BY LOVENESS MAWISIRE- The Cinderella Effect is a phenomenon of different forms of child abuse and mistreatment by stepparents than by biological parents. The name was borrowed from a fairy tale movie of a girl named Cinderella, who endured ill-treatment from her step mother and sisters, which I believe many have read, watched or heard of.
From my understanding, there are different types of child abuse which are:
- Non lethal or physical abuse- It is defined as a non accidental physical injury to the child and there are so many examples of this, for instance, beating or punching. Physical abuse may be intentional or maybe the unintended result of physical punishment or excessive discipline
but in the case of step parents it is more often intentional, in the name of disciplining the child for no reason.
You might find a step mom beating up a child, and if you ask the reason for that action you won’t get it, the only answer you can get is “she/he does not listen”.
Most children who suffer abuse also get deprived of their rights, besides the beatings. Imagine a scenario where you find a young girl at the age of 15 being told to clean a 16 roomed house and do all the laundry? The child has less time to focus on her education or to play like other kids of her age. Assigning these children hard chores is also very dangerous to their health. Some are even denied food, and have to rely on leftovers.
2.Emotional abuse – This is serious form of abuse which can result in mental disorders such as depression, anxiety and many others. Emotional abuse has severe effectd because the verbal insults that a stepparent say can last for a lifetime in the mind of the child.This is when children are being criticised by their stepparents and being yelled at.
Usually parents do not talk to the step child or children in calm manner that they understand but scream their heads off and shout using harsh words, sometimes vulgar.
Exposure to family violence can damage a child’s self esteem and well being. Parents should be very careful when they have misunderstandings or fights so that children are not exposed to that.
- Ignoring – Step parents may ignore the child’s needs. This may occur even when the child not well ,they suffer until they heal or get worse. They are subjected to different treatment from other family members.
Of course there are scenarios where in a marriage the husband cheats and sires a child out of wedlock, and the wife has to take care of that child. The anger and resentment is a normal feeling but these innocent child should not be punished because of their parent’s deeds.
Child abuse has so many effects on victims, for instance they can suffer from trauma, low self esteem, this can alsolead to early child marriages whereby the child feels better being with their boyfriend and decides to elope. If the child do not get help at an early stage, it can lead to suicide because they wi be feeling like there’s no one to talk to.
Let us come together and help these children through reporting all child abuse cases, and encourage victims to contact child help line.