What is it about?
By not using a staining technique to highlight fresh injuries sustained during rape, the injuries may be missed, which weakens the case.
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Why is it important?
The utilisation of a staining technique when examining rape cases to present to courts is inexpensive and efficient, but is seldom used.
Perspectives
Rape is a serious and humiliating offence. Victims are secondarily traumatised by the court proceedings and suffer more humiliation and self-doubt when the suspect is acquitted. Conviction helps them to get closure. An inefficient medical assessment may be a cause of erroneous acquittal. When injuries are missed, it weakens the case and diminishes the probability of conviction.
Marianne Kotze
University of the Free State
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Do we miss half of the injuries sustained during rape because we cannot see them? An overview of the use of toluidine blue tissue stain in the medical assessment of rape cases, South African Family Practice, October 2017, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/20786190.2017.1386868.
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