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There are no medical signs in the vast majority of sexual abuse cases.16 Several physical injuries are strong signs of sexual abuse. The oral cavity is a frequent site of sexual abuse in children. The presence of oral and perioral gonorrhea or syphilis in prepubescent children is a strong sign of sexual abuse. When gonorrhea or syphilis is diagnosed in a child, the case must be reported to public health authorities for investigation of the source and other contacts. Bite marks are lesions that may indicate sexual abuse.24 Gags applied to the mouth may leave bruises, scratching, or scarring at the corners of the mouth.24 Referring to this article: "Child Abuse: An Overview" was written by C. J. Newton, MA, Learning Specialist and published in the Find Counseling.com (formerly TherapistFinder.net) Mental Health Journal in April, 2001. Use or reference to this article on the Internet must be accompanied by a link to the page you cite.

In more than half of the cases of child abuse treated in America, children sustain head, face and neck injuries. In a 10-year study of our nation's emergency rooms, child abuse accounted for more than 10 percent of all blunt trauma to patients younger than 5 years old. It was also found that abused children were mainly injured by battering (53%) and by shaking (10.3%).13 "The injuries most commonly are inflicted with blunt trauma with an instrument, eating utensils, hands, or fingers or by scalding liquids or caustic substances."24 Common dental injuries include cuts on the tongue, damaged soft and hard palate, fractured teeth, facial bone and jaw fractures, and burns. "Multiple injuries, injuries in different stages of healing, injuries inappropriate for the child's stage of development, or a discrepant history should arouse suspicion of abuse."24 In an 10-year study of America's emergency departments, it was found that children injured by abuse sustai...

Academic difficulties; Agressive behavior; Alcohol and/or other drug abuse; Anxiety; Attention problems; Bad dreams; Bed wetting; Behavior problems; Chronic pain; Compulsive sexual behaviors; Concentration problems; Dangerous behavior such as speeding; Dehydration; Depression; Dissociative states; Eating disorders; Failure to thrive; Fear or shyness; Fear of certain adults or places; Frequent injuries; Insomnia; Learning problems; Lying; Malnutrition; Oppositionality; Panic attacks; Physical symptoms such as headaches and stomach aches; Repeated self-injury; Risky sexual behaviors; Running away; Self neglect; Separation anxiety; Sexual dysfunction; Sleep disorders; Social withdrawal; Stealing; Stuttering; Substance abuse; Suicide attempts; Thumb-sucking or any age-inappropriate behavior; Truancy.2,3,6,15 Children have different levels of resiliency or hardiness and different personality attributes, so different children respond differently to similarly abusive situations. That's w...

Children suffering abuse develop a range of maladaptive, anti-social and self-destructive behaviors and thoughts by trying to cope with the abuse - by trying to understand the situation and why the abuse is happening. Think of it like this: a person is robbed and beaten while walking down the street at night. In trying to deal with the situation, the person thinks, "I shouldn't have walked down that street," or "I shouldn't have been there at that time of night," or "I should have walked with more confidence," or "I shouldn't have made eye contact," or "I should have given in quicker," or "I should have fought back," or any number of other ideas. The point is the person feels a sense of control over the situation if they can blame themselves or something they did for the attack. Instead of the world being a dangerous place where violence occurs at random, the world becomes a safe place within certain behavioral pa...

Child maltreatment is a devastating social problem in American society. In 1990, over 2 million cases of child abuse and neglect were reported to social service agencies. In the period 1979 through 1988, about 2,000 child deaths (ages 0-17) were recorded annually as a result of abuse and neglect (McClain et al., 1993), and an additional 160,000 cases resulted in serious injuries in 1990 alone (Daro and McCurdy, 1991). However tragic and sensational, the counts of deaths and serious injuries provide limited insight into the pervasive long-term social, behavioral, and cognitive consequences of child abuse and neglect. Reports of child maltreatment alone also reveal little about the interactions among individuals, families, communities, and society that lead to such incidents. American society has not yet recognized the complex origins or the profound consequences of child victimization. The services required for children who have been abused or neglected, including medical care, family...

In the early 1980s, society was shocked by a new epidemic. Child abuse allegations and investigations became a fixture on every newscast and newspaper front page. Law enforcement was caught unprepared to handle the volume of cases, and subsequently came under great pressure by the many child rights and child advocate groups throughout the United States. For the first time in this century, children were being recognized as child abuse victims and becoming witnesses in a court of law. At the time, law enforcement agencies employed minimal sexual assault units which routinely handled reports of rapes — usually forceful rapes of women. Unfortunately, law enforcement was not set up to combat the newly recognized epidemic of sexual and physical abuse of children. Virtually all agencies, Child Protective Services, medical professionals, forensic researchers, child advocates, and therapists were caught by surprise, and consequently scrambled to acquire the tools and expertise vital for ...