by Tracy Wilson

Created on: August 25, 2010

As part of a 'child health’ team that works with children from birth to five years old, I am confronted with cases of child abuse on a daily basis.  Sadly, child abuse is not as rare as some people would like to believe.  In 2009, there were over 50,000 children in the UK who needed a foster home in order to escape child abuse.  These figures relate only to those children suffering child abuse that the authorities were aware of, and only those that the authorities believed would be at extreme risk should they have remained in the family home.

It is frightening to realise that not all abuse is realised by health professionals.  As such, it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that they are aware of the signs of abuse and that any suspicions regarding an abused child are reported to the relevant authorities.  In the UK, suspected child abuse can be reported to the police, NSPCC, or through your local Social Services team.

There are four main areas of child abuse.  Physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and neglect.

The following ‘signs’ of abuse are neither complete nor conclusive and do not necessarily ‘prove’ that abuse has taken place.  There may be genuine explanations for the symptoms, or health issues that we are not aware of.  Having said that, it is still important to report any concerns you might have in order to potentially save that child’s life.

Remember, child abuse can happen to any child, regardless of where they live, how much money their family may (or may not) have, or how the family is viewed in the public eye.  We do not know what goes on behind closed doors, but we can make note of the following signs and symptoms, and then call the relevant people if you have suspicions.

Physical Abuse

*  Signs of physical abuse such as inappropriate bruising, adult-sized bite-marks, burn marks, scalds, lash marks, or red lines around the wrists or ankles to indicate that the child has been tied up. 

*Suspicious bruises found in hand-shapes, or in places you would not expect to find on a child, for instance along his spine, grip marks on his thighs or arms and places where a child generally does not injure himself during play.   Bruises on eyes, ears, neck, shoulders, chest and abdomen. 

*  Frequent visits to the hospital for a variety of accidents, sometimes including poisoning,  or near-drowning experiences.

* Injuries

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