Examination of a Victim of Rape

Procedure for examination

Informed consent

• of the victim should be taken in writing in presence of a witness if she above the age of 12 years. (IN INDIA)

• if she is under the age of 12 years or a • mentally subnormal person, • the written consent of the parents or guardian should be taken.

• SECTION 90 IPC• Consent of insane person.-if the consent is given by a person who, from unsoundness of

mind, or intoxication, is unable to understand the nature and consequence of that to which he gives his consent; or

• • Consent of child---unless the contrary appears from the context, if the consent is given by a

person who is under twelve years of age.

(SECTION 53(2) OF CrPC)

• The examination should be made in the presence of a female nurse or a female relation unless the doctor is female.

• whenever a female is to be examined, the examination should be made only by, or under the supervision of, a female registered medical practitioner.

The principal features of the examination are:-

1.Preliminary data2.The statement of the victim and others

separately3.Signs of struggle on clothes and body4.Examination of the genitals for:- Local signs of violation Genital injuries Presence of spermatozoa and other

microorganisms Any evidence of STD• 5. Collection of laboratory specimens• 6. Inference• 7. Advice on follow-up

• The statement of the victim in her words must be written down as much as possible “WORD FOR WORD”. The amount of violence used, the position of the assailant, and the mode of attack should be elicited. It is necessary to inquire if vaginal, oral, or rectal contact occurred. Her statement should be noted with reference to:-

• Pain• Haemorrhage• Sensation as to penetration and emission and• The appearance of discharge• If she cried for help, or was too terrified to do so, or she fainted•

• Enquiry should be made of the events after the alleged assault, e. g, if she has changed her clothing, bathed or passed urine. Any delay in making complain to the authorities should have a proper explanation. A record should be made of the statement of others who accompany her. The degree of agreement of the various statements is important.

SIGNS OF STRUGGLE ON CLOTHES AND BODY

• These should be looked for on the clothes and the body. The clothing, if are the same as that worn at the time of crime should be examined in good light for evidence of a struggle, such as tears in the fabrics, marks of mud or grass, or stain of blood or semen. When clothes are torn, corresponding injuries to the body may be present and should be looked for. Mud and blood stains, when present, are generally seen on the back clothes while seminal stains are seen on the front clothes. Stains may be found on the material, e.g. Handkerchief, used for cleaning after the assault. When blood stains are seen, it must be ascertained if they are due to menstruation

• On microscopic examination, menstrual blood is found to contain endometrial cells from the uterus, epithelial cells from the vagina, and a large number of microorganisms which are not found in ordinary blood. Trichomonas vaginalis or monilia may be present. Blood should be taken for grouping and DNA characteristics to determine if the stains belong to the victim or assailant. Seminal stains should also be grouped to ascertain subsequently if they match with the assailant’s blood group. The clothing should be retained, carefully dried, labelled, and forwarded to the Forensic Science Laboratory for examination of suspicious stains, either blood, semen, or both.

• General appearance• Upper arms, forearms and hands• Face, ears, lips• Scalp• Neck • Breasts• Abdomen• Thighs and Legs• Hips and Buttocks• Bruises and contusions (e.g. inner aspect of thighs, scalp,

face, lips);• Lacerations (e.g. scalp, forearm);• Ligature marks (e.g. ankles, wrists and neck);• Pattern injuries (i.e. fingertip marks, scratch marks, bite

marks, factitious self-inflicted injuries)

• Inspection, labial traction• Swabs• Speculum• Anal +/- digital +/- proctoscope

COLPOSCOPIC EXAMINATION

• Vulval / vaginal / endocervical swabs • Buccal swabs – for DNA profiling Other swabs

(e.g. anal, oral, breasts)• Fingernail (clipping / scraping)• Pubic hair• Clothing / debris• +/- Toxicological samples (blood, urine)

• Normally, sperms remain motile in the vagina for about 6-8 hours and occasionally for 12 hours.

• Non-motile forms are detectable for about 24 hours with occasional reports to 48-72 and very rarely 96 hours.

• Motility persists longer at body temperature. The sperms remain motile in the uterus cavity for 3-5 days.

• Non-motile sperms remain in the uterine cavity for weeks or months after death.

spermatozoa and smegma bacilli.

To demonstrate the presence of sperms, the vaginal contents are aspirated by means of a blunt-ended pipette.

A wet preparation is then made on a slide and examined under a microscope for motile spermatozoa.

If motile sperms are seen, it would mean that intercourse has taken place within about 12 hours.

If the sperms are not motile, it is not possible to say exactly when intercourse took place except that it may be over 12 hours and within 24-48 hours and occasionally up to 72 hours.

Intact sperms are rarely found in the vagina after 72 hours of coitus.

In such a case, sperms heads and tails can be separately demonstrated by using picroindigocarmine which stain sperms heads “RED” and tails “GREEN AND RED”.

A smear is also made from the vaginal contents, fixed by gentle heat, and stained by Ziehl-Neelson’s method, and examined for the presence of