Child Physical Abuse
Bruises are not, of course, the only injuries endured by abused children. If the following conditions are present on a child’s body, abuse should be highly suspected:
Bites – When a child is bitten by his abuser, the bite is considered to be either a retaliatory or a sexually-oriented bite. Retaliatory bites are often inflicted in a misguided attempt to teach children not to bite. Sexually oriented bites are generally inflicted during the sexual assault of a child. Bite marks may appear semi-circular. Other marks that are made by an attacker’s mouth include thrust marks caused by the tongue pressing on skin and suck marks that resemble hickeys.
Bone fractures – 95% of all detected fractures in abuse cases occur in children under the age of 6 and 78% of those are under age 3. Rib fractures are the most common fractures in abuse cases with upper arm and upper leg fractures being the next most frequent respectively.
Burns – Tissue damage begins when the temperature of any surface or substance touching it reaches 112 degrees F. There are three categories of burns that are based upon the thickness of the burn itself: superficial, partial, or full thickness. Most intentional burns are full-thickness due to continuous pressure being applied by the abuser. Burns are particularly deadly in children because their skin is thinner than adult skin.
