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Abstract
A fourfold increase in the number of children reported to be victims of sexual abuse
was noted after a Child Sexual Abuse bill was passed into law in Tennessee in 1985.
The mean age of the children was 9 years, (range 0-18) and the distribution failed
to identify any particular age group to be at increased risk. Abuse rates were higher
for girls than for boys, and for black children compared with Caucasians. The perpetrator
was a member of the victim's family in more than half of all reported incidents, and
in over 80% of the cases the perpetrator knew the child prior to the abuse. Our data
indicate that mandatory reporting coupled with increased public and physician awareness,
can significantly improve the number of victims identified and reported to child protective
agencies.
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References
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Article info
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© 1988 Springer-Verlag New York Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
