This episode dramatizes a serious problem: child abuse. Child abuse is a crime. Although there are numerous psychosocial factors associated with child abuse, the bottom line is that it is ultimately a matter for the police and courts. Today, the case in this story would have been investigated not by the police but by a caseworker, who is not a specialist on law enforcement or collecting evidence. The episode also shows how difficult it is to prove child abuse. Unless someone witnesses the offender in the act or the offender confesses, most allegations of child abuse cannot be substantiated. And to treat it purely as a social problem denies justice to the victim of the abuse - the child.
Review of The Little Victim
