A Study of Sexual Assaults in Northern Range of Himachal Pradesh

Background: rape is among the highest forms of underreported crime experienced by women in all sections of the society and obtaining an accurate measurement of sexual assault is a challenge. an increasing rate of sexual assaults constitutes a large number of cases registered under different sections of the indian law, their medico-legal examination and forensic investigations.methods: the study was conducted on 35 sexual assaults cases received for examination at rfsl, northern range, dharamshala, himachal pradesh, india. a self-innovated proforma including the details pertaining to socio-demographic profile, medical examination, and results of specimens of victims collected during forensic analysis was designed. benzidine test, gel-diffusion test, acid phosphatase test and microscopic examinations were conducted in the lab.results: the common location of offence was house of the accused (31.42%) followed by house of the victim (20.0%). 48.57% of the alleged rape victims were students. highly affected age group was 11-20 years. fifteen girls (42.85%) were below eighteen years of age, which was the age of invalid consensual rape. forcible rape and invalid consensual rape was reported in 68.56% cases. 77.14% victims were unmarried and 22.85% were married. 85.71% victims were hindus followed by muslims (11.42%) and christian (2.85%). 80% victims knew the assailant. rupture of hymen was found in 88.57% cases and hymen was intact in 11.42% cases. delay of medico-legal examination of victim was noted. 31.42% victims had combined genital and extra genital injuries. acid phosphatase test was found positive in 34.28% cases and positivity for spermatozoa in 22.85% cases. blood was detected on clothes, undergarments and vaginal swabs in 42.85% cases. in 8.55% cases rape was committed by family members. only one victim became pregnant following the act of sexual intercourse.conclusion: cases were reported from hindu, muslim and christian communities and adolescents were more at risk. majority of the victims have acquaintance with the assailant and the residence of the accused was the most common location of sexual assault. delay in medico-legal examination caused problems in detection of semen and spermatozoa. most of the victims had bath and genital wash after the sexual act, before medical examination and destroyed the evidence.