[The myth of virgin cleansing: Latest news on an archaic magico-religious practice].

Background: In the medical anthropology section of the Nanterre Hospital (France) for migrants and refugees, three cases were recorded of "virgin cleansing" in sub-Saharan African countries.

Patients And Methods: These consisted of sexual assaults (2 instances of rape and 1 of sexual interference) on sexually immature females (young girls) by patients with sexually transmitted infections (mainly HIV, syphilis) hoping they might thereby be cured.

Discussion: These particularly atrocious hetero-aggressive sexual practices based on magical arguments are unfortunately universal and are not limited to a specific culture.

["Palimpsest scar" lesions in a context of torture (Darfur, Sudan)].

Background: As a result of the current exponentially growing refugee population from the Middle-East and East Africa (Sudan, Darfur, Eritrea), clinicians (including forensic pathologists) are seeing atypical skin lesions, mainly of a traumatic nature, but in some cases associated with long-standing lesions related to ethnic practices.

Patients And Methods: A case of torture sequelae is presented herein in a patient originally from Darfur (Sudan): cutaneous incisions were made on old scars several times using a knife.

Discussion: The clinical presentation of scarification lesions and that of atypically healed wounds (presumably an effect of inflammation induced by the introduction of irritating foreign bodies such as sand, salt, etc.