BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
0
MEDICAL EVIDENCE IN
RAPE CASES
BLAST
Outline
1
1. Context
 Incidence
of Rape/Incidence of Reporting /
 Common Concerns re Prosecution
2. National Laws and Policies
 Legislative/
Constitutional Framework / Women’s Policy
3. International Laws
4. Focus on Laws on Medical Evidence
5. The Reality ….
6. International Perspectives
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
1.1 Context
2




Rape is the 2nd most commonly reported form of
violence against women
Percentage of rape cases between 2001-2010 has varied
from 20-25% of all cases on violence against women
registered with the police
NGO compilations of news reports indicate declining
media reportage of rape cases
Although the overall crime rates have increased, cases
reported on violence against women have remained
constant (25-20%)
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
1.2 Police Statistics
3
Cases Registered by the Police on Violence Against Women
Year
Dowry
related
(Information Collated by Naripokkho, 2011)
Acid
Abduc Rape
Rape
Traffick Murder
Attack
tion
and
ing
Murder
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Total
2986
4922
5869
3081
3130
3417
4186
4487
4061
5331
41,430
153
209
258
208
206
146
177
163
129
97
1746
1691
2236
2262
1594
2069
2089
2936
2874
2772
3391
23,712
3178
4095
4442
3097
2796
2566
3495
3387
2900
3328
33,284
20
22
28
17
22
14
33
65
39
25
285
63
74
74
68
138
107
113
105
100
117
959
82
90
73
62
97
109
142
131
139
196
1101
Injuries
Other*
63
83
120
134
49
95
74
87
94
120
899
4722
6700
7152
4568
2949
2558
3374
3032
2693
3768
41,512
Note that these are not total figures for rape, simply total cases reported to
police
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
1.3 Factors impeding access to justice
4
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Rape myths (‘loose character’/ woman’s dress/
behaviour/ character was the cause)
Social stigma (blaming the victim)
Lack of support services
Lack of protection for victims and witnesses
Inadequate investigations by the police
Problematic medical examinations
Gaps in the law
Protracted court proceedings
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
2.1 Legislative Framework
•
•
•
•
1860 Penal Code
1872 Evidence Act
1898 Code of Criminal Procedure
200 Nari o Shishu Nirjaton Domon Ain (NSND)
Definition: (Section 375 Penal Code)
Sexual intercourse by a man with a woman in any of the following five
circumstances:1) against her will, or; 2) without her consent, or; 3) with her
consent when her consent has been obtained by putting her in fear of death or
hurt, or; 4) with her consent when the man knows he is not her husband but
she has given consent because she believes him to be another man to whom
she is lawfully married, or; 5) with or without her consent when she is under
fourteen years of age.
As expanded in NSND: (Section 9 (1))
(i) sexual intercourse with a woman over the age of 16 years, to whom the
accused person is not married, without her consent, or despite the fact that she
shows fear, or by gaining her consent through fraudulent means and;
(ii) sexual intercourse with any woman below the age of 16 years.
5
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
2.2 Legislative Protection
Nari o Shishu Nirjaton Domon Ain (NSND) 2000
• Safe Custody: Section 31 provides for the safe custody of
women and children during the trial if the tribunal is of the
opinion that it is necessary.
• Protection from publication of names or identity:
Section 14 provides that any news or information about
the offence in relation to a woman or child can only be
published in such a way as not to disclose the identity of
the woman or the child.
6
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
2.3 Constitutional Rights
• Equality of women before the law (Article 27)
• Prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex (Article 28)
• Positive obligation to take special measures for the advancement of
women (Article 28 (4))
• Protection of the right to life and liberty and to be treated in
accordance with law (Articles 31 and 32)
• The right to a speedy trial (Article 35)
• The right to freedom from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment
(Art. 35)
• The right to enforce a fundamental right (Articles 44 and 102)
7
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
2.4 National Action Plan for Women’s
Advancement
• Following the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) the
Government of Bangladesh adopted the National Action Plan for
Women’s Advancement: Implementation of the Beijing Platform
for Action (PFA).
• The ‘General Action Plan’ includes a commitment to revise existing
policies to incorporate women ’ s needs and concerns in each
ministerial sector. Under the Action Plan, the Ministry of Law and
Parliamentary affairs, for example, are committed to creating public
awareness on gender issues, and addressing the response to violence
against women within the judicial framework.
8
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
3. Relevant International Obligations
• Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW)
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the
field of health care in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women (Article 12(1))
• International Covenant of Economic Social and Cultural Rights
(ICESCR)
Article 12 protects the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health,
including sexual and reproductive health
• Convention Against Torture and other Cruel Inhuman and Degrading
Treatment (CAT)
Prevention of treatment which is cruel, inhuman or degrading, even when it doesn’t amount to
torture, if committed by one acting for the state or in an official capacity (Article 16)
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
• Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC)
9
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
4. Provisions relating to collection of medical
evidence
10
NSND 2000/ Section 32 :
(1)
medical examinations shall be done in a Government hospital or private hospital
recognised by the Government for the purpose;
(2)
shall be completed “very quickly”, and the medical centre shall furnish the
concerned person with a certificate of medical examination and inform the local
police station about the commission of the offence.
Government Circular (issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,
2002)
(a)
(b)
Women and children … are to get the required treatment, diagnosis, have the
filing of the case done by the District Commissioner’s office, the nearest police
station, issue and receive a copy of the medical certificate;
The medical officer and his assistants are to give the best possible treatment.
At the same time, a Standard Form for recording medical evidence was
issued.
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
5. The Reality…Problems relating to collection
of medical evidence
Facilities
• Facilities are mainly available at the district levels
• Tests are conducted during office hours only
• Lack of female doctors and staff
Evidence collection
• Many of the ‘tests’ are not relevant to proving the legal casee.g. the ‘two finger’ test
• Some of the ‘tests’ have no medical value
• Forms used to collect evidence include a space for noting past
sexual history - and standard form not used
• Insensitive treatment of survivors at health facilities
11
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
…
Broader issues
• Government guidelines not being followed
• Lack of funding, leading to corruption
• Health professionals are reluctant to fill out forms due to fear
of being held accountable
• Suspicion and myths surrounding rape
12
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
…
Q: Is the 2002 Government Circular being followed?
A: “No-one pays any attention to them because of all
the constraints - staff shortages, lack of funding etc”
Q: How is the two finger test carried out outside of
Dhaka?
A: “We don’t really know what district hospitals
do…”
13
[BLAST Interview with Dr Md Habibuzzaman Chowdhury, Associate
Professor and Head of Department of Forensic Medicine, Shaheed
Suhrawardi Medical College, Dhaka, 5 July 2012]
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
…
“Rape is an accusation easily to be made and hard to
be proved and harder to be defended by the party
concerned”
[Quotation from archaic English case law, cited with
approval in- Sobuj v State 11 MLR (HC) 2006 (284)]
“Rape is a very serious allegation”, as a result “women
must withstand these tests”
[BLAST interview with Barrister Anisul Huq, Dhaka, 10
July 2012]
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BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
5.1 What Medical Evidence is used in
rape trials?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Age of victim
Evidence of force used on the body - scratches, bruising etc
Evidence of force used on genital area
Stains of blood or sperm on the clothes of the victim or accused
Presence/absence of blood/semen in vagina
Rupture of hymen- Findings from Two Finger test
Indications of penetration
Indications of venereal disease passed from accused
DNA: 1) To establish paternity, 2) To examine fibres etc
( 1) Is used, but not often, 2) Is, according to Barrister Anisul Huq, not used- DNA
testing not advanced enough at the moment in Bangladesh)
Tests carried out on the accused (not often)- incl capacity of accused to commit
rape
[From Modi’s Medical Jurisprudence p.923, and from interviews with Barrister Ainsul
Huq and Dr Md Habibuzzaman Chowdhury]
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BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
5.2 The Two Finger Test
A medical examination in which the examining
doctor notes the presence or absence of the
hymen and the size and so-called laxity of the
vagina of the rape survivor and comments
about whether she is “habituated” to sexual
intercourse
(Human Rights Watch)
16
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
5.3 Why is it a problem?
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
17
Virginity and or “habituation” cannot be “tested” by
per vaginal examination
The results are not legally probative
The result are not logically probative
The test causes additional trauma
The test causes additional stigma
The test is in breach of national and international
obligations
The test goes against international standards for the
collection of medical evidence
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
(1) Scientific myth…
“It [the two finger test] is all a myth. Nothing- no scientific
evidence to show that if two fingers pass or don’t pass it has
anything to do with being “habituated” to sexual intercourse or
penetration at all”
[Human Rights Watch interview with Head of leading
forensic medicine department, Delhi]
“The size of the vaginal introitus has no bearing on a case of
sexual assault, and therefore the two-finger test of admissibility
must not be conducted”
[CEHAT, Manual for Medical Examination of Sexual
Assault]
18
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
…
Why?
• Size of vaginal opening varies between women
• The hymen is a flexible membrane- it can be ruptured before
sex; or not ruptured during sex
• In cases of gang rape the fact that finding of “habituation”
may be as a result of the rape itself
•There are too many variables
-Size of doctor’s fingers
-Perception of “easily admitted”
-Experience of doctor (“If the doctor is new he may make
disproportionate assumptions” - Dr Md Habibuzzaman Chowdhury)
19
• Because of the variables, reports contain contradictions
which lead to acquittals
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
(2) Not legally useful
The findings of the test have no bearing on whether the legal test
is made out:
• Sexual history has no relevance to issue of consent
– This is accepted internationally
– E.g, section 41 Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act UK- judge
can only give permission for defence to cross examine on sexual
history in very specific circumstances (e.g. where the defence alleges
very similar behaviour to a previous incident) AND where the judge
thinks that not asking would render conviction unsafe.
– Rationale is that sexual history is not probative, but is highly
prejudicial
• Partial penetration constitutes rape - State vs Shahidul Islam alias Shahid and
others 58 DLR (HCD) 545 2006 and Moinul Haque (Md) and another v State 56 DLR (AD) (2004) 81
20
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
(3) Not logically probative
If the survivor “passes” the test- i.e. she is found to
be a virgin, the defence may suggest she was not
raped.
If the survivor “fails” the test- i.e she is found to be
“sexually habituated”, the defence will attack her
credibility.
It is lose-lose situation for the survivor: the
‘results’ can be used either way.
21
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
(4) Additional trauma
• The two finger test mimics the original rape
• It is incredibly traumatic for survivors
• The World Health Organization’s guidance on the medical examination of
rape survivors highlights that even a speculum examination of the vaginal
walls to locate injuries “may be particularly difficult for the patient, as it may
remind her of the assault”
• It is particularly traumatic when carried out by a male doctor with no female
attendant. Dr Md Habibuzzaman Chowdhury stated that lack of female doctors
was a real problem- there are currently no female doctors in the forensic
department of the Shaheed Suhrawardi Medical College, Dhaka
22
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
(5) Additional Stigma
A finding that a woman is “habituated” to sex, and that as a result
her credibility is in doubt, perpetuates myths that surround rape:
– That an unmarried woman who has had sex has
“loose” morals
– That she is therefore more likely to have
“encouraged” her attacker or consented to sex
– That a woman who is “habituated” cannot be raped
The language associated with the test further perpetuates the
myths: “Habituation” is pejorative. The description of a woman
“passing / failing” is also damaging.
23
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
(6) Breach of national and international
obligations
Former UN Special Rapporteur, Sir Nigel Rodley
condemned the practice of virginity testing rape
survivors as a form of “gender specific…torture”
…
“The State should ensure that its domestic laws, as
much as possible, provide that a victim who has suffered
violence or trauma should benefit from special
consideration and care to avoid his or her retraumatization in the course of legal and administrative
procedures designed to provide justice and reparation”
24
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
…
Article 26 of the ICCPR guarantees equal protection before the
law. The Human Rights Committee found that a state ’ s
subjection of a 15-year-old rape survivor to a virginity test,
amongst other treatment, and to the use of results of this test
in court proceedings, was in breach of its obligations under
Article 26.
L.N.P. v Argentine Republic, Comm. No. 1610/2007, UN Doc.
CCPR/C/102/D/1610/2007 (2011)
Human Rights Law Centre, HRLC Bulletin, Rights Agenda, Vol. 67
November 2011
25
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
(7) Against international standards for medical
evidence collection
The World Health Organization has issued guidelines in relation
to the medico-legal examination in the case of rape survivors.
[WHO ‘Guidelines for medico-legal care for victims of sexual violence’.
Geneva, 2003]
“When caring for victims of sexual violence, the overriding priority must
always be the health and welfare of the patient. The provision of medico-legal
services thus assumes secondary importance to that of general health care
services (i.e. the treatment of injuries, assessment and management of
pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs)”
The Guidelines refer to ‘virginity tests’ as a form of sexual
violence in and of themselves.
26
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
International Perspectives
India
The two finger test was banned in India in 2012.
The ban built upon a shift in judicial thinking…
According to the Indian Evidence Act (Amendment) 2002, in
a prosecution for rape or attempted rape a woman shall not be cross-examined as to
her “general immoral character”
Before the ban, the Supreme Court had ruled:
• That the test couldn’t be used against a prosecutrix in court
(Narayanamma v. State of Karnataka with State of Karnataka v. Muniyappa and others, (1994) 5 SCC
728; State of Punjab v. Ramdev Singh, (2004) 1 SCC 421)
• That any evidence that a woman is “habituated” to sex was inadmissible
State of Uttar Pradesh v. Pappu (2005) 3 SCC 594 :
27
“Even if it is hypothetically accepted that the victim had lost her virginity
earlier, it did not and cannot in law give licence [sic] to any person to rape her.
BLAST-SAFE
It is the accused
who was Project-MedicalEvidence
on trial and not the victim”
6. International Perspectives…
United Kingdom
In 1979 there was a national outcry when it was discovered that officials
at the UK border had used a virginity test on an Indian national in order to
determine whether she was a virgin, and therefore unmarried, for the
purposes of immigration.
“Of course you can’t prove virginity by sticking a finger up a vagina - not
every woman has a hymen”
(Spare Rib, UK Feminist Magazine, 1979)
A former Home Office minister admitted that “such gynaecological
examinations had been performed in Dacca” and that “they did it fairly
frequently in Dacca to discover whether a woman was a virgin or not
when she was claiming to be a wife”.
The UK Equal Opportunities Commission called such virginity testing
“nothing short of victimisation of women . . . which we would have thought totally
alien to our national attitude and way of life”.
28
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
…
The issue came to the fore in the UK in 2011 when ministers
were called on to apologise for the tests which had been
carried out up to the late 1970s.
A spokesman for the UK Border Agency stated:
“These practices occurred 30 years ago and were
clearly wrong. This government’s immigration
policies reflect the UK’s legal responsibilities and
respect immigrants’ human rights”
29
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
…
Egypt
In 2011 Egypt banned ‘virginity tests’ following the highprofile cases of virginity testing on female protesters after
arrest in Tahir Square
A General of the Egyptian army told CNN:
“We didn’t want them to say we had sexually
assaulted or raped them, so we wanted to prove that
they weren’t virgins in the first place.”
The tests were condemned by a three-panel judge in Egypt as:
30
“A violation of women’s rights and an aggression
against their dignity.”
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
…Yet it’s still being used
• The test is still used throughout Bangladesh
• It remains on the syllabus of medical schools and is taught in the
major Obstetric and Gynaecology Departments in Bangladeshi
teaching colleges
• It is referred to as “absolutely necessary” in certain cases in
Modi’s Medical Jurisprudence which is still in use”
“ In cases where the hymen is intact and not lacerated, it is
absolutely necessary to note the distensibility of the vaginal orifice
in the number of fingers passing into vagina without any difficulty.
The possibility of sexual intercourse having taken place without
rupturing the hymen may be inferred if the vaginal orifice is
capacious enough to admit easily the passage of two fingers”.
31
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
7. The Study
32




Analysis of case records
Analysis of judgments
Interviews with stakeholder- lawyers, prosecutors,
forensic experts, field practitioners
Interviews with survivors
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
7.1 Case Records
33



64 cases (BLAST: 53, Mohila Porishod: 2, Nijera
Kori: 9)
All cases ongoing at the NOS tribunal
Districts covered (16):
Bagerhat: 1, Barishal: 5, Chittagong: 2, Comilla: 3, Dhaka: 2,
Dinajpur: 4, Faridpur: 4, Khulna: 4, Lakhipur: 1,
Mymensingh: 5, Natore: 2, Noakhali: 6, Rajshahi: 4,
Rangamati: 4, Rangpur: 1, Tangail: 16
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
7.2 Materials analyzed
34

Case records:
 Complaint
 FIR
 Medical
Record
 Charge Sheet
 S 161 depositions
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
7.3 Sample
35





64 cases in total
FIRs available in 47 cases
Medical records in 36 cases
Charge sheets filed in 47 cases
47 cases filed under section 9(1)
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
7.4 Age
36


Victims mostly in the age group of 11-15
Accused mostly in the age group 20-30
High number of minors may be an indication of:


Fact that cases are reported more frequently when involving minors
The NGOs have taken on more cases involving minors
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
7.5 Comparison of Age of Victim and accused
Table 1
Comparison of Age of Victim and Accused
Age Range (in years )
No. of Victims
No. of Accuse d
37
>10
8
0
11-16
20
1
17-22
16
13
23-28
3
15
29-34
3
9
35-40
0
6
41-50
1
8
Not mentioned
10
9
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
7.6 Time of incident
38
Time of Inciden t
Time of the incident
No.
Morning (7 a.m- 12 p.m.)
13
Afternoon (12 p.m.- 5 p.m.)
9
Evening (5 p.m.- 9 p.m.)
15
Night (9 pm- 7 am)
20
Not recorded
4
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
7.7 Place of incident
39
Place of Incident
Place of Incident
Victim's house
Near Victim's house
Accused's house
Other (agricultural land, bazaar,
etc)
Not recorded
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
No.
26
14
5
14
2
7.8 Relationship with accused
40
Relationship with the accuse d
Relation with victim
Living in the same village
Relative
Neighbor
Employer, professional, service provider
No relationship
Boyfriend
No.
27
10
11
3
4
5
• Majority of victims knew the accused• 45% lived in same village
• 17% were related, including 2 cases of a father raping his daugher
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
7.9 Nature of incident
41





Mostly forced sex (36), rape after rejected proposals
(8)
13 cases of intercourse with promise to marry
8 cases where multiple incidents of rape
10 cases of gang rape (involving more than 1
accused)
3 cases where the victim was killed by the accused
after the incident (of which one involved a 6 year old
victim) and one where the victim was not found after
the incident
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
7.10 Shalish
42







Attempted in 37% of cases
Including 5 involving rape of minors (though generally not
attempted in these cases)
In 3 cases, shalish attempted more than once
In 2 cases, the victim and accused were married following shalish or
filing of FIR
In all except one day, FIR filed after delay when shalish attempted
Has serious implications for medical evidence collection, as
evidence usually only taken after FIR filed
In 10 out the 23 cases where shalish was attempted, no medical
evidence was collected
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
7.11 Filing of FIRs
43
Time between incident and FIR
Time between incident and FIR
Nos.
Same day
4
Within 3 days
19
Within 10 days
6
10 days to a month
9
More than a month but less than 6 months
10
More than 6 months but less than a year
5
More than 1 year
2
Not recorded
6
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
7.12 Filing Chargesheet
44
• Chargesheets filed in 37 of the cases
• In a majority of these cases (67%) chargesheets were filed within
two months of the FIR
• Only in one case was the chargesheet filed 10 months after the
incident. This indicates investigators are generally able to meet time
frames prescribed in the NSA.
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
7.13 Medical examinations
45






Mostly at district levels though 9 have been
conducted at the upazila level
Consent of the victim taken
Attending medical professionals
Few cases record physical injuries
Very few cases record mental state
Sexual injury found in 20 cases
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
7.14 Comparing time of incident and time
of medical examination
Comparing time of incident and time of medical examination
Incidents
MLE
Morning (7 a.m- 12 p.m.)
13
2
Afternoon (12 p.m.- 5 p.m.)
9
19
Evening (5 p.m.- 9 p.m.)
15
-
Night (9 pm- 7 am)
20
-
Not recorded
4
4
Time
• In many cases victim is kept in custody overnight until medical examination can
be carried out
• Often custody will be in police station
• Availability of examination only during office hours may dissuade women from
seeking help
46
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
7.15 Location of medical examination
• In majority of cases (20) examination carried out at
district level
• 7 examinations carried out at upazila level
• In 6 out of 7 of these cases, FIR lodged within 2 days
of incident
• Shows that examinations are more effectively
administered at local level
47
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
7.16 Consent
• In all except 2 cases it is recorded that consent has been granted
• There is of course no indication as to whether this was fully
informed and freely given
• Practitioners indicate that consent is not particularly important, as
filing an FIR is deemed to entail any necessary examinations
• The standard form only asks for blanket consent- not consent for
each procedure carried out
• In a number of cases a minor has signed the consent form herself
• In the form has been signed by the woman’s legal guardian even
though she is an adult and there is no indication of disability
48
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Person conducting examination
• In all except one case examination carried out by a man
• However, in all except 3 cases there was a female attendant at
the examination
49
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Recording of mental state
Observations on “Mental Stat e ”
Observatio n
Numbers
“Worried”
2
‘Normal’/ ‘sound’
8
Insane
2
Not recorded
16
• Concerns as to the accuracy of these assessments- particularly
considered the complex emotions experienced by rape survivors
• Concerns as to the clinical relevance of these assessments
50
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
Recording of physical injuries
• Physical injuries only recorded in 7 cases- even thought physical
force alleged in majority of cases
• In 50% of cases no physical injuries were found
• In 7 cases nothing was recorded
• This may well be a result of delay in conducting medical
examination– In all except one of the cases where injuries were found the
examination was carried out within 2 days of incident
– Whereas in cases where there was delay no injuries were found
51
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
Obstetric/ Gynaecological examination and
marital status
• In more than half the cases, the medical examiner has not mentioned
details of menstrual history
• Examination of breasts, hair and abdomen of the victim is routinely
conducted
• Only 3 of the cases did not record examination of genital organs
Findings of hymen examination s
Recording
Old tear
8
Health y
5
Ruptured
3
Ill Defin e d
1
Thick, fleshy, elastic and tough
Not record e d
52
No.
BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
1
10
Results of two finger test
Table 10
Observations recorded for examinations of the
vaginal cana l
Description
No.
Admits 2 fingers
4
Admits 2 fingers easily
3
Admits 2 fingers loose
3
Admits 2 fingers tightly
1
Admits 3 fingers easily
4
Healthy
2
Admits 1 finger loose
1
• In only 9 cases were details of these kind not recorded
• In one case, the finger test was conducted on a victim found
to be 26-27 weeks pregnant.
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• The test was also carried out even where there had been
significant delay BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
Medical Examiner’s Opinion
• Standard form provides space for examiner’s opinion
• In all but 6 cases (most of which were after a considerable
delay) an opinion is recorded
• In 9 cases the opinion is that “no sign of forced sexual
intercourse has been found”
• In 5 out of the 6 cases where “sign of forced intercourse” was found,
the incident was reported within 2 days of happening
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BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
…
• Other opinions recorded:
– “habituated to sex” - incident recorded after 9 months
– “no sign of recent forceful intercourse but intercoursed” - case where
14 year old alleged gang rape
– “Sign of recent sexual intercourse is found” (case of a 15 year old
victim)
– “The victim is not consistent with sexual intercourse” (case
involving the alleged rape of an eight year old)
– “R has signs of recent sexual intercourse and age is about 12 years”
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BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
Medical evidence and investigation
• Strong indication that medical evidence is the most crucial
evidence relied on in rape trials - and that medical evidence is
important to advance a case:
– 25 out of 37 cases where chargesheets have been filed, the
medico-legal examination report is also furnished
– This means that chargesheets have been filed in 25 of the 28
cases where the medical examination is complete
– In a majority of these cases (26 out of 37) no additional
evidence was collected or mentioned in the charge sheet
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BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence
Proposals re Further Action
• Completion of Study and
Publication
• Memorandum based on Study for
Ministry of Home/ Health/ Law /
MoWCA/ BMDC
• Possible Public Interest Litigation
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BLAST-SAFE Project-MedicalEvidence