Abusive Head Trauma through Shaking: Examination of the Perpetrators According to Dating of the Traumatic Event
Résumé
Effective prevention of abusive head trauma (AHT) requires the identification of potentialperpetrators. Current evidence suggests that infant shaking, as a mechanism of AHT,produces immediate symptoms, allowing for the dating of the event based on clinicalsymptoms. Determining precisely when symptoms occurred may help law enforcementto identify the perpetrator. We retrieved written legal statements and medical recordsfrom birth to age at diagnosis of 100 infants consecutively diagnosed with AHT throughshaking (2011–17), using forensic expertisefiles. Timing of abuse allowed for theidentification of perpetrators in 91 cases. All abusive events occurred inside a home(parent's or nanny's), never outdoors or in a public place, and always in the presenceof only one adult. Approximately one-third (n= 32) of the perpetrators were males (31fathers) and two-thirds (n= 59) were females: 49 of them were the infant's nanny andten were the infant's mother. Infants were not described as crying habitually. Betterknowledge of the context of AHT events and risk situations, including recentimplementation of a new or unusual modality of childcare, and being the only adult ina home with an infant, should facilitate prevention, including targeted training andavoidance of situations associated with risk.
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Child Abuse Review - 2021 - Laurent‐Vannier - Abusive Head Trauma through Shaking Examination of the Perpetrators.pdf (1.23 Mo)
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