Family Law


Child Abuse

Though much of the family abuse we hear about involves spouses and partners, if there is a family related problem in our society even more dreadful than abuse of this sort, it is certainly child abuse.

Though abused spouses can feel frightened and trapped, the fact remains that they are adults who can take steps to end their abusive relationships. Young children, on the other hand, who are victimized by the very people who are there to look after them, often have no one to turn to and no way of getting the help they need. Only abuse of the elderly and incapacitated shares this same characteristic of child abuse.

Following is a list of situations in which the authorities may step in under the Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act and offer intervention:

  • The child has been abandoned or lost.
  • The parent or guardian of the child is dead, and the child has no other guardian.
  • The parent or guardian of the child is unable or unwilling to provide the child with the necessities of life (food, shelter, clothing) as well as proper medical, surgical, and dental care.
  • The child has been, or there is substantial reason to think that the child will be, physically injured or sexually abused by his or her parent or guardian.
  • The parent or guardian of the child is unable or unwilling to protect the child from physical injury or sexual abuse.
  • The child has been emotionally injured by his or her parent or guardian.
  • The parent or guardian of the child is unable or unwilling to protect the child from emotional injury.
  • The parent or guardian of the child has subjected the child to, or is unable or unwilling to protect the child from, cruel or unusual treatment or punishment.


Abuse within families is not limited to spouses, partners, and children, of course. Elderly relatives may sometimes find themselves abused. Too often stories emerge about elderly parents, perhaps mentally or physically incapacitated in some way, who are neglected and mistreated while their adult children live in their home and bully them into handing over control of their life savings.

People with disabilities, too, can be especially susceptible to abuse within their families.