Brainstorm topic ideas. The general topic of child abuse is far too broad for a paper, and such a general topic will make it difficult to conduct adequate research and establish a pointed argument in your paper. Think about different areas within the topic of child abuse that you can discuss. For example, you can investigate the emotional impact of child abuse or the long-term effects on victims of such abuse.
Research your child abuse topic. Before you jump into writing your thesis statement, you want to conduct some research on the topic to ensure that plenty of information is available on your topic. Take notes as you read through books and articles about your research; these notes will help you as you write your thesis statement.
Choose an angle for your paper. A persuasive paper requires you to take a position on the topic. If you choose to write about resources available to child abuse victims, then your argument can be that added resources for current and past child abuse victims can help stop the abuse epidemic.
Compose your thesis statement. The thesis statement should summarize the purpose of your paper in one sentence. Think about the main points of your child abuse paper, and include each of these main points in the thesis. Your previous research and focused topic will make identifying these main points easier. For example, if you are writing a paper about child abuse and socioeconomic status, your thesis could be, "Rates of child abuse in poor communities increase as a result of increased stress, lack of familial support and lower education levels," if your research points to this.