How will amendments in crimes against sexual privacy and failure to evaluate the mental health of the victims will affect them? [Cinsel dokunulmazliga karsi suclarda yapilan kanun degisikligi ile ruh sagliginin degerlendirilmemesinin magdurlara etkisi ne olacak?]

Abstract

The concepts of physical or mental health were removed from the articles regulating the crimes against sexual immunity in the Turkish Penal Code. Today, judicial authorities don’t require forensic medical evaluation of physical or mental health of the victims. In this study, it is aimed to investigate the effect of the amendment on psychiatric examinations in the forensic medical examination of victims of sexual crimes. The data of 292 cases, who were evaluated by a committee established in accordance with 7th, 23rd and 31st Articles of Institute of Forensic Medicine Act between January 1, 2012 and July 30, 2015 at Ataturk University Faculty of Medicine to see if there is any negativities in the physical or mental health of the victims, were reviewed retrospectively. In these evaluations, psychopathology was identified in 58.6% (n=171) of the cases due to sexual trauma. Before the evaluation of the committee, the judicial authorities asked for both physical and mental results of sexual trauma of 62.6% (n=183) of the cases and psychiatric results of sexual trauma of 37.4% (n=109) of the cases as part of the forensic medical assessment. The psychiatric examination of these 109 cases was done by this committee for the first time and psychopathology was identified in 56.9% (n=62) of these cases due to sexual trauma. Psychiatric examination of victims of sexual crimes is a medical obligation independent from the legal process. Although the law changes, forensic medical examination of the victims should be done to include psychiatric examinations with a multidisciplinary approach. [Med-Science 2016; 5(3.000): 793-6]

Keywords

• Sexual crime
• psychiatric examination
• major depressive disorder
• post-traumatic stress disorder