DIAGNOSIS OF SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN, A MEDICAL AND FORENSIC PROBLEM

Epidemiological data on the incidence of sexual abuse of children dive rge widely. This is due to the difficulty of making a medical diagnosi s on the one hand and of establishing forensic proof on the other. The present overview elucidates the problems associated with compiling in terdisciplinary criteria for the diagnosis of child sexual abuse and o ffers a list of such criteria. Background to the discussion is the dan ger posed by a false positive diagnosis in borderline cases, which can be more damaging than a false negative diagnosis.