Medico legal procedures related to sexual assault: a 10-year retrospective experience of a Daphne protocol application

The prevalence of genital injuries in post-pubertal females presenting for forensic examination after reported sexual violence: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Sexual violence is a prevalent issue in contemporary society requiring a robust forensic healthcare response. It is critically important that forensic examiners put clinical examination findings into an appropriate evidence-based context. The presence of genital injuries has been shown to increase the likelihood of successful criminal prosecution and report the crime. However, the reported rates of genital injury vary widely in published studies.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

We aim to critically evaluate and synthesize existing literature on the prevalence of genital injuries in post-pubertal females, examined following sexual violence, with a view to describing the prevalence and characteristics of genital injuries as well as the range of forensic practices employed.

METHODS

Three online databases (PubMed, Embase, and Scopus) were systematically searched with key terms.

RESULTS

Of the 1224 studies screened, 141 full-text publications met the inclusion criteria. Reported injury prevalence rates varied widely. Details pertaining to forensic examinations included in each study, such as grade of the examiner, type of examination, location of examination, and time interval from assault to examination also varied widely. Injury prevalence was highest in studies where enhanced visualization techniques were utilized.

CONCLUSIONS

This systematic review demonstrates that there is no universally agreed standard for documenting genital injuries in cases of sexual violence and highlights the need for standardized approaches and guidelines for assessing, documenting, and reporting these injuries. The review provides robust evidence to support a call for establishing consistent context, terminology, classification systems, and data collection methods to improve the comparability and reliability of future research findings.

The role of legal medicine professionals in preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections among female victims of sexual assault

Sexual violence can have an overwhelming impact on the victim's physical and mental health; the consequences include unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Therefore, the examiners must assess victims for possible pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections as a part of the sexual assault examination. This article aims to orient the medico-legal examiners towards their role in preventing unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections among victims of sexual assault. Prompt detection of pregnancy or STIs is critical, as any delay would adversely affect the successful administration of emergency contraception and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other sexually transmitted infections.

The effectiveness of a sexual assault nurse examiner-grounding program (SANE-GP) on knowledge, skill and practice regarding sexual assault examination (SAE) among nurses working in a tertiary care hospital in Udupi district, India: A study protocol

The medico-legal care of victims of sexual assault is very challenging, and requires specific knowledge and skills. Professionals in the emergency departments of hospitals might not have specialised training in forensic science. Nurses have a very significant role in these settings, but they lack any formal forensic training. This study aims to develop a sexual assault nurse examiner-grounding program (SANE-GP) for Indian nurses to inculcate knowledge and skill regarding sexual assault examination. The study adopts a three-stage Delphi technique to develop the training module and uses a time-series design to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. A questionnaire on nurses' knowledge on sexual assault examination (KQSANE-I) will be developed in phase-I and subsequently used in phase-II. The protocol of SANE-GP will help the medical community to implement the program across India. The implementation of SANE-GP can also help to start a sexual assault nurse examiner network.

Health care providers' responses to sexually abused children and adolescents: a systematic review

Background

Sexual abuse of children and adolescents is a significant health concern worldwide. Appropriate and timely health services for victims can prevent severe and long-term consequences. This study identified and categorized diagnostic and treatment services needed for sexually abused children and adolescents.

Methods

Several databases, including MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct, ProQuest, and Google Scholar, were searched to retrieve studies on the topic and clinical guidelines in English covering the literature from 2010 to 2020 using search terms. Primary studies and guidelines were reviewed to identify treatment strategies and medical interventions related to sexually abused children and adolescents.

Results

Twenty-one studies and guidelines were selected and analyzed narratively. The quality of evidence was relatively good. We identified that effective health care systems for sexually abused children include the following: interview and obtain medical history, physical and anogenital examination, collecting forensic and DNA evidence, documenting all the findings, prevention and termination of pregnancy, diagnostic tests, prophylaxis for HIV and other STIs, vaccinations, and psychological intervention.

Conclusions

This review provides up-to-date evidence about adequate health care services for children and adolescent victims of sexual abuse. We conclude that recent studies have focused more on prophylaxis against HIV and other STIs, studies on vaccinating against HPV for victims are still limited, and future research in this area is needed.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12913-022-07814-9.

Looking through the lens of a sexual assault examiner: novel trends and approaches in forensic photography

Background

Sexual violence is cancerous, and it malignantly affects all strata of our community regardless of age, gender, race, ability, and social status. Excellent healthcare service requires professionals who can do a sexual assault examination, collect medico-legal evidence, take photographs of patients' anatomy that was involved in the assault and document what is there and where it is in relation to the victims or perpetrators body or other parts of the crime scene, whether or not it is connected to the crime.

Main text

The objective of this article to orient the professions to the novel trends and approaches in forensic photography, namely e-consent, digital cameras and their accessories, dedicated forensic software, and photographic protocols and procedures.

Conclusion

The inadequate and improper collection, preservation and presentation of evidence can lead to crime scene errors and fewer conviction rates. Training in forensic photography is vital and a game-changer in the sexual assault examination.

Violence against women in heterosexual couples: A review of psychological and medico-legal considerations

Intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) is the most pervasive violation of women's rights worldwide, causing devastating lifelong damage. Victims can suffer physical, emotional or mental health problems, and experience detrimental effects in social, psychological and relational health with their families, especially children. Due to the complexity regarding violence against women in heterosexual couples, it is important to make a clear distinction between psychological and physical mistreatment, which also includes psychological violence. This differentiation is important in determining different emotional and psychological aspects of mistreatment in order to understand the reasons why some women stay in such relationships and to explain the personality profiles of victims and perpetrators. In this short narrative review, we have combined perspectives of depth psychology and attachment theory from studies on trauma, traumatic bonds and the perpetrator/victim complex in gender violence. We have also considered the growing literature on IPVAW as it relates to the medico-legal field. Our search strategy included intimate partner violence, attachment styles, risk factors and the victim/perpetrator relationship. Distinguishing the different types of IPVAW is a necessary step in understanding the complexity, causes, correlations and consequences of this issue. Above all, it enables the implementation of effective prevention and intervention strategies.

The violence of men against women: Medico-legal and psychological issues

Violence against women breaches women’s human rights and is a global public health issue that can cause devastating life-long damage. This study considers the characters of victims, abusers and traumatic bonding in heterosexual couples from a medico-legal and psycological standpoint. After considering the devastating effects on women’s health, and with the objective of preventing future violence, it illustrates the weaknesses and strengths of new Italian guidelines related to violence against women in emergency departments including the use of “Brief Risk Assessment for IPV in the Emergency Department – DA5”.

Descriptive study of non-fatal interpersonal violence in a Nigerian City

Background

Interpersonal violence is rampant in our society such that the news media is constantly awash with reports of violent incidents. Understanding the peculiarities of violence in a given population is key to devising effective preventive measures. This is a descriptive study of assault victims referred by the police to the Clinical Forensic unit of a University Teaching Hospital. Structured interview using preset questions was conducted on each assault victim. Data obtained was analyzed with IBM SPSS statistics version 20. Descriptive analysis and tests of statistical significance were done as appropriate. This study aimed to determine the peculiar characteristics of interpersonal violence in Enugu, southeastern Nigeria.

Results

There were 220 victims and 471 assailants in the study. The age range of victims was 6–80 years and mean age (SD) was 33 (12.5) years. The age range of assailants was 15–65 years with mean age (SD) 34.2 (9.5) years. More males than females were involved either as victims (P = 0.02) or as assailants (P < 0.001). Most of the incidents (36.8%) occurred in residential areas followed by business or workplace-related disagreements (32%). Land dispute was the underlying factor in 3.6% of the cases. The prevalence of intimate partner violence was rather low (2.3%) but this may be due to under reporting. Where guns were involved, they were used as cudgel rather than fire arm.

Conclusions

Interpersonal violence often occurred in the context of and as a corollary to a person’s life endeavors and daily activities. Most cases of interpersonal violence occurred in residential quarters. Males in active, productive age are mostly involved both as victims and as assailant.

Analysis of the information in mandatory reporting in victims of gender violence

The healthcare professional plays a key role in the detection and subsequent channeling of a situation of violence to a judicial level for appropriate investigation. The mandatory reporting of gender violence has become a controversial issue among health care practitioners and victims. The objective of this study was to analyze the quality of the way in which injury reports on victims of gender violence is completed, through an analysis of the information they include, the readability and the degree to which the document can be understood. A retrospective study in a sample of 197 injury reports were performed from health services (primary care, hospital services and emergency services). We analyzed 22 variables related to the content, readability of the document, the victim's identification data as well as identification of the doctor responsible for assistance, the moment of assistance and the characteristics of the injury. The most frequent deficiencies in the data are identification of the doctor responsible for medical attention, the date on which the aggression occurred, a description of the injuries and the judgment of compatibility between the cause of injury (according to the victim) and the actual injury they have. The injury reports do not conform to the legal requirements needed in a document of such extraordinary importance. Greater awareness in health professionals concerning the importance of the injury report as a medicolegal document is needed so that the correct information can be provided to the relevant judicial authority.