Barriers to the Effective Use of Medico-Legal Findings in Sexual Assault Cases Worldwide

Bibliographic Data

ID4686876
AuthorsJanice Du Mont (0000-0002-4851-1104, Women’s College Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada), D White (0000-0002-5365-9533, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada)
Year2013
Volume23
Issue9
Pages1228-1239
Publication date2013-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueQualitative Health Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1049-7323 • E-ISSN: 1552-7557
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1049732313502396
PMID23935160
OpenAlexW2109045654
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited36

Despite the increasing implementation of standardized rape kits across jurisdictions, the medico-legal findings generated by these tools are often not related to positive criminal justice outcomes. Given that there has been no global investigation of the factors that might impede their successful use in cases of sexual assault, we conducted a review of relevant scholarly and "grey" literature from industrialized and less-developed regions. One key theme to emerge from the analysis concerned certain problematic practices and behaviors of professional groups involved in the various stages of the post-sexual assault process. We found that a lack of competence in handling sexual assault cases, contempt for women who have been victimized, and corruption among some forensic examiners, police, scientists, and legal personnel often have shaped the collection, processing, analysis, and use of medico-legal evidence. We discuss recent initiatives and future directions for research that might serve to address these issues

Contempt · Criminal justice · Criminology · Legal process · Medical emergency · Poison control · Political science · Sexual assault · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Human Factors and Ergonomics · Law · Medicine · Psychology · Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies · Social Psychology

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