The origins of my interest in the subject of child abuse rest in part with a bizarre incident that occurred during my pediatric residency. The episode began with a middle-of-the-night phone call from a woman who introduced herself as only “Clara.” She spoke in an authoritative and well-polished manner and quickly drew me from my groggy state. Without any apology for waking me, she said my court testimony was required in a child custody trial set to take place the following day. The matter entailed a dispute between estranged parents who were each seeking to gain custody of their children, one of whom was allegedly abused. She indicated that the child had been seen in our acute care clinic by a physician who was not available to testify and so, as I had been assigned to the same clinic, my testimony was required to validate the clinical record of the visit. Because I did not recall seeing the patient and the examining physician was unfamiliar to me, I suggested she seek the assistance of the director of the clinic where the child was seen. She would not relent and explained in further detail the abusive assaults perpetrated by the mother and the vital importance of placing the children with the father. The conversation drew to a close only after I pressed her to explain her special interest in the case. I soon fell back to sleep, and the following morning I wondered if I had dreamt the entire incident.

Shortly after morning rounds, I was summoned to the office of the chief of staff and was escorted into a stately wood-paneled board room. Seated around a huge imposing table were the chief of staff, the director of the pediatric clinic, a lawyer, and a number of other unfamiliar individuals. They asked if I had been contacted by anyone requesting my testimony in a current child custody case. I shared with them what I could recall from the prior evening’s telephone conversation and asked them to explain what was going on.