[Forensic examination of children subjected to sexual abuse]

A forensic medical examination of a child in a case of suspected sexual abuse can have important implications for both the legal outcome and the persons involved. Therefore, it is important to know how to interpret physical findings and how to document these findings in a report. Knowledge of anogenital findings in sexually abused children has increased since the introduction of the colposcope and has revealed that physical findings are seldom found, even in legally documented cases of sexual abuse.