Abuso Sexual em Adultos: Casuística do Posto Médico-Legal de Ribeirão das Neves - Minas Gerais

Sexual violence is present throughout the world, affects both sexes and occurs in all cultures and social classes. Women are the main victims of sexual abuse (SA), considered a major public health problem. In cases of SA, the medical examiner has the role of searching for objective medical evidence, in addition to participating in the integrated network of victim care. The objective of this research was to analyze the forensic reports of SA in a specific geographic context, to better understand the characteristics of the victims and the forensic findings. The forensic reports of SA victims who were 18 years of age or older examined in Ribeirao das Neves Institute of Forensic Medicine between 2015 and 2016 were analyzed. All of them were female, totaling 11.6 % of the 242 forensic reports of SA completed in the period. The average age was 28 years, vaginal intercourse was the most common practice and in half the cases the abuse was committed by strangers. Most had no genital lesions and none had anal lesions. There were extragenital lesions in half of the cases. In most reports the recent occurrence of vaginal intercourse could not be demonstrated. These data add epidemiological information for better understanding the profile of the SA adult victim, and may contribute to the establishment of possible intervention and prevention measures.