Evaluation of sexual abuse/assault cases admitted to Eskişehir Osmangazi University forensic medicine department

Sexual offenses; It is a very broad group of crimes, which includes a wide spectrum of incidents from harassment to rape, including sexual assault and sexual abuse, violation of one's bodily immunity, and in the most advanced case, insertion of an organ or other object into the body, causing physical and emotional trauma. In our study, by analyzing the sexual abuse/assault cases that occurred in Eskişehir and applied to Eskişehir Osmangazi University Forensic Medicine Department; It is aimed to reveal the sociodemographic characteristics of sexual assault and abuse cases in Eskişehir, to determine the risk factors, to determine the characteristics of the accused, to raise awareness in order to prevent the recurrence of these cases and the formation of new cases. Our study was carried out retrospectively in Eskişehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Forensic Medicine between 01.01.2019 and 31.12.2021. Among the victims of 211 sexual assault/abuse cases examined in our study, 168 (% 79.6) cases were female and 43 (% 20.4) were male, with a mean age of 21.34 years. Of the female cases, 123 (% 73.7) were single and 22 (% 13.2) were married. When the education levels of the victims are examined; 31 (% 16.9) of the cases were primary school, 35 (% 19.1) were secondary school, 84 (% 45.9) were high school or equivalent, 16 (% 8.7) were university students or graduates. As a result of our study, when the sociodemographic characteristics of the victims and aggressors are examined, it is seen that they are in harmony with the studies published in our country. In addition, studies on the subject will contribute to the prevention of sexual abuse in the society in the future and to take protective measures in a timely manner. The results of our study and similar studies can be conveyed to decision makers, especially law enforcement, and a roadmap can be drawn with multidisciplinary studies in order to prevent the repetition of similar cases. Key Words: sexual abuse, sociodemographic characteristics, sexual crimes, forensic case