Child Sexual Abuse
Alternate Names : Child Molestation
How is the injury recognized?
An abuser can make the child very fearful of telling anyone else. An adult
should believe a child who says he or she has been sexually abused. Children
rarely lie about sexual abuse.
When sexual abuse is suspected, the child should be taken to a healthcare
provider who is trained to deal with and recognize sexual abuse. He or she will
ask the child to describe what happened. He or she also will look for injuries
to the mouth, rectum, and vaginal area, if the child is a girl. If the abuse
took place recently, the healthcare provider will do a special examination to
check for sperm. Child protective services need to be notified.
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