CHILD PHYSICAL ABUSE
- Child’s, Parent or Caregiver’s explanation is inconsistent with the type of injury
- Different versions of explanations are provided by either child or parent
- Parent or Caregiver’s explanation varies or is deliberately vague
In most investigations around physical abuse, inconsistent explanations are offered as to the cause of the injuries that are incurred. Meaning either the child and the abuser told different stories, or the abuser changed their story each time it was told, or the child or the abuser gave explanations that just did not match the type of injury.
It's very rare for an abuser to tell you what has occurred i.e “Oh, that’s just where I punched him when he gave me cheek the other day."
Even when abusers feel genuine remorse for what they’ve done – that rarely translates into taking responsibility for their actions. Even if they might be remorseful afterwards, child abusers know that what they are doing is wrong. That’s why they don’t do it in public, and why they tell lies to cover it up when confronted. It’s also why they encourage their victims to tell lies.
This is not always the case – but usually the case. Sometimes, when the abuse is part of an ongoing pattern of behaviour over a period of time, there’s no need for the abuser to continue to remind the child not to tell – the child just learns that they need to keep it secret and they learn to make up their own stories to cover up the abuse if they are questioned. Secrecy and lying can just become a habit for them and can even begin lying about other things that don’t even matter. Sometimes they lie about things rather than risk getting into long conversations with you that make them nervous.