title: Reporting child abuse in Belgium.
abstract: Belgian society has become increasingly aware of the problem of abuse and neglect of children. Recent changes to both Belgian Penal Law and the Code of Medicine now allows dentists to report suspected cases of abuse to provincial trust centres or official authorities, bypassing issues of professional confidentiality. Data on different kinds of child abuse and neglect are presented for the Dutch and French-speaking parts of Belgium for 2001-2002. An increase in notified cases for both regions is noted, along with apparent differences in the type of abuse reported.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, School of Dentistry, Oral Pathology and Maxillo-Facial Surgery, Department of Forensic Odontology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Swaelen
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Willems
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001530:Belgium / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003815:Dentists / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D004990:Ethics, Dental; D006801:Humans; D028681:Moral Obligations; D010820:Physicians / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence