Genital injuries
Bite marks
Sexually transmitted disease or pregnancy
Persistent soiling (faeces) and/or bed wetting
Sleep disturbance
An inappropriate sexual behaviour or explicit sexual knowledge, sexualised behaviours
Promiscuous affection seeking behaviour
Excessive masturbation which does not respond to boundaries or discipline
Obsessive and compulsive washing

What are sexualised behaviours?

The Australian Childhood Foundation indicates that sexualised behaviour exists on a continuum ranging from normal, problematic and abusive behaviour.

Normal Is age and developmentally appropriate - it is spontaneous, mutual, voluntary and easily distracted and considered to be “play” without any level of intrusion or coercion amongst children who have an established relationship.

Problematic Outside of developmental norms - there is a level of power imbalance either in relation to chronological age or intellectual development. This behaviour is often repetitive and compulsive and places the “instigating” child at risk. Children in this category do not respond to behavioural boundaries. This behaviour also indicates a sexualised knowledge than normally expected for the child’s age/stage of development. Intakes and assessments can be raised on the instigating child in relation to concerns about the origins of their sexualised behaviours, particularly if they involve extreme sexualised language, insertion or threats and secrecy

Abusive Includes sexual abuse which would be no different for the receiving child if the abuser was an adult. The behaviour is excessive, secretive, compulsive, coercive, manipulative, degrading or threatening, there is a level of power and developmental differentials and can be accompanied by a threat of force.

The Child Abuse Report Line would only consider problematic and abusive behaviour reportable.

Note that children over 10 year of age are criminally responsible and the case may be referred to police.

Physical abuse

Bruises in unlikely places (eg face, back, ears, hands, buttocks, upper thighs and soft parts of the body) or with incompatible, inconsistent or absent explanation
Any bruising on a baby (with infant/toddlers age and developmental state taken into account)
Pressure marks from fingers on the face, chest and back
Weal, ligature or bite marks
Skull fracture, subdural bleeding, multiple fractures of different ages
Burns showing evidence of object, immersion scalds or scalds other than down the front of a child
Poisoning or significant over medicating

Neglect

Failure to thrive
Developmental delay
Prone to illness
Sallow appearance
Diarrhoea
Abnormally high appetite stealing or hoarding food
Unsuitable or inadequate clothing
Smelly and dirty appearance
Untreated medical conditions
Often left alone unsupervised or inadequately supervised for prolonged periods of time (however, there is no legal age limit for when a child can be left home alone)

Emotional abuse

Avoiding the home (particularly if the abuser is in the family home)
Running away or continually staying at friend’s houses
Fear of the dark, not wanting to go to bed, bedwetting and or nightmares
Fear of being left alone with, or clingy to, certain people
Lying and or stealing
Depression, self mutilation, suicide, psychosomatic illness, substance, alcohol abuse, eating disorders
Lack of trust in adults
Poor self image/self esteem, poor academic performance, poor peer relationships
Secretive, demanding or disruptive behaviour

Risk for children living in family violence

Acute stress disorder and subsequent post traumatic stress disorder
Traumatic hyper-arousal in the absence of the full PTSD syndrome
Higher resting rate and stress hormones, prolonged hyper vigilance and increased stress hormones can impact the developing brain
Mood disorders (depression, loneliness, low self worth)
Internalising (anxiety and depression)
Externalising (acting out, peer conflict, aggression, conduct disorder)
Increased rates of juvenile delinquency
Higher rates of overall psychopathology
Increased rates of violence in their own intimate partner relationships
Impact on development (e.g. lower verbal intellectual functioning)
Reading age on average one year below their chronological age