Citation

Elmer E. Child Abuse Negl. 1979; 3(3-4): 917-925.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1979, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The decent treatment of children is a radical invention of our times. We believe that children have rights -- rights to adequate food, shelter, and consistent care - based on their needs as developing organisms. Because of our concern for children as human beings, we are sensitive to their brutalization by adult caretakers. These ideas would have been incomprehensible to a person born several hundred years ago, when the concept of individual rights was almost unknown. The aim of this presentation is to discuss the evolution of children's rights and to place what we know about child abuse in the context of this evolution. We can then see how far we have progressed and perhaps get some perspective on desirable directions for the future.