The effects of child abuse are many. The pain and trauma the abused child endures is only a small part of how this cauldron of hidden depravity in our society affects us all. Destroyed lives can be seen in people of all ages and in all walks of life. Society as a whole is also affected by child abuse in both negative and positive ways. In this essay I will present some of the factors and results of this violent behavior on individuals and our culture. Early American culture did not consider child abuse a crime. Children over the age of 7 were forced to work as hard as adults of the time. If they didn't, they were often beaten. This changed in the late 19th century when 9-year-old Mary Ellen, who had suffered physical beatings at the hands of her adoptive mother, was reported to the authorities by concerned neighbors who heard Mary's repeated cries at the hands or exchange of her adoptive mother. In 1874, a mission volunteer named Etta Wheeler was told of Mary's cruel life of beatings, imprisonment, and merciless servitude. When Etta Wheeler was finally allowed to observe Mary in her quarters, she was distraught and began to do everything in her power to get Mary out of her horrible situation. Wheeler convinced the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to intervene and remove Mary from the home through legal means. Their argument was that “Mary Ellen was a member of the animal kingdom and therefore could be included in laws that protected animals from human cruelty” (Bell, 2011, p. 3). From this defense of young Mary the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children was formed. The overall effect of young Mary's abuse was a permanent change in U.S. law that provides for abuse, violence, and neglect... at the heart of the document... I know of some forms of family violence, such as child abuse, we should be able to more quickly gain a better understanding of every type of family violence we encounter in our society. What we learn about how to overcome child abuse may be helpful in therapy for intimate partner or elder abuse. The continuous cycle of child abuse can be stopped when we are willing to look at the devastation it leaves in the lives of not only child victims. , but all those who are part of the family or society in which family violence dwells. When people are willing to stand up for these young victims and get involved, only then will positive change come. Look at the positive change that came from the abuse and rescue of a 9-year-old girl named Mary Ellen, when a person with compassion in her heart was willing and determined to get involved and make a difference.