A Five Year Retrospective Study of Female Sexual Assault in Qaluybia Governorate, Egypt

Abstract

Sexual assault has serious effects on the society and on victim's health. To the best of our knowledge there was no sufficient statistical data collected about female sexual assaults from 2014 to 2018 in Qalyubia Governorate, Egypt, which prompted us to carry out this study. This study based on collection and analyze of retrospective from 2014 to 2018 from the archives of Qalyubia Medico-legal Department, Ministry of Justice, Egypt, with respect to demographics features, number of assailants, relationship between victim and perpetrator, time of reporting, pattern of physical and genital injuries. The total number of sexual assault cases was 145; most cases (49 %) were between 12-18 years come from the urban areas (70.3%). Unmarried cases constituted 90.3% and 94.5% of cases were with normal mentality. Assaults occurred mostly in the spring (44.14%). Most of the assailants were extrafamilial and unknown to the victims (70.34%). Most cases committed in the assailant's home 46.21% and a single assailant was the perpetrator of 81.4% of the cases. Complete vaginal penetration was the most frequent type of assault (44.1%). The most common type of non-genital injury was abrasion (49.5%), the highest percentage of genital injury was lacerations (39.8%), and the most common site was the hymen (35.3%). Most cases (65.5%) examined after the first month of assault. unmarried females under the age of 18years with normal mentality from urban areas constituted the major victims of sexual assault, committed mostly in the assailant's home and done by one perpetrator who was mostly unknown to the victim. Most cases were examined after the first month of assault. Abrasion was the most common type of non-genital injury and complete vaginal penetration with hymen laceration was the most frequent type of genital injury.