Vaginal Discharge in Prepubertal Girls - A Strong Indicator of Sexual Abuse

Apart from the presence of sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and/or overt genital trauma, there are few objective indicators of sexual abuse in a child1. Substantiated disclosure of sexual abuse has thus been the mainstay of diagnosis in the absence of these two objective indicators. Across international studies, only about half the sexual abuse victims disclosed their experiences to anyone2. In Malaysia where there is a lack of awareness on the subject of sexual abuse, the disclosure rate is probably lower as the diagnosis of sexual abuse is considered shameful and disruptive to the family.