Battered Child/Spouse Syndrome

Children can be subjected to violence at the hands of any adult with whom they have contact. It could be a parent, an older sibling, a babysitter, a day-care provider, a family friend, a parent's romantic partner—in short, anyone. Some children are victimized by several people.

The victimization can come in the form of physical violence, SEXUAL ABUSE, or verbal abuse. If one of these factors is present, chances are that others are present as well. Physical abuse can go undetected for a long time. A child who suffers repeated falls or broken bones might be considered "clumsy", or the injuries might be brushed off as the kind of bumps and bruises all children get. Sexual abuse might have no outward signs, or the victim might be unusually forward or inappropriately flirtatious with adults.

Even INFANTS are not immune to abuse. In shaken-baby syndrome, a baby is shaken so violently that brain injury can occur; repeated shaking episodes or even just one particularly severe episode can result in death.

A child suffering from BATTERED CHILD SYNDROME might be quiet and withdrawn, lethargic, depressed, or violent. Someone who does not know the particular child might not immediately spot emotional symptoms, but if the child displays unchildlike behavior, coupled with unexplained chronic physical bruising, chances are the child is a victim of abuse.

Those who investigate child-abuse crimes must be extremely thorough, especially if the child is very young and thus unable to corroborate what the evidence shows. Sometimes a physician will spot signs of abuse or battered-child syndrome when a child is brought into an emergency room for treatment of some injury. A full investigation requires interviews with anyone who has access to the child, including parents, siblings, other relatives, neighbors, day-care providers or babysitters, teachers, and doctors. Even those who are not involved in abuse might have valuable information to provide. Often, those who have committed the abuse will offer vague or conflicting information about what led to a particular injury. If warranted, a child could be placed in temporary PROTECTIVE CUSTODY while an investigation proceeds. Depending on the extent and severity of abuse, those who have committed the abuse might benefit from counseling or other forms of treatment (e.g., substance or they might face criminal charges and serve a prison sentence.