Recognizing Child Abuse

How Can I Tell If A Child May Be Abused or Neglected?*

It is not necessary that you decide if a child is abused or neglected. Child abuse and neglect are not always easy to identify. For example, bruises may or may not have been caused by abuse. A child coming to school with head lice or dirty clothes may or may not be due to neglect.

Yet, hundreds of people across the country are charged with the duty to be aware of the children they see and work with daily, and to report suspicions of child abuse, neglect, or dependency.

Your interaction with so many children, your professional training regarding child development, and your innate sense of a child's well-being, gives you the ability and responsibility to protect Lorain County children from abuse and neglect.

Recognizing a child in need of protection goes beyond the legal definitions of abuse, neglect and dependency. It is an accumulation of everything you know and sense about a child or a situation. Recognition does not always come about in a concrete way. It can be an inner voice that tells you that something is just not right.

 

Learn the signs. **

· Physical signs of sexual abuse are not common, although redness, rashes or swelling in the genital area, urinary tract infections, or other such symptoms should be carefully investigated. Also, physical problems associated with anxiety, such as chronic stomach pain or headaches, may occur.

· Emotional or behavioral signals are more common. These can run from "too perfect" behavior, to withdrawal and depression, to unexplained anger and rebellion.

· Sexual behavior and language that are not age-appropriate can be a red flag.

 

Be aware that in some children there are no signs whatsoever.

 

 

*   Courtesy:  Lorain County Children Services, Elyria, OH

** Courtesy:  Darkness to Light, Charleston, SC

Western Kansas

Child Advocacy

Center