Chandler Grafner’s story is one that will rip your heart out, tear it to pieces, and leave it weeping for this young little boy. Chandler Grafner was a happy-go-lucky little boy who hid a dark secret. He was being abused by his step-father and mother. He came to school one day with a blackened ear, a very unusual place for an injury. When the teacher had inquired him about it, he said “My dad clobbered me”, later changing his story to “I fell in the shower”. 7-year-old Chandler Grafner spent a lot of time in a closet, which later became his coffin. His parents would leave him there for days without food or water, punishing him brutally if he stole food. On May 6, 2007, Grafner tragically starved to death, spending his final hours locked alone in the closet.

Chandler was much like the 5.8 million other children who are being abused every day. Child abuse is a growing epidemic. For each day that goes by, approximately 864 reports of child abuse are made. Of these 864 children, 5 will die from child abuse, three out of four being under the age of four. Young children across the nation are being neglected, physically, emotionally, and sexually abused constantly. Abused children are little and weak, nearly defenseless against their attackers.

What effects does abuse have on a child? For one thing, young adults who were abused as children are 3.8 times more likely to become addicted to drugs. They are also 30% more likely to commit a violent crime than adults that weren’t abused. Four out of every five abused children showed chronic signs of psychotic disorders, such as eating disorders and depression. Oprah Winfrey was sexually abused as a child, and announced that she would never have children because of it.

Songs and books can be as powerful as organizations when it comes to awareness. The popular song, “Concrete Angel” by Martina McBride, says “Somebody cries in the middle of night. The neighbors hear, but they turn out the light”. McBride addresses the dilemma that many children face: people see and witness child abuse, but often do nothing about it. Books like “Evil Twins” by John Glatt and “No, Daddy, Don’t!” by Irene Pence tackle the increasing number of innocent children who are beaten and later murdered by their own parents. These books and songs are sold and widely popular, spreading the awareness of child abuse everywhere.

How can a parent abuse their child? How can they punch and kick their own flesh and blood? What compels these parents to maliciously attack their kin? No one should abuse their child, under any circumstances. To all the parents who say they were punishing their child, there is a way to effectively punish a child without hurting them. To all the parents who say they never wanted a child, have you ever considered adoption? To all the parents who say it was because they themselves were abused as children, why would you want to bring those horrors onto your own baby?

Child abuse makes me sick. It’s disgusting that people would do these things to kids and tragic that kids have to go through something so horrific. If this is how we treat our kids today, what does tomorrow hold for us? As Nelson Mandela says, “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children”.