Sympathy for the devil: How childhood trauma forms a cycle of abuse

Child abuse has always been a concerning topic anywhere in the world. In Bangladesh, child abuse related discourse mainly focuses on ensuring access to basic human rights for children. Additionally, child trafficking and child labour have also gotten much attention in the popular imagination as these are two of the most egregious forms of child abuse in our society.

But recently, due to a rise in criminal activities committed by teenagers and young adults, many have started to ponder about their motivations. While many choose to emphasise the influence of foreign culture, degradation of social and religious values, one probable reason goes largely unnoticed.

In commemoration of the "International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression", today I will attempt to examine the role of childhood trauma in criminal behaviours.

The biggest challenge to discussing childhood trauma in the context of our country is that many people do not consider some forms of child abuse as being particularly harmful to children. Even though we have seen a paradigm shift in recent years, our society still generally approves of strict disciplinarian actions administered by parents, elders and teachers.

These can include beating, slapping, name-calling, teasing or bullying, verbal or physical acts of humiliation, ignoring the emotional or physical requirements of children, etc. There is no doubt that most parents have good intentions when administering these punishments to their children but simply do not know any better. There are also cases where the harm is caused deliberately with malicious intents.

Between January and October of 2020, 1451 cases of violence against children were reported in Bangladesh. A large number of cases were of sexual violence. At least 974 cases of rape were reported during the first 11 months of the previous year. To put it into context, almost 3 children are raped every day in our country.

But there is a significant problem with these numbers. Many cases of violent abuse are committed in the disguise of 'disciplinary actions' by family members, and these are generally not reported. Due to the absence of sexual education among children and teenagers, many simply do not realise that they are being molested or raped.

According to the 'Manusher Jonno Foundation', most of the victims were raped by authoritative figures who have power over the children, often threatening them with further violence and abuse to keep their mouths shut. In many instances, the victims were raped and abused multiple times before they came forward.

It is safe to say that physical, mental and sexual abuse of children is a plague in our country. Many groups alongside the government are trying to ensure justice for victims. They are taking preventative measures to reduce it.

But childhood trauma and its correlation with criminal behaviour are not really discussed in our country. In fact, there are not even many academic papers on this subject. As a result, we have to take data from other countries into consideration.

One of the most enduring effects of childhood trauma can be seen in the development of mental disorders among the victims. According to a recent study based in Singapore, 48.2% of the patients with mood disorders (such as depression and bipolar disorder) suffered physical abuse as children, while 59% had to endure emotional abuse.

On the other hand, 33% of people who had psychotic disorders (like schizophrenia) were victims of physical abuse. Almost half of the patients from every category also had to suffer some forms of emotional neglect in their childhood.

These conditions often remain untreated for a major portion of their lives which can result in social isolation, alienation from peers, difficulties in acquiring education, obtaining jobs, holding down stable relationships, etc. These can cause further problems like anti-social behaviours and actions which are some of the catalysts for criminal behaviours.

But trauma also affects criminal behaviours in a more direct way. Almost all researches on this topic found a strong correlation between childhood trauma and adult criminal behaviours.

Offender groups have reported experiencing traumatic events in their childhood four times more than normal people usually do. On the other hand, convicted sexual offenders and child abusers were more likely to experience sexual abuse as children.

These studies were supported by infamous cases of serial offenders. Take the example of Richard 'The Night Stalker' Ramirez. As a child, Ramirez had to endure his father's frequent fits of rage, during which he was beaten mercilessly. To escape from his father, Richard started to spend an increasing amount of time with his cousin Mike who was a veteran of the Vietnam war. Mike shared how he had raped multiple women in Vietnam along with other grizzly details of the horrors of war. As a result, during his formative years, Ramirez associated sexuality with violence, forced bondage and rape. Consequently, Ramirez committed 13 counts of murder, 5 counts of attempted murder and 11 counts of sexual assault during his 20's.

Another infamous example is Charles Manson, the head of the dreaded Manson family. Even though Manson himself never killed anyone, his followers killed 10 people. Manson's childhood was no better than that of Ramirez. He never knew his father, and his mother was an alcoholic petty criminal who was in and out of jail during her son's formative years. Manson was sent to a boarding school where he was not only physically abused by his teachers but also bullied by his peers. He even reported that he was often raped but could not do anything due to his small stature. After a year there, Manson ran away from school and started his life of crime.

But perhaps the most infamous example of childhood abuse was seen in the case of Ed Kemper. His mother had a domineering personality and there were constant fights between his parents. After his parents got divorced, Kemper had to stay with his mother who often humiliated, belittled and abused him. Kemper was forced to sleep in the basement because his mother was afraid he would rape his sisters.

At the age of 15, Kemper, suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, killed his grandparents and was sentenced to 7 years in a mental asylum. But against his wish and the recommendation of his doctors, Kemper was released in the care of his mother who continued to belittle and humiliate him. Then, Kemper had killed 8 women in one year, six of whom were college students. But the last two were his mother and her friend. After killing and performing necrophilia on their corpses Ed Kemper calmly surrendered himself to the police.

Even though these connections may seem weak, research has found that childhood abuse and trauma can physically alter the human brain. It can reduce the amount of white matter in certain parts of the brain, making learning and thinking extremely difficult for the victims.

Trauma can also make victims susceptible to obesity, drug addiction, metabolic disease, heart diseases and immune dysfunction. Child abuse victims often feel an acute sense of powerlessness and a lack of control in their lives. To get rid of that, they try to replicate the actions of powerful figures in their lives, which are largely predatory and abusive.

Most victims of abuse certainly grow up to be completely normal and those who involve themselves in criminal activities must assume responsibility for their actions. But if we are to prevent crime, we must look into the role childhood abuse plays in it.

Firstly, in-depth research is necessary to understand the severity of such abuse among criminals in Bangladesh. Secondly, the government should try to educate the parents about how to correctly treat and discipline their children. Children should also have easy access to mental health experts and social workers who can identify traumatic experiences and intervene accordingly. Our penal system must also provide help regarding trauma to the inmates, paving a smoother path towards rehabilitation.

Readus Salehen Jawad is an undergraduate student at the Department of Economics, University of Dhaka

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.