Forensic Science International: Reports (Jul 2021)
Involuntary loss of bowel-control in sexual assault with non-fatal strangulation: A case report
Abstract
Non-fatal strangulation has been studied mainly in the context of intimate-partner violence, and prevalence in sexual assault is less well established. In one Australian study of sexual assault by Zilkens et al., [4] 7,4% of women reported non-fatal strangulation as part of the assault. In a recent study by White et al. [28] 9,3% of adult patients attending a sexual assault referral centre reported non-fatal strangulation. Mcquown et al. [18] comparative studies of non-fatal strangulation in sexual assault and intimate-partner violence , found strangulation more likely to occur in intimate-partner violence, at 38% versus 10%. In this case a woman was attacked outdoors by a stranger, in a sexual assault with non-fatal strangulation and loss of consciousness. The case highlights a symptom, which is known to potentially occur during non-fatal strangulation, but is nonetheless not commonly encountered in clinical practice: loss of bowel sphincter control. Involuntary defecation may have medico-legal consequences in estimating how long the strangulation lasted, as it has been shown to occur after about 30 s Careful and systematic screening regarding symptoms that patients themselves do not spontaneously associate with the event, or might find embarrassing to report, such as loss of bowel or bladder control is thus necessary.
