Childhood and Maltreatment: A historical perspective

Abstract

Although child abuse in the family is one of the most important problems that children suffer today, it can't be considered a recent phenomenon. Throughout history boys and girls have been treated with love but also cruelty by their parents. The present article presents a brief overview of the social representation of childhood and the most prevalent models of victimization in different historic periods. Finally the article attempts to analyze child abuse in modern society and reflects on some issues surrounding the concept.