FORENSİC ANTHROPOLOGİCAL APPROACH TO SKELETAL TRAUMAS IN CHILD ABUSE CASES

Year 2019, Volume: 8 Issue: 2, 20 - 29, 13.12.2019

Özlem Mehder

Abstract

Objective: Child abuse is an important issue frequently encountered in
forensic cases. In this context, skeletal findings are also used in the
evaluation of physical evidences. The involvement of forensic
anthropologists in the analysis of physical evidence of child abuse also
contributes to the work of other experts working in this field. For the
examination of the findings of the abuse in the skeleton, forensic
osteology knowledge which is one of the main sources of forensic
anthropology is needed. This study aims to emphasize the importance of
forensic anthropological perspectives in the evaluation of physical
findings of child abuse. Material and Method: This study analyzes both
preliminary and current research and reveals how forensic
anthropological approaches can be used to evaluate physical child abuse
findings. A compilation study was carried out by evaluating the
available sources on the subject. Results and Conclusion: Forensic
anthropologists specializing in bone development, trauma and fracture
types define whether changes in the skeleton and damages are related to
abuse. As in most areas, the use of interdisciplinary approaches in
cases where child abuse is evaluated increases the reliability of the
results obtained. Therefore, different disciplines including forensic
anthropology should be used in child abuse researches.

Keywords

Child Abuse, Forensic Anthropology, Human Osteology, Skeletal Traumas, Bone Fractures, Maltreatment

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