TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2000//
TI  - Sexual assault and legal resolution: querying the medical collection of forensic evidence
JO  - Medicine and law
A1  - Du Mont, J.
A1  - Parnis, D.
SP  - 779
EP  - 792
VL  - 19
IS  - 4
N2  - Very little is known about the role of medical evidence in the legal resolution of sexual assault cases. A retrospective review of hospital and police records was conducted to determine whether medico-legal evidence was related to the police laying of charges. Data were obtained from 187 female sexual assault victims who presented to a large urban hospital-based sexual assault treatment center and the police in Ontario, Canada between January 1 and December 31, 1994. Using stepwise logistic regression medico-legal variables were tested while controlling for non-medical factors. Neither the collection of sperm, semen and/or saliva nor the documentation of clinically observed injuries was significant in predicting an arrest and charge. In contrast, non-medical variables such as the victim's age, use of alcohol, resistance and relationship to the assailant, and the corroborating evidence of a witness were related to charge-laying. We question the value of uncritically continuing to collect medical forensic evidence.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0723-1393
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -