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So I witnessed child abuse at work today

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  • #1

    So I witnessed child abuse at work today

    Today I was manning (or "womaning" if you prefer) the lady's clothing register and happened to glance over at the fitting room. I heard a child about the age of 5 getting upset and wanting to leave, which is no odd occurance.

    Then I saw said child's mom come out of the fitting room, tell the child to stop crying, and when said child didn't stop, the mom SHOVED the girl. That by itself isn't too bad, I've seen parents push kids away from dangerous items, but this was different.

    They were right next to the wood wall of a fitting room cubicle, the child's head went "THUNK" on the wood, and then the child fell to the floor (that's how hard she was pushed). The woman's husband told his wife "you don't have to take it out on her if you're mad at me." (he said it an "oh boy here we go again" tone, there was none of shock and rage slamming a little girl's head into a wood wall should provoke, which makes me think this wasn't a one-time thing).

    I paged security but of course nobody responded and by the time I got over my shock enough to try calling the LP office the family had left. Wow. Just wow.

    Any ideas about how to respond to that?
    Last edited by WishfulSpirit; 04-16-2015, 03:45 AM.
    "I try to be curious about everything, even things that don't interest me." -Alex Trebek
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  • #2
    Exactly the way you did - call Security right away, then a manager, while keeping an watchful eye on the kid. If a kid doesn't get up right away or appears to be actually injured, do what it takes to impress upon those you call that it is an emergency situation. If it is an emergency, while security is en route, ask them what they want you to do, if possible.
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    • #3
      That reminds me of something that happened at my last retail job. It was towards the end of the night, and I was sweeping the floors in my department. I had all the dirt swept into a pile, and before I had a chance to scoop it up with the dustpan, some guy who had his little boy with him stopped me to ask me a question.

      While I was doing my best to answer his questions, his kid started walking through my dirt pile and kicking it around. I was naturally upset about it, but I was more upset about what happened next. The guy grabbed the kid by the arm, yelled at him about "having respect for other people", and then threw him forward several feet. As much as I hate it when parents let their kids do thing like that and not do anything, I would have preferred that over what this so-called father did.

      I only hope that kid turned out OK despite how his father treated him. It happened roughly 26 years ago, so that kid would be in his 30s now.
      Sometimes life is altered.
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      • #4
        Quoth WishfulSpirit View Post
        Any ideas about how to respond to that?
        Yes. Call the police.
        Call CPS.
        That's what they get paid for.

        LP and/or mall security don't get trained to deal with such things, and they have very limited authority to do so anyway.

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        • #5
          Hubs is currently in the middle of an investigation for this. Not because he personally did something, but because he saw a rather large guy slap his toddler who was picking up bags of gummy candies at the register. The kid wasn't even saying anything, just looking at them and putting them back. The mom didn't say anything, just picked the little guy up off the floor. They left before anyone could get there (independent store so no security, but it's down the street from the PD). The manager checked the security footage and it turns out he's a firefighter for one of the nearby counties! They couldn't make out exactly where he was from (the logo on his shirt was too blurry, it's one of three possible things), but they're waiting for him to come in again, since he's a regular. Hubs has my grandpa at the PD on speed dial so if they see him again they can arrest him.
          The fact that jellyfish have survived for 650 million years despite not having brains gives hope to many people.

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          • #6
            I don't know if I would've had the presence of mind to call the police because I'd be in shock, too. I really hope the little girl doesn't have a brain injury that shows up later. But if she does, I hope they take her in to the hospital and are reported for abuse.
            "Is it hot in here to you? It's very warm, isn't it?"--Nero, probably

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            • #7
              You did it exactly right. The only thing I would have done is stick someone on them to watch them and follow them to get a license plate. Kids should deserve extra protection, especially when the ones supposed to be doing the protection are the failures.

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              • #8
                As a CSM another department manager and I witnessed something similar. The other department manager stood between the child and the adult while I called the local PD. Of course, I am the kind of person that called the PD on customers who locked pets in hot cars during the summer while they grocery shopped.

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