‘Only 20 per cent sexual assault victims go to hospital within 24 hours of incident’

Experts cited trauma, stigma and family pressure as reasons for the delay to approach medical professionals. Representation pic

Only 20 per cent of sexual assault victims go to the hospital to get a medical examination within 24 hours of the incident, according to a study.

The department of obstetrics and gynaecology of Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College and General Hospital, commonly known as Sion hospital, arrived at this figure after analysing data pertaining to 130 sexual assault cases examined at the tertiary care centre between January 2014 and July 2022. According to the study, the pregnancy rate in these cases is around 16.15 per cent. Also, most of these were teenage pregnancies.

The aim of the study was to do a retrospective observational analysis determining the common age group of sexual assault victims, their socioeconomic status, demographic background, and relationship with the accused.

According to the data, 75 of the 130 victims (57.69 per cent) were below the age of 18 at the time of the incident, 36 (27.69 per cent) were in the age group of 18 to 25, 16 (12.35 per cent) were between 25 and 40 years and three (2.3 per cent) were above 40.

According to the data, 20.7 per cent of the victims (27) reported the incident within 24 hours, while 8.4 per cent (11), 31.53 per cent (41) and 33.84 per cent (44) of them reported them within a week, month and year, respectively.

Experts told mid-day that trauma, stigma, ignorance about whom to report to and family pressure may be some of the reasons for the delay to approach medical professionals.

Dr Sagar Mundada, a psychiatrist at Healthspring, said, "Victims of sexual abuse, especially minors, experience post-traumatic stress disorder. Sometimes it takes weeks, months and years to get out of it. Victims who belong to lower socio-economic classes don't have an idea whom to approach for a medical examination." He added, "Victims are sometimes blamed for the incidents, especially when the culprit is a family member or a known one. The family often asks the victim not to report the matter. So many a time, victims go through lots of pressure and have to deal with mental trauma." The experts stressed that due to delays in reporting and undergoing medical examinations, it becomes difficult to prove who is the culprit.

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Dr Tushar Palve, senior gynaecologist and superintendent of Cama hospital, said, "If sexual assault is reported late, it becomes difficult to diagnose and tough to label an accused. If it is reported within hours of the incident, we take samples and smears for testing, which can help police to nail the culprit. Stigma is a major challenge, especially among minors and adolescents, so we need to educate them. Families and society should not cover up such incidents, or else it will lead to a rise in such cases. Sex education is a must for both boys and girls."

Dr Mundada added that minors between Std II and IV must be taught about the good touch and bad touch. "Adolescents must be taught about sex education. They should be aware of the redressal mechanism."

The study was published in the Journal of South Asian Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

27
No. of victims in sample group of 130 assaulted by strangers

Facts of the matter

. 14 of the victims (10.7 per cent) were illiterate, 79 (60.76 per cent) were students and 37 (28.46 per cent) had completed their graduation
. 82.5 per cent of victims were from low socioeconomic backgrounds and 17.5 per cent were from the middle class
. Only 27 of the 130 victims had no relationship with the accused