Child torture is a worldwide problem, but there is very little research on torture as a form of child abuse. In 2014 Knox et al. reported the first case series on child torture and developed criteria to diagnose child abuse torture. Our objective was to describe additional child abuse torture victims and to determine whether they shared similar patterns, including types of abuse, duration and possible opportunities for early identification. This multi-site case series reviewed 47 children identified as torture victims at three Washington State child abuse programs spanning 15 years. Data was collected through retrospective chart review. Simple descriptive statistics were utilised. Our study found that abuse occurred over months to years. All children experienced psychological maltreatment, 89 per cent had findings of physical abuse. Malnutrition and medical, emotional and educational neglect were common. Majority of torture victims had previously been involved with CPS or had seen a medical provider prior to diagnosis, at which time they had findings of torture, but received no protective intervention. It's important to develop criteria for recognition and early intervention since tortured children experienced sustained, systematic and escalating abuse.

中文翻译：

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儿童酷刑：华盛顿州系列案件

儿童酷刑是一个世界性问题，但将酷刑作为虐待儿童的一种形式的研究却很少。 2014 年，诺克斯等人。报告了第一个关于儿童酷刑的案例系列，并制定了诊断虐待儿童酷刑的标准。我们的目标是描述更多的儿童虐待酷刑受害者，并确定他们是否具有相似的模式，包括虐待类型、持续时间和早期识别的可能机会。这个多地点案例系列回顾了 15 年来华盛顿州三个儿童虐待项目中被确定为酷刑受害者的 47 名儿童。数据是通过回顾性图表审查收集的。使用简单的描述性统计。我们的研究发现，虐待行为持续数月至数年。所有儿童都遭受过心理虐待，89％的儿童遭受过身体虐待。营养不良以及医疗、情感和教育方面的忽视很常见。大多数酷刑受害者之前曾参与过 CPS 或在诊断前曾看过医疗服务提供者，当时他们发现了酷刑，但没有得到保护性干预。由于遭受酷刑的儿童经历了持续、系统和不断升级的虐待，因此制定识别和早期干预的标准非常重要。