Medicolegal characteristics of domestic violence

Abstract

Introduction/Objective. Domestic violence is a phenomenon as old as the history of human civilization, present in all cultures, epochs and social systems. Despite the fact that domestic violence represents a dangerous and unacceptable social phenomenon, as well as a significant medical problem, there are still no precise data on the prevalence of this phenomenon in our country. This study aims to determine the elementary forensic characteristics of domestic violence that would represented the basis for future medical research in this field. Methods. A total of 4,593 records of forensic autopsy (n = 3,120) and clinical forensic medical examinations (n = 1,473) were analyzed in the 1996–2005 period in order to determine the cases of domestic violence. Results. The analysis encompassed 300 cases (6.5%) of clinically examined (n = 211; 70.3%) and autopsied (n = 89; 29.7%) victims of domestic violence. A statistically significant increase in domestic violence cases (χ2 = 12.74; p = 0.00036) was determined in the observed period. The victims were mostly females (78%), with the mean age of 45.8 years (min = 0.3; max = 85; SD = 17.7), married (45%), with personal income (74.4%), and urban residence (66.3%). The majority of abusers were males (89.3%). Intimate partner violence was present in 58.3% of the cases. Physical abuse was the most common form of violence (97.7%), while sexual violence (2.3%) and child abuse (4.3%) were rarely recorded. Conclusion. The results of this research indicate that forensic medicine can be of great help in designing appropriate standards for conducting clinical medical examination, preventive programs, and strategies in fighting domestic violence.

Keywords

• domestic violence
• forensic medicine
• abuse
• injury