Speak of the Unspeakable: The Sexual Abuse of Preverbal Children. A Commentary on Romano & Hayez’s (2023) “The Rape of Babies, Tracking of Cases and Treatment”

This commentary is on Romano and Hayez’s (2023) article examining how the sexual abuse of preverbal children (typically babies aged 0–3 years) might be better detected and addressed. Comments offered in this work highlight the cruciality of the article for advancing preverbal children’s rights and for breaking the denial and silence there is about preverbal child sexual abuse (CSA). This commentary discusses the various issues existing in the beliefs and attitudes surrounding preverbal CSA and how these lead to limitations in dealing with it. Additionally, it spotlights a recent and shocking case of preverbal CSA that happened in Israel, to underline the potential importance of considering context in such cases, and to reiterate the importance of Romano and Hayez’s (2023) article. This is a critical and timely commentary, that brings attention to an overlooked and neglected issue, provides key insight and guidance for improving child protection, and joins the movement to speak up on behalf of those who cannot speak, aiming to empower children.