Pattern of Injuries in Female Sexual Assault Victims

Here are a couple of excellent links regarding patterns of injuries in female sexual assault victims. I'm posting the links to these two studies because they provide more info on genital injuries and what we usually see.

   This goes along with what I've been writing about in that we usually see a specific pattern of injuries. Yes, there can be no injuries. Then again, there could be significant injuries - either from just one assailant or several.

   Several things I'd like to point out in these studies, is not just the types of injuries but the fact that more injuries can be seen when women get treated before the 72 hour mark. Because the female genitalia is highly vascular, with many small blood vessels, injuries tend to heal within 48 hours.

   Another thing to note is that women over 40 tend to have more injuries than younger women. The studies also point to the well-known fact that nonconsensual sex usually results in more injuries than consensual sex.

  The second study discusses the types and location of the injuries most often seen. Interesting to note, is that "Two hundred (94%) victims had trauma at one or more of four locations... and that 162 (76%) had 3.1 mean sites of(genital) injury. Comparatively, 8 (11%) consenting women had just single-site trauma.

   This is what I was referring to in my previous post - that I'm not used to seeing just edema of the vaginal walls alone but am used to seeing more than one type and site involved.

While I'm on that point, I've read other questions elsewhere regarding the BFT and edema issue. I stated my opinions based on my own experiences and research through numerous books and online sites. I'm still researching through them just to see if I might be wrong about the edema issue, as I'm the type of person who has no problem admitting if I've made a mistake.

   So far, however, it doesn't appear so. Every single resouce I've checked, including medicolegal death investigation and pathology reference books, have all stated the same thing. I'd like to quote one of my favorite reference books we keep at work: David Dolinah, Evan Matshes, Emma Law, Forensic Pathology (Elsevier Academic Press, 2005). It's massive in size and a truly excellent resource.

"The three key manifestations of the blunt force injury are: abrasions, contusions, and lacerations, each of which is created in response to the direct application of force to the body." (Edema was not mentioned). I ask again, If edema (alone) is not a characteristic of BFT, how can it be consistent with it?

On Choke Holds: "Choke holds will often have evidence of internal injury...this is not unusual because when an individual struggles violently against restraint, injury of the neck region very often results." 

   On patterned contusions (photo in book of injuries from restraint): " Examine the small linear contusions on the left arm of the young female pictured...these marks have an appearance consistent with finger grab marks as might be seem if someone were forcibly restrained".

The photo shows 3 large dark patterned bruises on upper, inner arms. This is something we would expect to see if a woman were grabbed and restrained. They would match someone grabbing her, with fingers going around the arm. I've seen this patterned mark often.

   Even if dark bruises weren't apparent yet, there were usually red marks clearly observable, even on dark skin.

    I'd like to post these links before putting up my almost completed (I'm a slow typist) post on rapist typology and profiling (including gang rapes) because I believe that by showing all these various factors together, that have to be considered, it will help people get a clearer picture of what can happen during a sexual assault - anything from little or no injuries to torture and murder - and of the investigation that follows.

Predictors of Injury With Rape

Patterns of Genital Injury in Female Sexual Assault Victims