Abstract
Background: Sexual violence against women and children has been recording an alarming rise in India. Inthe majority of cases, it involves younger individuals who are more vulnerable to victimization.S ocial andcultural factors are also considered to play a pivotal role in such offences.Objective: This study aimed to assess the social and demographic factors of sexual offence cases broughtfor medical examination to identify the high-risk population.Method: This is a retrospective study carried out in the Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology,JSS Medical College, Mysuru, Karnataka from January 2017 to December 2019. This study is based on theinformation obtained from medico-legal reports of the victim examination of alleged sexual offence cases.Results: In the prescribed study period, 30 victims were examined. Majority of the victims belonged tothe age group between 11 years to 20 years amounting to 70 % of the cases. 11 (36.6%) victims werestill pursuing their secondary or higher secondary education. Unmarried victims were the maximum. In19 (63.3%) cases, there was a consensual type of sexual activity and in most of these cases accused was aknown individual.Conclusion: The present study shows that younger age females are more vulnerable to the sexual assaultespecially those who belong to lower socioeconomic status and in the majority of these cases, type of sexualactivity is consensual. Hence, formal education regaarding legal implications associated with such sexual actswill go a long way in preventing their occurrence.
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