People naturally want to see evidence of damage done from an accident or a crime. Whether it’s the smashed front end of a car from a wreck, or a bruised eye after an argument, we want to see the wound, the stitches, the blood. We want proof.
We are socialized to believe that we have to see an injury to know it happened.
Herein lies the problem with proving sexual assault. About 95% of the time, there are no visible injuries. Proving sexual assault from physical evidence is incredibly difficult.
Parents, professionals and anyone working with children need to understand four common myths about evidence of child abuse. Being abused is traumatic, and sometimes adults can make the experience even more difficult when they doubt a child because they don’t see the signs that they expected.
