Supaya Murray arrived home from her late-shift job at a fast food restaurant July 10 and found her one-year old daughter, Aneesiyah, sitting on the lawn covered with bruises from a beating.
“It looks like somebody slammed her head on the ground and dragged her face on the cement,” Murray said.
Aneesiyah’s beating is one of the more than 800 cases of child abuse the Oregon Department of Human Services confirms each year in Lane County. Resources exist to stop these events before they occur and to give support to victims and families, but issues of poverty, stress and substance abuse often aggravate family situations and give rise to suffering.
Murray choked on sobs as she told the story of how the man she had been living with beat her infant child. That man could not be reached and the police would not comment on the investigation of the case.
When Murray arrived at house, where she had been living for several months, the suspect and his mother told her first that the infant was merely suffering from a sunburn. When Murray protested, they told her that while the infant was sitting in the
backyard their dog jumped on her, hitting her face against
the ground. Murray was skeptical and after pressing the
suspect she said he admitted to hitting the infant.
“I am very angry, if you could see my baby’s face you’d understand why,” she said.
Detective Dan Braziel of the Eugene Police Department would not comment on the case, but said the infant suffered from severe bruising to the ear, substantial bruising to the face, and moderate bruising to her buttocks.
“We deal with domestic violence everyday,” Braziel said. “These types of cases are really rare.”
Nevertheless, figures from the Department of Human Services (DHS) suggest that child abuse is rising in Oregon, but declining in Lane County from 958 in 2003 to 824 in 2005.
John Radich, who supervises several programs for DHS, said physical abuse represents about 10 percent of all child abuse and neglect cases.
Although only about one of every 100 children in Lane County are reported as victims of any kind of abuse, including neglect and citizens have both the ability and responsibility to take action to prevent abuse.
Radich said proper parenting classes, such as those available through the Relief Nursery in Eugene, can help prevent abuse before it occurs. Parents also can help prevent abuse by not abusing drugs and alcohol, especially if they tend to become aggressive while under the inf luence.
Womenspace, also located in Eugene offers legal and support services for those suffering from abuse.
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