Analysis of Sexual Assault Survivours in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Delhi: A Retrospective Analysis

Introduction: Rape and abuse of women are common occurrences, which, many a times go unspoken due to social stigma or fear of retribution. Rape is a crime not against a single human being but against the entire humanity. For granting justice to the rape survivor it becomes necessary that such matters are properly presented before the Courts of Law. Healthcare workers play an important role in this regard because they are the first person who examine the rape victims. They prepare a documented record of medical condition of rape victim and do relevant sample collection. Aim : The objective of this study is to analyse demographic and event characteristics of rape victims who presented to the Emergency Department in tertiary care, Delhi after sexual assault. Materials and Methods : Data was retrospectively collected from the medico legal register of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology between June 2010 to December 2013. Result: We noted a marked increase in the number of cases. Mean age of victims was 17 and most belonged to the lower socio-economic strata of the society. Use of sedatives and physical trauma was not common. Victims often knew the perpetrator of the event. Most (58%) of them reported within one day of the incident. Major degrees of perineal tears were seen in young victims. Conclusion: By understanding the demography of the sexual assault victims, we need to train our doctors for proper evidence collection not just in a government set up but also in private clinics, to help rape victims get justice and proper medical treatment.