Child abuse has been around for a long time; it happened as far back as Biblical times through such things as child labor and physical or sexual abuse. In the 18th century, pain and suffering became more understood and severe forms of punishment against women, children and animals began to decline. In the 19th century whipping began to diminish in the Western societies. Then in 1874, eight-year-old Mary Ellen McCormick was found to be suffering from severe abuse and neglect. The authorities would not take action since there were no laws to prevent parents from being cruel to their children. The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was contacted and successfully convinced a judge that Mary Ellen was a member of the animal kingdom. The case was subsequently heard under the laws against animal cruelty. Mary Ellen's guardian was sentenced to one year in prison. In 1962 Dr. C. Henry Kempe and his colleague published "The Battered Child Syndrome" in the Journal of the American Medical Association. With that, awareness of child maltreatment began. Since then, the extent of child abuse has been much more widely recognized. (MCG Healthcare, 2001). In 1974, Congress passed the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment act, which stated that child abuse was when the child's health was harmed or threatened in any way by their caretaker or anyone else, and it would not be allowed or legal any longer.
