Study of the factors associated with the delay of health consultation of victims of rape in Senegal

Abstract

Rape remains one of the most serious forms of sexual violence because of its negative impact on the physical and mental health of victims. The objective of this study is to identify the factors associated with the delay in rape victims seeking medical assistance from healthcare professionals in Senegal. A retrospective, descriptive and analytical observation study was conducted. The study population consisted of all the court files of girls or women victims of rape recorded by the investigators at the 11high courts of Senegal during the period from 2006to 2015. An exhaustive recruitment of the full records of rape victims meeting the inclusion criteria were completed. The uni and multivariate analyses were carried out with Epi Info 2000and R 2.2.9software respectively. At the end of the collection, 1,037cases of rape were included in the study population. The average age of the victims was 16.3±7.9years (range 1-72). Minors (<18years) accounted for 24.8%. The median time from rape to consultation at a health facility was 24hours. Long delay in consultation (>24hours) was noted for 38.6% of victims. Risk of late consultation after rape was higher among victims residing in the southern areas (ORaj=4.31 [1.15-16.14]), or northern areas (ORaj=4.22 [1.26-14.14]), who were major (ORaj=1.67 [1.04-2.68]) or married (ORaj=3.44 [1.58-7.5]) or who were pregnant after the aggression (ORaj=34.03 [15.47-74.85]) or had an abortion (ORaj=5.45 [1.04-24.47]). Medical and judicial assistance are more difficult if there is a long delay between the aggression and consultation. Thus, it is important for the health and judicial authorities to raise awareness about the harmful consequences of sexual violence, and to put forward the benefits of therapeutic care, compensation for the harm suffered by rape victims, as well as the availability of holistic care services 24hours a day.