[When a child's life depends on us recognizing cutaneous signs of child abuse].

Abuse is the worst possible attack on a child’s dignity and wellbeing, and the law protects children against any type of physical or psychological assault. In 1959, just over a century after Charles Dickens had denounced the vulnerability of children in Oliver Twist, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of a Child, considered to be the first legal manifesto for the protection of minors. In 1962, an article published by Kempe et al. on battered child syndrome profoundly changed how the victims of child abuse were cared for and raised public awareness, prompting the adoption of legal measures that directly affected children. In Spain, in addition to the legislation in different autonomous communities, the Organic Law 1/1996 for the Legal Protection of Minors, dated January 15, requires physicians to protect the physical and psychological integrity of children and to report any suspected assault, past or present. Although it is beyond question that child abuse occurs, exact figures for its incidence in Spain are lacking. We do know that the number of reports is increasing, but it is difficult to count exactly how many cases there are because the physician involved may not know the procedure for filing the report, be worried about being wrong, or lack conclusive evidence of the cause of the lesions. In addition, some cases that are detected may go unreported because of the