Sexual aggressors with mental disorders: characterization of a Tunisian sample

Abstract

Introduction Sexual violence is a worldwide public health concern. Nevertheless, the psychopathology of perpetrators of sexual assault still nowadays poorly documented. Objectives The aim of this study was to assess the characteristics of sexual aggressors with mental disorders. Methods It was a retrospective study that included a series of sexual aggressors examined in forensic psychiatric assessment in the psychiatry C department at Hedi Chaker university Hospital in Sfax, from January 2010 to December 2021. Data were collected from psychiatric expert reports. Results The sample was exclusively composed of men with an average age of 37 years and 07 months (± 12.75 years). 54.4% of sexual aggressors suffered from mental disorder. Personality disorder was the most prevalent psychiatric disorder and the antisocial type was noted in 23.9% of cases. Sexual aggressors suffering from mental disorder were more likely to commit rape followed by murder (p=0.05). They used physical violence far more than the others did (p=0.007) and they were more apt to threaten their victims with weapon during the assault (p=0.038). They were also more likely to abuse the power given by their professional roles (15,2 % versus 5,6 %; p=0.07). They more frequently attacked unknown victims (p=0.019). Conclusions More than half of sexual aggressors suffered from psychiatric disorder. Therefore, the detection and treatment of psychiatric morbidity among sexual aggressors may minimize the risk of recidivism. Disclosure of Interest None Declared