suspect child maltreatment if a child has lacerations, abrasions or scars and the explanation is unsuitable.
examples where child maltreatment should be suspected include lacerations, abrasions or scars:
on a child who is not independently mobile
that are multiple
with a symmetrical distribution
on areas usually protected by clothing (for example, back, chest, abdomen, axilla, genital area)
on the eyes, ears and sides of face
on the neck, ankles and wrists that look like ligature marks
Notes:
for the purposes of this guideline, to suspect child maltreatment means a serious level of concern about the possibility of child maltreatment but is not proof of it
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