Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Regarding Child Abuse Among School Teachers: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objectives: Child abuse and neglect is still a serious social and public health problem. The damage to a child from maltreatment can range from minor to extensive physical, psychological, and behavioral problems. In the most severe cases, child abuse and neglect results in the tragic death of a child.Teachers are in a unique position to identify and report abuse because of their daily contact with young children.The aim of this study was to investigate school teacher’s knowledge, attitude and practices regarding child abuse. Methods: The questionnaire consisting of 10 questions was sent to teachers in government schools and private schools. Questionnaire was framed to assess teachers’ knowledge about child abuse,their attitude towards reporting child abuse and their practices involved regarding child abuse. Results: 36.3% were government school teachers, 21.8% were private sector CBSE and 41.9% were private matriculation teachers. 82% of the teachers agreed that it should be mandated to report about child abuse. 64.7% of the teachers made report of child abuse cases and 35.3% of the teachers failed to report child abuse cases. 57.7% of the teachers have planned to report of child abuse cases when they suspect it, 18.2% of the teachers have not planned to report child abuse cases and 24.1% of the teachers have not decided yet to report child abuse cases when they suspect it. Conclusion: Within, the limits of this study, it can be concluded that majority of the teachers have knowledge about child abuse, they are aware of the signs and symptoms of child abuse and child neglect but they are not reporting child abuse cases