ORIGINAL ARTICLE P J M H S VOL. 8 NO.4 OCT – DEC 2014 828 Medicolegal Analysis of Reported Cases of Alleged Rape in Multan- A Two Year Study MARIAM ARIF 1 , MUSHTAQ AHMED 2 ABSTRACT Background: Among all the crimes, sex related crimes against women are the most heinous and humiliating that are fast growing in Pakistan. Aim: To ascertain incidence of sexual violence against women in Multan and to analyze the data with respect to epidemiological and demographic characteristics, findings of medicolegal examination and results of evidence collection from victims of sexual assault. Method: This retrospective study was conducted on 81 cases of sexual assault brought to Forensic Medicine Department of Nishtar Medical College, Multan from January 2012 to December 2013 for medicolegal examination. Details pertaining to socio-demographic profile of the victim, incident, findings of medical and genital examination and results of evidence collected were noted. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Result: Out of 81 victims of sexual assault, the most affected age group was 11-20 years (61.7%). 57.9% of the victims knew the assailants. The highest number of incidents was committed at an isolated place 82.7%. 53% cases were of gang rape. 65.4% were examined after 72 hours of the incident. 14.8% victims had non- genital injuries, 7.4% had genital injuries while 1.2% had combined genital and extra-genital injuries. Rupture of hymen was found in 97.4% victims of which majority (62.9%) had old tears. Semen was detected in 30.8% cases. 2.4% victims were pregnant at the time of examination. Conclusion: The success of the efforts aimed at curbing violence against woman relies on the implementation of an integrated strategy with proper monitoring regarding laws, government policies, and role of civil society and the media. Keywords: Medicolegal analysis, rape, victim, assailant. INTRODUCTION Sexual assault is one of the heinous crimes that are fast growing in Pakistan. This barbarous offence is committed by man due to uncontrolled emotions of sexual jealousy, defective state of mind or ignorance of the cultural, religious or legal norms of the land 1 . Sexual intercourse or sex related acts performed in a way which is against the provision of the law of the land is considered as sexual offence .Rape is defined as the unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman without her consent by force, fear or fraud 2 . It has serious long term consequences on physical and mental health of the women 3 . Number of reported rape cases is likely to be only a tip of iceberg in comparison to the actual number of incidents. The true prevalence is not known due to non-reporting by the victims due to social stigma, fear of reprisal by the assailant and lengthy and complicated judicial procedures 4 . Despite ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology. Assistant Professor FMH College of Medicine and Dentistry, Lahore; 2 Assistant Professor Nishtar Medical College, Multan Correspondence to Dr. Mariam Arif, Assistant Professor, e-mail: kemc51@yahoo.com this, the global statistics are alarming. The incidence is 255 rapes per 100,000 women in South Africa, 58 rapes per 100,000 women in United States and 22,000 rapes a year in India 5 . The 2013 National Crime Data report for Pakistan revealed a rape rate of 16.8 per 100,000 women, of which 10% were gang rapes 6 . Examination of alleged rape victims is one of the most difficult tasks in forensic medicine. The heavy penalties inflicted for such offence, the individual, social and family sequel, the risk of true offences to go unpunished in addition to identify false accusations, make the responsibilities of the forensic expert very heavy indeed 4 . OBJECTIVE This study was conducted to: Ascertain incidence of rape in Multan Determine the socio-demographic characteristics of the victims Analyze the physical and genital examination findings Interpret the results of laboratory tests of collected forensic evidence