title: Sexual abuse in childhood : a report of four cases.
abstract: Sexual abuse of children and adolescents is prevalent across all cultures. Sexual abuse often begins in infancy or toddler stage for many children. A Child's developmental level influences the detection and disclosure of sexual abuse. Pre-school children very rarely make verbal disclosures, but may present with behavioural and physical symptoms. Older children may make a conscious decision to reveal the abuse, but often feel that they risk their safety in making a disclosure. This paper reports four cases of sexual abuse detected in a clinic during a period of 12 months. The age group of these children ranged between 4-12 years.
authors.affiliation: Alice Cherian DCH., MD., (Psych), Associate professor of psychiatry and Child psychiatrist, Department of Psychiatry, Christian Medical College, Vellore-632 002.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cherian
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kuruvilla