Sexual abuse of children presenting to the Children's outpatient Department of Port Moresby General Hospital

Over a one-year period in the Children's Outpatient Department of Port Moresby General Hospital 23 cases of child sexual abuse were diagnosed. 20 (87%) were female. The perpetrator was known to be a male relative or acquaintance in 14 (61%) cases. The patients presented either with a history or overt signs of sexual abuse. With increasing awareness of child sexual abuse as a significant problem in paediatrics there will be an increase in the frequency of diagnosis of this condition in Papua New Guinea.