Characteristics of victims and perpetrators of intrafamilial sexual abuse

An empirical analysis of sibling sexual abuse: Examining offender, victim, and event characteristics in National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data, 2018-2022

BACKGROUND

Sibling sexual abuse (SSA) is a pervasive form of intrafamilial sexual violence. A review of existing literature underscores ongoing challenges to comprehensive understanding of this offense due to definitional inconsistencies, small sample sizes, data constraints, methodological shortcomings including reporting practices, and a dearth of empirical scrutiny. Previous studies have relied on retrospective, non-representative, clinical, or homogeneous samples.

OBJECTIVE

The present work updates knowledge on SSA addressing several persistent limitations in previous studies and offering contemporary victim, offender, and incident-based profiles to promote avenues for future risk assessment, prevention, and intervention strategies.

METHODS

This study, both exploratory and descriptive, draws on the five most recent years (2018-2022) of data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), the largest available dataset (N = 30,640), containing SSA incidents reported to law enforcement.

RESULTS

Significant sex differences were noted across age, race, victim injury, offense type, and relationship. Female victims were more likely to experience abuse from older siblings and were nearly 2.5 times more likely to be victimized as an adult than their male counterparts. Female victims were also more likely to report injury, yet less likely than male victims to experience forcible penetration during an SSA incident.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings substantiate the ongoing need for continued refinement of SSA definitional criteria, which, in turn, will lead to greater identification and reporting of incidents. Moreover, findings here underscore the importance of considering age and gender dynamics to guide risk assessment, intervention, and prevention strategies.

Associations between childhood maltreatment and psychiatric disorders: analysis from electronic health records in Hong Kong

There has been a lack of high-quality evidence concerning the association between childhood maltreatment and psychiatric diagnoses particularly for Axis II disorders. This study aimed to examine the association between childhood maltreatment exposure and Axis I and Axis II psychiatry disorders using electronic health records. In this study, the exposed group (n = 7473) comprised patients aged 0 to 19 years with a first-time record of maltreatment episode between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2010, whereas the unexposed group (n = 26,834) comprised individuals of the same gender and age who were admitted into the same hospital in the same calendar year and month but had no records of maltreatment in the Hong Kong Clinical Data Analysis and Reporting System (CDARS). Data on their psychiatric diagnoses recorded from the date of admission to January 31, 2019 were extracted. A Cox proportional hazard regression model was fitted to estimate the hazard ratio (HR, plus 95% CIs) between childhood maltreatment exposure and psychiatric diagnoses, adjusting for age at index visit, sex, and government welfare recipient status. Results showed that childhood maltreatment exposure was significantly associated with subsequent diagnosis of conduct disorder/ oppositional defiant disorder (adjusted HR, 10.99 [95% CI 6.36, 19.01]), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (7.28 [5.49, 9.65]), and personality disorders (5.36 [3.78, 7.59]). The risk of psychiatric disorders following childhood maltreatment did not vary by history of childhood sexual abuse, age at maltreatment exposure, and gender. Individuals with a history of childhood maltreatment are vulnerable to psychiatric disorders. Findings support the provision of integrated care within the primary health care setting to address the long-term medical and psychosocial needs of individuals with a history of childhood maltreatment.

Analysis of the Main Groups Victimized by Familiar Violence and by Violence by a Known Person in Brazil

ABSTRACT

This study aims to evaluate the ratio of the number of cases of family violence and violence by a known person, over the four surveys that took place in 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2011, within the population treated in the Brazilian health services, according to demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Data from the Vigilância de Violências e Acidentes survey was used. The variables age, victim sex, aggressor sex, race, and schooling level were considered in the analysis. This study pointed out decreasing trend in the number of violence-related care within the older age group. The number of familial violence-related care per victim sex was higher for male victims when the aggressor was female, and conversely, it was higher for female victims when the aggressor was male. The number of violence-related care was mostly higher in non-White people than in White. People with low schooling levels showed the highest ratio of the number of violence-related care.

Incestuous childhood sexual abuse between siblings resulting in pregnancy without sexual intercourse

Victims of incest are usually women and children who are mostly girls. The abuse between siblings may remain hidden because of the family's fear of social stigma, though it may result in pregnancy. This article presents a case of incestuous childhood sexual abuse between siblings resulting in pregnancy without intercourse, an event rarely reported in the literature. An 11-year-old girl was brought to the hospital because of a stomachache and was detected pregnancy from examinations. Forensic medicine experts determined that the girl's hymen was still intact and non-elastic in the genital examination. Gynecology and Obstetrics Department confirmed the pregnant compatibility with 14 weeks, 4 days; after ultrasonographic monitoring. She was abused by her 14-year-old brother by rubbing for 1 year and this resulted in pregnancy. During the psychiatric examination, her attitude was negative and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder emerged. Medical abortion was applied after psychiatric and gynecological examinations. The girl's brother was confirmed as the biological father after the DNA paternity test was conducted on the fetus. Based on this case, this article aimed to examine the medical, social, and legal problems caused by incestuous childhood sexual abuse and contribute to the literature by emphasizing what forensic medicine and preventive medicine approaches should consider in such cases.