Reporting child abuse is everyone's business

In my inbox this week, this note from a reader: “Watching the coverage of Lee Muldoon's trial it struck me that it's time to remind people of how to report suspected abuse.

“I understand it would be extremely difficult when it is happening in one's own family,” she wrote. “But I think many people don't know who to call, and may be afraid of backlash.”

Even before 2-year-old Skylar Inman died in July 2008, relatives worried the girl was being abused. Their testimony in the trial of Lee Muldoon, the man accused of beating Skylar to death, was heartbreaking.

Muldoon, who was dating Skylar's mother when the girl was killed, pleaded guilty last week to reduced charges of involuntary manslaughter and child neglect.

But family members told jurors they had a feeling something was wrong before the child's death. She wasn't as happy as she'd been, she seemed scared of Muldoon, she had bruises, bloodshot eyes - still, no one reported their suspicions to social workers.

It can go against our nature to report suspected child abuse. We're not experts, maybe it isn't our business. We don't want to get someone in trouble or falsely accuse them of such a terrible crime.

But that's backward thinking, Sue Tesdahl, director of the St. Luke's Child Protection Center, told me Thursday.

“Adults always have the capacity to protect themselves,” she said. “Children don't.”

It's normal for children to get a little dinged up during day-to-day running around, but when fleshy parts are bruised - upper arms, buttocks, thighs - that's a suspicious sign, Tisdale said.

Also suspicious are bruises with a distinct shape, rather than the odd-shaped blotches that mark our carelessness.

“When we fall and have accidents, we don't bruise in perfect shapes,” she said.

If children are unusually shy, flinch or pull away when you try to touch them, if they're unusually cautious around people they should be close to, if they have other sudden changes in behavior - they might be victim of abuse.

Still, you say, you're not certain - you're no expert. You don't need to be. Incidents of child abuse in Iowa are on the rise again - an 11 percent increase in 2009. We all need to take this seriously.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Department of Human Services central reporting line: 1-(800) 362 2178 and let experts make that decision. If there's nothing to your worries, they'll find that out, too.

Comments: (319) 339-3154; jennifer.hemmingsen@gazcomm.com