Investigation of unnatural women deaths of autopsied over the age of 15 between 2015-2020 at Malatya Forensic Medicine Group Presidency

Investigation of Unnatural Women Deaths of Autopsied Over The Age of 15 Between 2015-2020 at Malatya Forensic Medicine Group Presidency Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the autopsy reports, corpse examination reports, witness statements, crime scene investigation reports of unnatural female death cases, to evaluate the data obtained in comparison with the literature information about the studies on this subject, and also to determine the effect of the place of residence on the event types and manner of death. As a result, it is to shed light on future studies. Materials and Methods: Unnatural deaths of women over the age of 15 who were autopsied between 2015 and 2020 in the Malatya Group Presidency of the Forensic Medicine Institute were included in the study. After examining the autopsy files obtained from the autopsy center archive and the documents obtained from UYAP; Cases under the age of 15, cases whose identification could not be made at any stage (including those whose gender and age could not be distinguished by death examination), cases where the death occurred outside the borders of the Republic of Turkey but whose autopsy was performed in our center were excluded. It was determined that a total of 336 cases were within the scope of unnatural death over the age of 15. Results: In our study, the mean age of 336 cases was 43.23±21.94, and the median age was 36. 66.1% of our cases occurred in rural areas and 33.9% in urban areas. It was observed that the most unnatural deaths (62.2%) occurred in the 18-49 age group. Deaths due to gunshot wounds occurred mostly (30.9%). The most common manner of death (36.6%) is accident. The most common cause (36.5%) in accident cases is traffic accident. The most frequently used method (46.6%) suicide cases was hanging. The most commonly used method (74.3%) in murder cases was the use of firearms. The perpetrator was the husband of the deceased most frequently (25.64%). Conclusions: Unnatural death of women is a social problem. Unnatural deaths, most of which are caused by accidents, are preventable. Cases of accidents are most common in the age group over 65 years old. Traffic accidents were the most common, and burns were the second most common. Suicide cases were observed more frequently in women aged 18-49, as in all other unnaturals deaths. It has been observed that cases with psychiatric disease-mental limitation are more common in cases of suicides. Rehabilitation of persons aged 18-49 with psychiatric disease or mental limitation will ensure that female suicides will be reduced. Keywords: Female deaths, autopsy, Unnatural death