Persepolis & Multiple Perspectives

Child abuse can be seen in two ways. The first way is that the child is being abused for no reason and the parent has a mental illness.  The second way a lot of people see it, is that the child had committed wrong doings and deserved to be beaten.  Any forms of child abuse is wrong, weather it is mental or physical.  Abusing children is not only wrong because it hurts them then, but it also hurts them in the future, "...child victims may develop eating disorders or sleep disturbances, including nightmares" (Kids Matter 1).  The definition of child abuse is the physical or emotional or sexual mistreatment of children (Joyful Heart Foundation 1).  Spanking a child, is not seen as abuse, it is a punishment, but excessive spanking for no reason is abuse.  When someone witnesses a child getting hit, they don't think of it as abuse, but that single perspective needs to be erased.  In the graphic novel, Persepolis, by Marjane Strapi.  Marji was a young girl growing up in Iran during the fall of the Shah.  She was forced to believe in a religion and wear clothing that she opposed.  When Marji learned to take a new perspective on life, she found that she was happy until she later had to revert to a new perspective.
     Many children are afraid to announce that they are being abused. For others that is all they know.  They have been abused since birth and don't understand that it is wrong.  When they begin to get older, they may look at life in another perspective and realize that their friends are not covered in bruises.  On the other hand, a lot of children know that they are being hurt but, "...73% of child victims do not tell anyone about the abuse for at least a year. 45% of victims do not tell anyone for at least 5 years" (Child Sexual Abuse Facts 1).  Children need to look at their parents in a different light and realize that how their parents are treating them is wrong.  If children look at their life in another perspective, they can save their lives, just like Marji did.

Works Cited

     

"Child Sexual Abuse Facts." - The Children's Assessment Center Houston, Texas USA The Children's     Assessment Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2013.

"Kids Matter Inc." Kids Matter Inc RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2013.

"Joyful Heart Foundation." Joyful Heart Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2013

 "Abuse in Childhood Increases Risk of Giving Birth to Autistic Children." ParentHerald RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2013.

 Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. New York: Pantheon Books, 2003. Print.