Analysis of cases of sexual abuse / assault connected at The Bolu Criminal Court

Objective: Crimes against sexual immunity increasing significantly in recent years,including sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse which are against basic human rights and civil liberty as well as directed against body integrity, are considered to be one of the most serious felonies against humanity. Sexual crimes consist of a broad range of behaviour; from relatively simple ones such as staring persistently without the individuals consent, to seeking sexual pleasure and rape in the extremes. In this study, it is aimed to contibute preventing future cases, with a thorough assesment of the qualities detected by analysing the sexual assault cases which are realised in the city of Bolu and which have been judged and decided by the Bolu Criminal Court; socio-demographic qualities of the victims, risk factors, and offender profiles. Material and Methods: This study was performed retrospectively in Abant İzzet Baysal University İzzet Baysal Medical Faculty, Department of Forensic Science between July 1st, 2007- June 30th, 2016. By examining all judiciary and medical documents in the files concerning the sexual abuse/ assault cases which have been judged and decided by Bolu Criminal Court: socio-demographic qualities of the victims, general examination and anogenital examination findings, consultation and laboratory survey results, general profiles of the victims and the offenders, detailed qualities concerning the cases have been specified; and thus factors effecting the court's decision, and the risk factors that may lead to abuse have been determined. Results: Our studyincludes 148 subjects which, 131 of them (88,5%) were female (Mean age = 19.44±11.82), and 17 of them (11%) were male (Mean age= 12,76±8.01) . 58% of the subjects in the study were of mandatory education age; and while all the male subjects were single(unmarried), 86,6% of the female subjects were unmarried. In our study most frequently reported coercion was vaginal penetration with 76 cases (48,6%), followed by touch-molestation with 22 cases (14,5 %), and anal penetration with 14 cases ( 9,5%) succesively. According to post-factum psychological evaluations, most commonly found psychiatric disorder among the victims (6,8%) was post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Incidences of penetration of the organ were specified as increasing 0,435 times the probability of a psychological pathology as a result. In our study it has been identified that all the assailants were males (Mean age= 37,81±15,3). 91,8% of the assailants were found to belong to the social circles of the victims. In this study, verdicts on the cases were most frequently conviction (49,3%), followed by acquittance ( 20%), abatement (12,8 %), and probation ( 8,8%). Conclusions: When the sociodemographicfeatures of the victims who were predominantly females belonging to childhood age group, and of the assailants whom all were males has been analyzed, it can be seen that results of our study is in compliance with other studies published in our country. The negative effects of penetration, psychological and physical violence and even the use of guns during the assaults on the victims' formation of psychological pathology has been observed clearly. It would without a doubt contribute if all these findings are carefully evaluated by the institutions concerned so as to be put to use in the preventive and protective programs. Moreover, low rates of conviction among the lawsuits concluded by the courts, points out the necessity for reevaluation of the procedures by the instituions of concern from examinations conducted by unqualified physicians who are not experts on the subject, and inadequacies in collecting and analysing biological material, to the malfunctions during the judiciary processes.