Category: Child Abuse

Did you see the HBO film, The Tale? I haven’t, but I was fascinated by this Fresh Air interview with the filmmaker, Jennifer Fox. It’s a pretty thorough examination of many facets of child sexual abuse (for a radio interview), and while it’s obviously not everyone’s experience of abuse, there are some fascinating revelations about other people’s reactions, the grooming behaviors used, and the filmmakers own complicated feelings about her abusers (there were two–a man and a woman, both coaches). She also speaks at length about language: survivor vs victim. If you’re in the headspace for it, it’s worth listening to the full interview:

Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find our newest research brief, Aging Bruises Based On Color, plus our original guide, Injury Following Consensual Sex. Both available now for electronic download.

A brand new resource is now available from IAFN: Pediatric Strangulation Case Review and Assessment. Although it’s more expensive than items I normally post, it’s such a fantastic educational opportunity, it’s hard to pass this one up. The cost is $199 for 20 CEUs (IAFN members can obtain a code for $50 off). There are also institutional access options available. From the website:

IAFN Pediatric Strangulation Case Review and Assessment is an accredited e-learning module developed by the International Association of Forensic Nurses. It contains 29 cases of living pediatric strangulation patients evaluated and treated in the medical setting, presented in conjunction with evidence-based knowledge on pediatric strangulation evaluation and treatment. 

Assess your knowledge acquisition through review of:

• Definitions and terminology
• Anatomy and physiology
• Manner and associated signs & symptoms
• CE post-testing: 20 credits 

Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find our newest research brief, Aging Bruises Based On Color, plus our original guide, Injury Following Consensual Sex. Both available now for electronic download.

Summer can be kind of slow in the webinar department, so I am trying to take advantage of the lull and get the clinical guides updated. As that happens, I will date them so it’s easy to tell. First up: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting.

Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find our newest research brief, Aging Bruises Based On Color, plus our original guide, Injury Following Consensual Sex. Both available now for electronic download.

In response to the crisis at our southern border, the American Academy of Pediatrics has opened up access to all of the articles they have published on the impact of toxic stress and adverse childhood experiences:

“We hope that by opening these articles to everyone, it will become clear that placing children abruptly separated from parents in crowded detention centers is going to not just affect these children while they are kept there, but potentially will affect them for the rest of their lives.  These articles make a compelling argument that these children should be reunited with those who can love and comfort them as soon as possible.

While providing open access to every article on toxic stress we have published in Pediatrics for the past seven years may not bring an immediate end to this tragic situation, perhaps by educating all who are responsible for these immigrant children being separated and detained, the needs of children may be prioritized before the needs of politicians and in turn, this debacle will end and hopefully never occur again at any time for any child and loving family.  Enough is enough!”

You can access the full collection here.

Our first offering in the FHO store, Injury Following Consensual Sex is now available. If you haven’t ordered a copy yet, you can find it here.  And coming soon–the follow-up research brief on bruising, out at the end of the month!

Oh hey, Canada–I promise I know you guys are up there (and my, how particularly lovely your country looks from down here). I also recognize that I don’t do a very good job of sending training your way, mostly because I don’t stumble across it very often. But look! A webinar just for you, with the complicated, if not incredibly specific title, Stories and Signs: Tales from the U.K. of the Trafficking of Men and Boys for Forced Labour, with Questions for Canada. The session is being offered by the Online Training Initiative to Address Human Trafficking on July 26th at 3pm EDT. From the site:

Human trafficking takes many forms, but most of the time people tend to focus on the trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation. Particularly within Canada, the emphasis on domestic sex trafficking, while crucial, may detract from identifying, preventing and responding to other forms of exploitation. Drawing on six years of experience in the UK, this webinar will highlight personal stories of encounters with survivors and frontline responders: from a Nigerian boy forced into domestic servitude by his aunt, to an Indian student tricked into working at a restaurant without pay; from Romanian boys coerced into begging and street crime, to Chinese men who drowned picking shellfish on the beach; from a Vietnamese boy trafficked around the world to cultivate cannabis, to homeless young men kept as slaves and forced into construction work. Do these forms of trafficking occur in Canada? Would we notice if they did? Let us know what you think. Bring your questions and insights, and we look forward to having you join us.

Register for the webinar here.

BTW, they have a host of archived webinars, so if you’re in Canada and this is a topic of interest, I suggest checking out their full library.

SAFEta and KIDSta have a webinar coming up next month, Differential Diagnosis in Pediatric Sexual Assault: Looking for the Zebra. The session will be held June 19th at 2pm ET. The session will be archived if you cannot attend live. From the registration:

Due to the well-documented acute and long-term negative health consequences associated with child sexual abuse, the medical forensic examination is an integral component of the coordinated community response to child sexual abuse. This webinar presentation will illustrate the differential diagnosis tree the clinician must consider when performing a prepubescent medical forensic exam or consulting when ano-genital injury has been identified. A review of normal pediatric anogenital anatomy, followed by case studies that include normal variants that can be mistaken for abuse, STI’s that may mimic trauma, straddle injury review, and traumatic injuries from sexual abuse.

Register here.

Our first offering in the FHO store, Injury Following Consensual Sex is now available. If you haven’t ordered a copy yet, you can find it here. 

More peds webinars coming up: the Tribal Forensic Healthcare Project is presenting Normal Variants in Pediatric Exams. The session will be held June 27th at 2pm ET. Diane Daiber and Kim Nash, both IAFN staff, will present the content. As with all webinars from this project, CEUs/CMEs are available. It will be archived if you cannot attend live. From the website:

This webinar presentation will illustrate the differential diagnosis tree the clinician must consider when performing a prepubescent medical forensic exam or consulting when ano-genital injury has been identified.  A review of normal pediatric anogenital anatomy, followed by case studies that include normal variants that can be mistaken for abuse, STI’s that may mimic trauma, straddle injury review, and traumatic injuries from sexual abuse.

Register here.

Our first offering in the FHO store, Injury Following Consensual Sex is now available. If you haven’t ordered a copy yet, you can find it here. 

Midwest Regional Children’s Advocacy Center has a webinar coming in June, It Really Is “Normal to be Normal” in Child Sexual Abuse. The session will be held June 28th at 1pm CT. I’m posting this pretty early, so hopefully, people will be able to make it, but they archive their sessions, so no worries if you have a conflict. From the website:

Brief Overview: A child abuse pediatrician will describe the medical evaluation for a child suspected of having been sexually abused with emphasis on why physical and laboratory findings are often absent. Reasons why children typically delay disclosure will be presented with accompany published references. Strategies and techniques for court preparation when a case of suspected child sexual abuse with a normal€ exam is being presented for civil hearing or criminal trial will also be discussed. Resources and literature references will be provided for the attendees.

Expert Presenter: Karen Farst, MD, MPH, is a child abuse pediatrician at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. She is an associate professor in the College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and director for the university’s Center for Children at Risk. She is a past president of the National Children’s Alliance Board of Directors. She earned her B.A. and M.D. from Texas Tech University and then completed a residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at UAMS. Following a child abuse fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, she completed a Masters of Public Health from Fay Boozman College of Public Health at UAMS.

Register here.

Our first offering in the FHO store, Injury Following Consensual Sex is now available. If you haven’t ordered a copy yet, you can find it here.