Child abuse

Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of children.^[1] In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child.^[2] Most child abuse occurs in a child's home, with a smaller amount occurring in the organizations, schools or communities the child interacts with.^{[citation needed]} There are four major categories of child abuse: neglect, physical abuse, psychological/emotional abuse, and child sexual abuse.
Different jurisdictions have developed their own definitions of what constitutes child abuse for the purposes of removing a child from his/her family and/or prosecuting a criminal charge. According to the Journal of Child Abuse and Neglect, child abuse is "any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation, an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm".^[3] A person who feels the need to abuse or neglect a child may now be described as a "pedopath".^[4]