Since Kempe's description, almost 50 years ago, of the "battered baby", we have become all too familiar with sexual and emotional abuse of children, neglect, fabricated illness, bullying, and exposure to domestic violence. In many countries the catalogue of abuse and exploitation also includes female genital mutilation, child trafficking and prostitution, sweatshop labour, and coercive enrolment into military service. The Lancet's Series on child maltreatment describes the progress that has been made in recognising maltreatment and its effects in the short and long term, and in evaluating interventions once abuse has occurred. However, mental-health professionals and social services too often lack the resources to apply this knowledge.
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