Women's sexual abuse: forensic-gynecologic expertise experiences.

Forensic Sci Med Pathol

Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinical Hospital Merkur Zagreb, School of Medicine, Catholic University of Croatia Zagreb, Croatian Academy of Medical Sciences, Ilica 242, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia.

Published: December 2023

AI Article Synopsis

  • Women sexual violence remains a significant issue in both developing and developed countries, including Croatia, not showing any signs of decline.
  • Analysis of 31 sexual abuse cases revealed that many were mishandled due to inadequate gynecological procedures, with 67.7% of cases confirmed by forensic expertise suffering from poor initial examinations and late reporting.
  • To address these issues, continuous education for medical professionals and improved coordination among legal and healthcare entities is essential.

Article Abstract

Purpose: Women sexual violence as a gynecological, social-criminological and gynecological problem has no declining trend in developing and developed countries, including in Croatia.

Methods: From my own 23-year forensic-gynecological expertises practice, along with the results of legally completed examples of sexual abuses, as a contribution to this problem, which is also read from other works.

Results: Of the cases of sexual abuses (n = 31) with a median age of 37 years, gynecological-forensic expertise proved and confirmed 67.7% of sexual abuses criminal cases with a significant problem of inadequate primary gynecological procedure, most often due to insufficient gynecological examination and medical documentation in high 64.5%, as well as late sexual abuses report in 51.6%. Of all cases of sexual abuses, 6 (19.4%) required primary surgical care due to bleeding and lacerations of the genitals, there were no reported cases of sexual abuses in pregnancy, and no deaths related to sexual abuses. The problems that can affect the forensic-gynecological evaluation of sexual abuses victims are: inadequate and insufficient primary medical documentation immediately after sexual abuses, late reports of sexual abuses, after several days, months and years in the reproductive age of women, with a late primary examination and an almost difficult to prove objective gynecological examination and inadequate education of gynecologists in primary examination.

Conclusion: In conclusion, it should be mentioned that the mentioned medical problems can be solved by constant education of all professional medical participants, permanent court experts with experience, coordination and subordination of expert gynecological and forensic societies in cooperation with the state attorney's office, courts and police, and social service.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12024-023-00626-1DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

sexual abuses
40
cases sexual
12
sexual
11
abuses
10
gynecological examination
8
medical documentation
8
gynecological
6
primary
5
women's sexual
4
sexual abuse
4

Similar Publications

Timely initiation of antenatal care in adolescent victims of sexual violence: implications for legal abortion in Brazil.

Cien Saude Colet

January 2025

Centro Internacional de Equidade em Saúde, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Epidemiologia, Universidade Federal de Pelotas. R. Marechal Deodoro 1160, Centro. 96020-220 Pelotas RS Brasil.

We investigated the timely initiation of antenatal care among Brazilian adolescents to support the national discussion on the gestational age limit for legal abortion. Using data from the Live Births Information System (SINASC) 2020-2022, we correlated the timely antenatal care (first quarter of pregnancy) with the adolescent's age, region, ethnicity/skin color, and schooling level; 11,607 annual births result from vulnerable rape. The timely initiation of antenatal care was 70.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Despite the availability of a well-developed holistic care model for victims of conflict-related sexual violence, little is known about the factors that determine late presentation for care post-sexual violence care. Drawing from data from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this study aimed to determine obstacles to accessing emergency medical care within 72-hours of sexual violence (SV).

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from 4048 victims of SV treated at Panzi Hospital (PH) in Bukavu city between 2015 and 2018.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The Development of an Instagram Reel-Based Bystander Intervention Message Among College Students: Formative Survey and Mixed Methods Pilot Study.

JMIR Form Res

January 2025

College of Communication, DePaul University, Daley Bldg, 14 E Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL, 60605, United States, 1 (312) 362-8600.

Background: Bystander intervention is a common method to address the ubiquitous issue that is sexual violence across college campuses. Short messages that incentivize bystander intervention behavior can be another tool to fight sexual violence.

Objective: This study aimed to conduct formative research surrounding social norms and bystander barriers to pilot and develop Instagram (Meta) reel-based messages addressing bystander intervention among college students.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Effective nursing strategies to identify and prevent sexual violence risk in adolescents.

Nursing

February 2025

At The College at Brockport, State University of New York, Renee Biedlingmaier is an Assistant Professor of Nursing and Elizabeth Heavey is a Professor of Nursing. Dr. Heavey is also a member of the Nursing2025 Editorial Board.

This article informs nurses of evidence-based nursing interventions to ensure adolescents receive appropriate sexual violence screening and responses.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Web-based interventions have been shown to be effective for various health and mental health problems. However, the effectiveness of interventions is often limited by the fact that individuals do not start or complete them. Using data from an intermediate analysis of the randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of @myTabu, the current study investigated engagement with a web-based intervention for 113 individuals convicted of child sexual abuse and/or for child sexual exploitation material.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!