and data collection tools will meet with the Federal reporting requirements, it will also serve the information needs of an organizations, help inform management decisions and support caseworkers' interactions with children, youth, and families.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The increased Violence against young people includes all types of violence, these occurs for ages between 0-18 years old. This violence may be child maltreatment (i.e.sexual and emotional abuse, neglect or physical violence) mostly between parents or other authority figures. Both genders (boys or girls) are at same risk of physical assault and emotional neglect and abuse, the females are at greater risk of sexual abuse or violence, this mostly leads to unwanted pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases. As young people between this age groups reaches adolescence, peer violence and intimate partner violence, in addition to child maltreatment, becomes highly unavoidable.Violence against children can be avoided by setting up preventable measures. Preventing and addressing to violence against children requires that efforts the society, health workers and other organizations to systematically address the risk and protective factors at all four interrelated levels of risk (individual, relationship, community, society). World Health Assembly (May 2016), reached a resolution which endorsed the first ever WHO Global plan of action on tightening the roles of the health system within a national multisectoral response to fight againstchild neglect, interpersonal violence in particular against girls and women, and against children.The Online child abuse database management system when implemented, will be an application developed to move beyond addressing the impact of child abuse by seeking out the root cause and identifying ways to prevent it. This is an application created to trace out the statistics based on the reports about child abuse and help reduce the rates of the crime. It will maintain a centralized database of all scheme related information. This computerized system verifies and generate reports of incidents about abusive parents, physical and sexual abuse.The Child abuse application will maintain vital information about child abuse laws, it will provide details about those children who are in risk.Encounterthe challenges withproper documentations which include misplacement of vital information or cases, as a result of large volume of work handled, duplicated or efforts due to inconsistency in activities, and a lot of time spent in searching for files or reports when needed for processing.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The existing system, which is a manual process requiresmodification and replacement to enhance it effectiveness, they exista lot of challenges associated with the old and existing system. The existing system faces numerous challenges due to the manual procedure of recording and keeping track of child abusevictims, which may include:
1. A lot of paper work is required to keep vital information, which may lead to lost or damage.
2. Unauthorized users can easily have access to sensitive information.
3. Processing time is slow and lengthy, most times data is duplicated.
4. Keeping multiple folders of child abuse report manually takes a lot of time and resourcesand some of the information is unreliable and inaccurate.
1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The primary objective of the project is to comprehend the challenges of the current system and to recognize the essential requirements and discuss how the computerization of the system can help in eradicating the challenges of the manual based system, with the following objectives:
1. To design a functionally database system for child abuse offenders and victims.
2. To compute child abuse records for easy retrieval.
3. Deny access to unauthorized personnel.
4. Help in the fight against child abuse across the country.
1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study is not limited to or within any agency, it is designed and developed for the prevention and protection against child Abuse and Neglect.
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Child abuse and child neglect are social challenges that influences countlessunderage individuals,and something must be done to change these problems.Theyis a need to design a computerized child abuse and neglect database management system to help combat this issue. With findings from theresearch, it will help law enforcement agency, organizations and other agencies to solve the issues and challenges associated with inability to keep precise records effectively and reduce loss of vital information or reported cases. Furthermore,reduce the rate of child abuseacross the country. This study will also be beneficial to scholars who want to do additional research on the study.
1.6 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The computerized system will be able to compute children abused over recent years, store complainant and offenders’ records for easy retrieval, since is the system is a web-based application, it will require internet access to be enable to access information on the platform.
1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS
1. Child: Child is defined as the dependent person in the custody of a parent or guardian for protection of his/her life.
2. Abuse: It is any deliberate act by a person, group of person in the society designed to inflict on a child mentally, physically sexually or emotionally.
3. Neglect: This usually occur when families fail to or on their own part fail to provide the necessary need for their children such as food, medical care, being deprived of essential need of life.
4. Violence: Behavior involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something.
5. WHO: World Health Organization.
6. Online:while connected to a computer or under computer control.
7. Child Abuse: This is a child this is physically, sexually, emotionally or psychologically maltreated by the parent, caregivers, teachers or group of persons.
8. Offender: This is a person who commits an illegal act. He/she is a criminal and guilty of an offence.
9. Complainant: A complainant is a person who lodges a complaint. It is a term used in content of criminal law to refer to person who alleges that another person committed a criminal act against him/her in a legal way. It is a person who reports a case or crime.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Concept of Child Abuse and Neglect
Child abuse can be defined as causing or permitting any harmful or offensive contact on a Childs body; and any communication or transaction of any kind, which humiliates, shames, or frightens the child. Some child development experts go a bit further, and define child abuse as any act or omission, .which fails to nurture or in the upbringing of the children (Brown and Salzinger, 2010).
Brown and Salzinger, 2010) also defined child abuse and neglect as: "at minimum, any recent act or fare to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death serious physical ' emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation, or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk or serious harm". In addition the oxford-advanced learner's dictionary of contemporary English defines it as the crime of harming a child in a physical, sexual or emotional away.
It should be noted that any child of any sex, race, religion and socioeconomic background could fall victim to child abuse and neglect (Chaffin, 2011).
Types of Child Abuse and Neglect
Child abuse and neglect consists of any acts of commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver that results in harm, potential for harm, or the threat of harm to a child (0–18 years of age) even if the harm is unintentional (Gilbert et al., 2009). The five main types of child maltreatment are: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional maltreatment, neglect, and witnessing domestic violence.
Evidence suggests that different types of abuse and neglect rarely occur in isolation and children who experience repeated maltreatment often experience multiple forms of abuse (Cancian and Caspar, 2008).
EMOTIONAL ABUSE: it is also seen as verbal a use mental abuse, and psychosocial maltreatment. It includes acts or the failure to act by parents or caretakers that have consent or could cause, serious behavioral, cognitive emotional, or mental disorders. '
This can include parents/caretakers using extreme end/oy boxcar forms of punishments, such as confinement in a closet or dork room or being tied to a chair for long periods - of time or threatening or terrorizing a child less severe acts, acts, but no less damaging ore belittling or rejecting treatment, using derogatory terms to describe the child, habitual scapegoat or blaming (Corso and Mercy, 2008).
SEXUAL ABUSE: the inappropriate sexual behavior with a child. It includes fondling a child's genitals, making the child fondle the adult's genitals, intercourse, incest, rape, soloing, exhibitionism and sexual exploitation. To consider, child abuse, these acts have to be committed by a person responsible for the care of a child (e.g. a baby-sitter, a parent, or a daycare provider) or related to the child. It a stranger commits these acts it would be conditioned sexual assault and handled solely by the police and criminal courts (Gilbert and Janson, 2009).
NEGLECT: the failure to provide for the child's basic needs neglect can be physical, educational, or emotional. Physical neglect can include not providing adequate food or clothing appropriate medical core, supervision, or proper weather .protection (haut or cots). It may include abandonment. Educational neglect includes. Failure to provide appropriate scooting or special educational needs, allowing excessive truancies. Psychological neglect includes the lack of any emotional support and love, never attending to the child, spousal abuse, clung and alcohol abuse including allowing the child to participate in drug and alcohol use physical abuse: the inflicting of physical inpruy upon a child (Gillham, 2010). This may include, brining, hitting, punching, shaking, kicking, beating, or otherwise harming a child. The parent or caretaker may not have intended to hurry the child; the injury is not an accident. It may, however, been the result of over-discipline or physical punishment that is inappropriate to the child's age (Gornick and Meyers, 2015).
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