Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Rotunda Hospital, Parnell Square, Dublin 1, Ireland; Sexual Assault Treatment Unit, Rotunda Hospital, Dublin 1, Ireland.
Sexual Assault Treatment Unit, Rotunda Hospital, Dublin 1, Ireland.
J Forensic Leg Med. 2024 Aug;106:102731. doi: 10.1016/j.jflm.2024.102731. Epub 2024 Jul 30.
Sexual assault (SA) is alarmingly prevalent, yet reporting rates remain disproportionately low. Forensic examinations (FE) play a crucial role in both immediate medical care and evidence collection, yet many victims/survivors may not report the crime initially, leading to the loss of vital forensic evidence. The storage of evidence "Option 3″ care alternative provides post-SA care including FE without initial police involvement.
This is a cross-sectional study analysing the attendances of people who chose to store evidence at the Dublin Sexual assault Treatment Unit (SATU) between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2023.
There were 238 storage of evidence FEs ('Option 3') performed during the study period, which represented 12.8 % of all FEs. The majority identified as female (89.1 %), with an average age of 26.6 years. 31.9 % attended within 24 h of the incident, and 51.3 % self-referred. Most assaults occurred over weekends (64.7 %), with alcohol consumption reported in 82.2 % of cases and drug-facilitated SA concerns in 20.2 %. Genital injuries were present in 17.9 % of females and 19 % of males. Those that availed of storage of evidence (compared with those who initially reported to the police) were significantly more likely to have consumed alcohol (p < 0.001) and the assault was more likely to have occurred indoors (p = 0.002). There was no significant difference in care option choice for those 'unsure' of the assault occurrence (p = 0.353). Among storage of evidence cases, 20.2 % subsequently reported to the police, with females more likely to report (p = 0.02), while people who were uncertain whether an assault had occurred were less likely to report (p = 0.04). Genital injury (p = 0.822), victim-assailant relationship (p = 0.465), assault location (p = 0.487), and substance consumption (p = 0.332) did not significantly affect subsequent reporting rates.
The availability of storage of evidence has afforded people the opportunity to access prompt, responsive SATU care including collection of forensic evidence which may have significant evidential value. This approach provides further opportunity for comprehensive detection of a crime, even if reporting to the police is delayed.
性侵犯（SA）的发生率惊人，但报告率仍然低得不成比例。法医检查（FE）在即时医疗护理和证据收集方面都起着至关重要的作用，但许多受害者/幸存者最初可能不会报告犯罪，导致重要的法医证据丢失。证据存储“选项 3”护理替代方案提供了包括最初没有警察参与的 FE 在内的性侵犯后护理。
这是一项横断面研究，分析了 2017 年 1 月 1 日至 2023 年 12 月 31 日期间选择在都柏林性侵犯治疗单位（SATU）存储证据的人的就诊情况。
研究期间共进行了 238 次存储证据的 FE（“选项 3”），占所有 FE 的 12.8%。大多数人是女性（89.1%），平均年龄为 26.6 岁。31.9%的人在事件发生后 24 小时内就诊，51.3%的人自行就诊。大多数袭击发生在周末（64.7%），82.2%的案例报告了饮酒，20.2%的案例涉及药物辅助性侵犯。女性中有 17.9%和男性中有 19%存在生殖器损伤。与最初向警方报案的人相比，选择存储证据的人更有可能饮酒（p<0.001），且袭击更有可能发生在室内（p=0.002）。对于那些“不确定”袭击是否发生的人，在选择护理方案方面没有显著差异（p=0.353）。在存储证据的案例中，20.2%的人随后向警方报案，女性更有可能报案（p=0.02），而对于那些不确定是否发生过性侵犯的人，报案的可能性较小（p=0.04）。生殖器损伤（p=0.822）、受害者与攻击者的关系（p=0.465）、袭击地点（p=0.487）和物质消费（p=0.332）并没有显著影响后续报告率。
存储证据的可用性使人们有机会获得及时、响应性的 SATU 护理，包括收集可能具有重要证据价值的法医证据。这种方法为全面检测犯罪提供了进一步的机会，即使向警方报案的时间有所延迟。
