58 cases of sexual violence bearing forensic interest: congruence between the victim’s report and the data from laboratory analyses

Sexual Harassments Related to Alcohol and Drugs Intake: The Experience of the Rape Centre of Turin

A cross-sectional study was conducted that describes the characteristics of sexual violence episodes related to the intake of alcohol and drugs observed among women that turned to the "Centro Soccorso Violenza Sessuale" (SVS) of the Sant'Anna Hospital in Turin between 1 January 2008, and 31 December 2017. Two hundred twenty-two patients were enrolled, 25 of which were minors, 141 were Italians, and most of them knew their aggressor and were raped in a private home. One hundred and fifty-five of them declared to the healthcare personnel to have taken alcoholic substances and/or drugs in conjunction with the event (86 reported having drunk alcohol, 36 having taken drugs and 33 disclosed both alcohol and drug abuse). If the woman knew her abuser, alcohol consumption was described as voluntary in more than 80% of cases, while in relation to drugs the consumption was equally voluntary or fraudulent. About 73% of women who reported having drunk alcohol just had amnesia or amnesia related to other symptoms, while amnesia was present in about 63% of women who reported only drug use. Physicians observed physical injuries on 156 women. Patients who reported to have assumed alcohol presented a significantly higher risk to suffer any physical injury and have a significantly increased risk to suffer injuries to their head and/or neck. The results obtained underline how even in Northern Italy alcohol intake represents the most widespread psychoactive substance in case of drug-facilitated sexual assault. There is therefore a need to promote education and prevention campaigns among citizens, especially among the youngest.

Violence against pregnant women in the experience of the rape centre of Turin: Clinical and forensic evaluation

Pregnant women can be victims of violence: as a matter of fact, far from being a protective factor, pregnancy can trigger or worsen episodes of abuse. Studies conducted by the WHO highlight that its incidence fluctuates between 1% and 28%. Therefore violence during pregnancy is endemic all over the world and involves all social strata. We analysed 113 medical records concerning pregnant women (average age 27.9 ± 6.0 years, 80 foreigners), who turned to the Centro Soccorso Violenza Sessuale, one of the two Italian Rape Centre, in Turin between January 1st, 2005 and December 31st, 2017. Fifty-three women were visited in the first trimester, 41 in the second, and 16 in the third, while 3 during the puerperium. The current partner was accused to be the abuser by the 84.4% of the Italian women and by the 69.2% of the foreigners. Sixty-eight women suffered multiple forms of violence, while 98 suffered only physical violence, and 3 reported only sexual abuse. According to 20 women, violent episodes increased during pregnancy. The clinical history of these women was characterized by some recurrent physical symptoms, such as pelvic pain, abdominal pain, facial pain and headache and 54 women presented injuries (abrasions and ecchymosis). Our results confirm that violence in pregnancy is a social and public health problem. Therefore it is important that the health personnel should be prepared not only to care for women seeking help, but above all its better preparation could also identify victims of violence, which do not report abuse.

Management of DNA evidence collected on adolescents in sexual assault investigations: A 10-year review from a large Italian rape centre

Little research is available on the actual forensic use of genetic analyses performed in sexual violence cases, despite their relevant role in legal processes. The present retrospective study aimed to contribute to filling this gap in research, evaluating the actual number of serological/DNA analyses that followed medical examination of female adolescent victims of sexual violence. The study was performed in a large rape centre in Milan (North Italy) by analysing all medical records of female victims of sexual violence aged 13–19 years in the period from January 2006 to December 2015. The total number of sexual assault victims examined aged 13–19 years was 599. In 473 of the cases, biological evidence had been collected. The gathering of biological evidence was accurately performed (double swab technique) in multiple anatomical regions on the victims’ bodies, and clothes were acquired when biological stains were present or could be present. Proper handling under chain of custody for all the items collected followed in every case. Despite all of this, serological/DNA analyses were requested in only 9/473 (1.9%) cases. Procedural issues possibly affecting the magistrates’ decisions not to use DNA extensively as an investigative tool are also discussed.

The medicolegal, psycho-criminological, and epidemiological reality of intimate partner and non-intimate partner femicide in North-West Italy: looking backwards to see forwards

This paper addresses femicide in Italy. The assumption is that femicide is not a discrete act of killing a woman. It is assumed that depending on the types of relationship between the victim and the perpetrator (e.g., known versus unknown, intimate versus acquaintance), the risk processes may differ. When femicide involves the killing of an intimate partner, it is likely to be characterized by sustained and escalating intimate partner violence (IPV) that can reach its climax with extreme acts of violence that lead to intimate partner femicide (IPF). Eighty-six cases of femicide that occurred in North-West Italy between 1993 and 2013 were examined in this study. Findings suggest that femicide was disproportionately perpetrated by intimate partners (current or past), rather than strangers. IPF was likely to be the epilogue of an abusive relationship, with high levels of contentiousness and conflicts being the frequent significant precursors. Non-intimate partner femicide (NPF) was more likely to be characterized by antisocial or predatory motives, highly frequent when the victims were prostitutes.These preliminary findings suggest that joint scientific, professional, and political efforts are paramount in order to address strategies aimed at assessing the differential risk of IPV early in time so as to prevent it from escalating into IPF or NPF and to provide the appropriate support for victims and their families.