Maltreated and abused children

According to the statistics there are forty thousand of battered and abused children in the Czech Republic. Maltreatment and abuse are not revealed in most cases and thus they accompany the children during their whole childhood. The reason is that children cannot defend themselves. The maltreatment or the abuse of a child is revealed only if somebody from the child?s neighbourhood observes anything suspicious and decides to report it, which is both a moral and a legal obligation. A person, who breaks this obligation to disclose such an offence, might be even awarded a criminal penalty. The objective of this paper is to survey the social environment of children in South Bohemia, where the abuse and maltreatment happen, to find out whether the objects of maltreatment and abuse are more often boys or girls, and also to find out, who is most often the oppressor or an offender. A partial objective of this paper is to explain basic terms of this issue. Recognition of CAN syndrome, surveying the regions with the highest rate of criminal offences committed against children, consequences and harmful effects of maltreatment and abuse and chances of a maltreated or an abused child to lead a full-valued life. The results of my work might help to social workers from the Social and Legal Children Protection Department in South Bohemia to reveal the criminal offences of child abuse. Social workers might focus more on the social environment of the abused children and at the same time on the offenders. This would increase the protection and professional help to the victims of these offences