LAWS ON CHILD-ABUSE - AN OVERVIEW FOR PED IATRICIANS

The French child abuse protection system rests primarily on complement ary actions taken by the administrative and judicial authorities. Pedi atricians are repeatedly confronted with child abuse and must be aware of how to help child abuse victims. In particular, they should be fam iliar with the laws that define reportable child abuse, with the worki ns of child abuse protection agencies, and with what happens after a c ase of child abuse is reported. They should also be cognizant of the s ituations in which they can be called on to work with the judicial sys tem.