title: Two fatal cases of child abuse in which neighbors were unaware of the victims' disappearance for a long period.
abstract: We describe two fatal cases of child abuse in which neighbors were unaware of the victims' disappearance for 1.5 months and 1 year, respectively. Recently, there have been fatal child abuse cases in which neighbors have been aware of the signs of the abuse but not notified the Child Care Authorities. Lack of concern about child welfare in the community is the greatest obstacle to protecting children at risk of abuse. The most effective means of preventing child abuse is to educate the community about how to recognize the signs of abuse and to inform the authorities. We emphasize that the community has an obligation to protect children against crime, including child abuse. The roles of the Social Services in preventing child abuse have been extended. Forensic pathologists are required to play a key role in child abuse prevention, and in Japan their activity should be extended to the administrative field.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medical Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya 467-8601, Japan. nagaom@med.nagoya-cu.ac.jp
authors.forename: Masataka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nagao
authors.forename: Hiroyoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Koyama
authors.forename: Yoshitaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Maeno
authors.forename: Mineo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iwasa
authors.forename: Hideaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Yoshimi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Seko-Nakamura
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Monma-Ohtaki
authors.forename: Li Xian
authors.initials: LX
authors.lastname: Zhe
authors.forename: Tsukasa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsuchimochi
mesh_terms: D000007:Abdominal Injuries / Q000473:pathology; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology; D002669:Child Welfare; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D006408:Hematoma, Subdural / Q000473:pathology; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000473:pathology; D012945:Social Values; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000473:pathology