Previous Assault Research Articles

3D-print as a template for reassembly of skull fragments in a homicide case

In this technical note we report a case where 3D-printing aided the reassembly of skull fragments in a homicide with severe tampering of the bones. A young male was shot, the body was incinerated and crushed with garden tools resulting in hundreds of brittle, calcine bone fragments from the skull. An antemortem computed tomography (CT)-scan of the skull was available from a previous assault of the victim. To aid the process of reassembly we used the antemortem CT-data to develop a 3D fixture-grid of the cranial cavity. The 3D grid was utilized as an anatomically correct template for bone reconstruction. This novel technique was based solely on open-source software including 3D Slicer and Blender and could have the potential to aid similar cases.

Do mandibular titanium miniplates affect the biomechanical behaviour of the mandible? A preliminary experimental study

IntroductionWhether to conserve or remove titanium miniplates after rigid internal fixation of mandibular fractures still remains controversial. Miniplates could affect the biomechanical behaviour of the mandible in case of trauma, and therefore cause more complex fractures. Materials and methodsAn experimental study, consisting in simulating a mandibular trauma, was designed in order to compare the fractures caused by an impact on the mandible in the presence or absence of an internal fixation. We simulated an impact on the right parasymphysis region in 10 post-mortem human subjects, according to the Charpy impact test method at an impact speed of 7.4 m/s, using a 5 kg test impactor. ResultsIn the control group, the fracture lines were vertical and straight, without comminution. In the miniplate group, the fractures occurred close to the miniplates (4 cases) and under the miniplates (one case). The fracture lines were more complex, even comminuted in 2 cases. Thus, miniplates impacted the biomechanical behavior of the mandible, resulting in more complex fractures. ConclusionOur experimental study highlighted the impact of the presence of miniplates on the mandible in case of trauma, and the risk of causing more complex fractures. We therefore recommend further investigations to determine if titanium miniplates should be systematically removed after bone healing, in patients with a higher risk of trauma in relation with previous assault injuries, alcohol or substance abuse, the practice of fighting or contact sport/activities, and soldiers.

The politics of pointing fingers: Party identification, gender performance, and the Kavanaugh sexual assault hearing

Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2018 to testify about Ford’s allegation of a previous sexual assault by Kavanaugh. This thesis asks and answers the question of what does this hearing reveal about the relationship between party identity and gender performance in male senators. Structural power and gender performativity built a theoretical context for this question, while pre-existing research on the intersection of nonverbal behavior, gender, and politics outlined a path to answering it. Fifty randomly selected clips from each testimony were coded for facial displays, gestures, and mirroring. Previous research would hypothesize that all men would employ the same behaviors, regardless of political affiliation; however, the results of this coding revealed that Republicans conformed to traditionally masculine behavior, while Democrats did not. These findings demonstrate the way in which party identity influences gender behavior.

An Experimental Investigation of the Perceived Credibility of Complainants of Sexual Revictimization: Disbelief and Victim-Blame.

This study investigated whether attitudes toward a complainant of sexual assault are affected by the knowledge that the complainant had previously made a similar allegation. This was a 3 (previous allegation; none, child sexual assault or adult sexual assault) × 2 (whether the previous allegation was substantiated) × 2 (the implied mental health status of the complainant; mental health issue vs. none) multifactorial, experimental study, employing independent-measures and hypothetical vignettes depicting stranger rape scenarios. The dependent variables were victim-blame and believability. The participants were 243 female undergraduate students. A multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) revealed several main and interactive effects. Allegations of sexual revictimization were associated with different levels of victim-blame and believability depending on when the previous assault occurred. A history of childhood sexual assault reduced the believability of the complainant and when combined with other factors increased the tendency to attribute victim-blame.

Epidemiology of Campus Sexual Assault Among University Women in Eswatini.

Sexual assault on university campuses has attracted growing attention, but there is little data available on the scope of the problem in Southern Africa. We sought to measure the prevalence of campus sexual assault among female university students at the University of Eswatini and describe the experience of survivors using a mixed-methods study design. Women were randomly sampled from a list of all full-time female university students provided by the office of the registrar, and participants completed a brief behavioral survey in a private study office using a tablet with computer-assisted self-interview software. Women who indicated experiences of sexual violence during the survey were invited to self-identify themselves to study staff to participate in a follow-up qualitative interview. We measured sexual assault using the Sexual Experiences Survey-Short Form Version (SES-SFV). We found that women in University were over 6 times more likely to report forced or coerced sex in the previous 12 months than has been previously reported in the general population. Sixty percent of participants reported experiencing an attempted or completed sexual assault in their lifetime, and a total of 38% reported an assault in the past 12 months. The vast majority (93%) of assailants were known to their victim, and the majority (56%) of perpetrators were romantic partners. The majority of participants had never disclosed their assault, and victim blaming and stigma emerged as highly salient themes during in-depth qualitative interviews. Food insecurity, losing a parent before age 21, and hazardous drinking were all significantly associated with experiencing sexual assault in the previous 12 months, as was experiencing a previous assault before the age of 18. To our knowledge, this is the first generalizable study of campus sexual assault prevalence conducted in the Southern African region.

Assessment of the Sexual Violence Situation in a Regional Hospital in Guatemala: The Need for a Multidisciplinary Clinic

Background Sexual violence is a global health problem, in terms of age and sex, showing a significant negative impact on health. Incidence in Guatemala is among the highest of the region reaching an average of 23 cases reported daily nationally per statistics from the Ministry of Health in 2015.Methods Retrospective analysis of the database of all sexual violence cases reported from a secondary -level national hospital in Guatemala from January 2005 to September 2015 (period A) and in-depth analysis on demographic and epidemiological data along with information of the follow-up of cases between January 2012 and September 2015 (period B) was performed.ResultsPeriod A: 500 cases; female (96%; 481/500). Assault occurred between 16–20 years (34%; 163/481) 11–15 years (22.25%; 107/481), and 21–30 years (22.04%; 106/481). From all reported male cases, 73.68% (14/19) occurred under 15 years.Period B: 154/217 (70.96%) cases included; female (95.45%; 147/154), mean age: 17.87 years. Assault occurred in public spaces (57.14%; 88/154) and victim’s home (29.87%; 46/154). Almost 13% of victims reported history of previous assault, 5.84% by the same aggressor. More than one aggressor participated in 36.37% of assaults. Physical violence was associated in 57.79% of cases. Most victims (92.76%; 141/152) consulted within 72 hours of the assault. HIV, VDRL, and Hepatitis B testing performed in 100, 52, and 33.77%, respectively, were negative.Follow-up visits at 3, 6, and 12 months after the aggression were attended by 20.78% (30/154), 1.95% (3/154), and 1.95% (3/154) of victims, respectively. Psychology support was completed only in 18.18% (28/154). Emergency contraception was provided when indicated; pregnancy as result of the aggression was reported in nine cases (5.84%).Conclusion The study shows that young women were the most vulnerable group for sexual violence. There is a lack of multidisciplinary approach and follow-up. Interventions on infectious diseases screening have to be optimized to reduce the risk of ETS transmission. This evidence supports the need for a specialized clinic to ensure access to comprehensive health services for victims.Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

P141 Management of sexual assault in a nurse-delivered sexual health service

IntroductionComparing April 2014 to March 2015 with the same period in 2013–14, has seen an increase of 32% in the number of serious sexual offences reported to Police in our county.We audited management of complainants of sexual assault attending our nurse-delivered sexual health service against BASHH auditable outcome measures (guidelines 2011) and other factors relevant to improving the quality of sexual assault aftercare offered.MethodsRetrospective study November 2014 to November 2015.50 case notes were identified from two sites within our service – 23 from Site1 and 27 Site2. In addition to BASHH auditable outcomes, we included data such as: Time from assault to attendance, History of previous assault, Disclosure at time of attendance, Police report at attendance & Attitude to reporting at end of consultation, documentation of follow up plan re medical and psychosocial support/referrals.Results33/50 (66%) complainants were <25 years. Nearly 40% attended within the first 7 days, half of these within 3 days, 35/50 (70%) within 6 weeks of assault. Compliance with BASHH outcomes reached 100% in baseline STI screening and documentation of child protection needs, 84-92% for essential history components, 90% Hepatitis B offer, 79% Emergency contraception, 74% FME and 70% PEP offer. Self-harm assessment 76%. Documentation of physical injury 20% and offer of prophylactic antibiotics 2%.DiscussionWe have re-designed our proforma to more readily capture poorly documented information. A review use of skill mix, training updates regarding forensic time scales/pathways for early intervention were undertaken, with algorithms included in updated proforma.

Scratching the surface: the home and the haptic in Lauren Beukes's Zoo city and elsewhere

ABSTRACTThis paper deploys the haptic, and more broadly speaking, notions of multisensory reading and spectatorship to reconfigure perceptions of home. It explores configurations of home in the practice of the late French-Israeli visual artist, Absalon, to draw tropes of “complicity” and “contagion” into an intersection with discourses of moral hygiene arising from the modernist preoccupation with denuded surface in the history of architecture. It then goes on to read a postapartheid South African text, Lauren Beukes's Zoo city (2010), through the lens of these concerns. Beukes's text, it claims, can be made to precipitate the historicity of the white suburban home under apartheid. The novel offers alternative iterations of domesticity, however, as metonymies of contagion shift into metonymies of conviviality. The final section of the paper investigates the vulnerability of the home against the background of the 2014 Israeli war on Gaza and its assault on the built environment. It explores an art exhibition, Postcards for Gaza, staged by the dissident Israeli organization, Zochrot, in the context of a previous military assault on Gaza in 2008. Here the reworking of photographic surface is made to gesture towards the possibility of political reparation in an alternate modality of complicity that Mark Sanders parses as “human-foldedness” (Sanders 2002).

Cortisol at the emergency room rape visit as a predictor of PTSD and depression symptoms over time

Dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, typically reflected by alterations in cortisol responsivity, has been associated with exposure to traumatic events and the development of stress-related disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Serum cortisol was measured at the time of a post sexual assault medical exam among a sample of 323 female victims of recent sexual assault. Analyses were conducted among 235 participants who provided data regarding history of previous assault as well as PTSD and depression symptoms during at least one of the three follow-ups. Growth curve models suggested that prior history of assault and serum cortisol were positively associated with the intercept and negatively associated with the slope of PTSD and depression symptoms after controlling for covariates. Prior history of assault and serum cortisol also interacted to predict the intercept and slope of PTSD and depression symptoms such that women with a prior history of assault and lower ER cortisol had higher initial symptoms that decreased at a slower rate relative to women without a prior history and those with higher ER cortisol. Prior history of assault was associated with diminished acute cortisol responsivity at the emergency room visit. Prior assault history and cortisol both independently and interactively predicted PTSD and depression symptoms at first follow-up and over the course a 6-month follow-up.

Admissions following assault in children and young people

AimsWith frequent reports of knife and gun crime in the local area we aimed to determine the incidence of young people requiring admission to an inner city hospital following assault....

Improvement of a Fission-Like Model for Nuclear α Decay

The α decay constant is the product of the penetrability P and assault frequency ν0 in the fission-like model. An effective assault frequency Pν replacing the previous assault frequency ν0 is introduced for improvement of a fission-like model named the generalized liquid drop model (GLDM) to describe the nuclear α decay process more accurately. Two analytical formulae are proposed for the effective assault frequency due to experimental data within the GLDM. The improved model can be used to give accurate calculations for α decay half-lives.

Military Sexual Trauma

This article reviews the literature documenting the prevalence of military sexual trauma (MST) and its associated mental and physical health consequences. Existing research indicates that prevalence rates of MST vary depending on method of assessment, definition of MST used, and type of sample. Risk factors for MST have been identified as including age, enlisted rank, negative home life, and previous assault history. MST has been associated with increased screening rates of depression and alcohol abuse, in addition to significantly increased odds of meeting criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition, MST has been associated with reporting increased number of current physical symptoms, impaired health status, and more chronic health problems in veterans. Available research on health care utilization and MST is also discussed. Researchers are encouraged to utilize standardized definitions of MST, employ standardized assessment methodology, and utilize more male veterans in future research. Policy and practice implications are discussed.

Sexual assault patterns among women with and without disabilities seeking survivor services

The primary research questions were 1) how do sexual assault patterns differ for women with disabilities as compared with women without disabilities and 2) how do patterns differ among women with different disabilities? Study data were derived from initial encounters of 16,672 women survivors of sexual assault who sought state-funded sexual assault survivor services in Massachusetts from 1987 through 1995. Bivariate analyses and fixed effects logistic regression models compared sexual assault patterns including survivor responses for women with and without disabilities and among women with 5 different single disabilities. More than 10% of survivors reported > or =1 disability. If a woman had a history of a previous assault or was > or =30 at time of assault, she was significantly more likely to report a disability as compared to the referents (no history of assault or <30). Among women with a single disability, a survivor who delayed seeking services > or =6 months was more likely to have a mental health disability. In contrast, a survivor who had a cognitive disability was more likely to report sooner than 6 months compared with a survivor with other single disabilities. Differences were found between disabled and nondisabled groups as well as among women with different single disabilities. Some findings, such as those suggesting differential access, may require disability group-specific interventions, whereas other variations can be addressed at the individual client level. State-funded sexual assault survivor service providers may use these findings to improve outreach and service provision strategies.

Psychological consequences of sexual assault among female attenders at a genitourinary medicine clinic.

Recent studies have reported 28–35% of UK genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic attenders have been sexually assaulted.1, 2 Research in the United Kingdom on other populations has indicated psychological problems may follow sexual assault among some survivors.3 The American literature suggests the psychological consequences of assault can be construed as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Intrusive thoughts, “flashbacks” and images of the assault, anxiety, and avoidance behaviour have been reported after assault both short and long term. Depressive symptoms have been reported after assault though it is unclear whether these are limited to the short term, or are longer lived. Factors influencing recovery from assault may include a history of previous assault, relationship to the assailant, and age at assault. Social support has been associated with good recovery from PTSD following a range of traumas though its relevance to sexual assault is not established. The present study was conducted (a) to establish the prevalence of sexual assault in women attending a GUM clinic in a provincial setting in the United Kingdom and (b) to identify factors associated with psychological difficulties among female GUM clinic attenders who had been sexually assaulted. The study was cross sectional in design and used an anonymous self report questionnaire developed by the researchers. Data were collected between October 1996 and April 1997. A sample of female attenders at the local GUM clinic was asked to complete the questionnaire after the medical consultation. The sample consisted of every fourth female attender at the clinics of the doctors involved in the study. The participants placed the completed questionnaires in a box provided. If a patient decided not to participate, a staff member placed a blank questionnaire in the box to indicate a non-participant. Informed consent was obtained and participation was voluntary. Full psychological support and treatment …

Insights of nurses about assault in hospital-based emergency departments.

To explore contributing factors, consequences, and solutions to the assault of nurses working in U.S. hospital emergency departments. This preliminary study targeted emergency nurses whose risk for assault was significantly greater than many other workers. Exploring nurses' opinions about factors they believe contribute to assault provides important information for designing acceptable preventive measures. In this descriptive study, an ecological, occupational-health framework was used which integrates personal, organizational, and societal influences. The six components of the framework were personal factors, workplace factors, environmental factors, assault injuries, solutions, and effects of workplace violence. Four focus groups were used comprised of 22 RNs employed in emergency departments in one large metropolitan area in the United States. Half the nurses had been physically assaulted at work. Fourteen themes emerged: nurse attitude, vulnerability, security, administrative issues, assault reporting, safety training, beyond control, societal changes, types of patients, geographic location, pervasiveness of anger, previous assault experiences, effects and possible solutions. Personal, workplace, and environmental factors all contribute to assault. Verbal and physical assaults are common and affect nurses' personal and professional lives. Assault-related injuries are preventable. Only physical injuries are treated; all employees who have been verbally or physically assaulted should be referred for post-incident debriefing. Hospital managers should implement violence-prevention programs. The ecological, occupational health framework is useful for identifying factors that contribute to assault.

Characteristics of female victims of assault attending a Scottish accident and emergency department.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the characteristics of female victims of assault with those of male victims and to see if there is a difference between female victims of domestic assault and...

Emergency Department Patients With Assault Injuries: Previous Injury and Assault Convictions

Study objective: To compare the incidence of previous assault injury and assault conviction of patients presenting to the ED with assault injuries and the incidence of assault injury and conviction in nonassaulted control patients. Methods: We conducted a retrospective, medical record–based case-control study of ED patients with assault injuries and matched controls presenting with medical and surgical problems unrelated to assault. The setting was the ED of a 900-bed teaching hospital and Level I trauma center in an urban area. Our subjects were 50 patients who presented as victims of blunt trauma, 50 patients who presented with penetrating trauma, and 100 control subjects matched by age, sex, and ZIP code who presented concurrently with nonassault complaints. Results: The overall rate of previous assault injury was 35% and did not differ between cases and controls. Fifty-three patients had a history of criminal conviction, and 23 had a history of conviction for assault. Fewer patients presenting with assault injuries than controls had a history of conviction for assault (odds ratio [OR], .3; P<.02). Patients with penetrating injuries had the lowest incidence of assault conviction (OR, .13; P<.02). The subgroup of case subjects with criminal records had a higher rate of previous injury than those without records ( P<.003). Conclusion: ED patients with assault injuries did not have a history of assault injuries exceeding that of controls and were less likely to have been convicted of assault. Violence-prevention programs should be directed toward a broader population of ED patients instead of narrowly focusing on victims of assault. [Moscovitz H, Degutis L, Bruno GR, Schriver J: Emergency department patients with assault injuries: Previous injury and assault convictions. Ann Emerg Med June 1997; 29:770-775.]

Aetiology of assault with respect to alcohol, unemployment and social deprivation: a Scottish accident and emergency department case-control study

In a study to investigate the association between alcohol consumption, unemployment and social deprivation and assault in individuals, 70 victims of assault attending a Scottish accident and emergency department were identified and matched with 70 paired age, sex and time of attendance controls. Seventy per cent were male and 30 per cent female. Cases were more likely to have been drinking (p < 0.001) and to admit to previous assault (p < 0.001), as reported in other studies. Despite living in the same geographical area (p = 0.353), the cases were more likely to be unemployed (p = 0.011) and had a higher mean deprivation score (p = 0.043). These results indicate that violence is associated with unemployment and socio-economic status of the individual and they compliement studies based on population data which have linked rates of violence with low income and social deprivation.

Effect of previous trauma on acute plasma cortisol level following rape

The authors examined the relationships among history of previous assault, severity of rape, acute plasma cortisol level after rape, and development of rape-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Blood samples were drawn from 37 adult female rape victims within 51 hours after they had been raped. The subjects were assessed for history of previous assault and for the presence of PTSD 17-157 days (mean = 90 days) after the rape. Women with a history of previous assault had a lower mean acute cortisol level after the rape but a higher probability of subsequently developing PTSD. A significant interaction between history of previous assault and the severity of the index rape was observed: only women who had never been assaulted before had higher cortisol levels following high-severity rapes (those which included injury or multiple types of penetration) than low-severity rapes. The authors conclude that previous traumatization may attenuate the acute cortisol response to trauma.

Female victims of assault: A study of hospital attenders

During the first six months of 1986, 294 consecutive victims of assault were examined to determine the patterns of injury. Forty-three victims were women aged 15-46 years (mean: 25 years). In comparison with the hospital catchment population, the unemployed were over-represented and the greater than 40 age range under-represented. Facial injury, especially bruising, was extremely common, affecting 88% of women and 84% of men. Some 56% of women had sustained a fracture compared to only 26% of men but facial lacerations were uncommon in female victims. Assailants were known to 75% of female victims, but only 25% of men, and females were four times more likely to be assaulted at home. 33% of women reported previous assault in comparison with 44% of men. Oral and maxillofacial staff should understand the likely social implications and be able to organise management of assault victims of which women form an important subgroup. Management may involve social workers and psychiatrists as well as other members of the family.