Perfil epidemiológico y características generales de las víctimas de atentados sexuales en el hospital de San Javier / Epidemiological profile and general characteristics victims of sexual assault in the Hospital San Javier

Sex crimes break the people’s sexual self-determination and minor` sexual indemnity. They do not only relate to physical force, but involve different types of sexual violence. We made a descriptive review of all cases observed in the emergency room of San Javier’s hospital from January 2009 to December2011.Records of the emergency department and the standard questionnaire delivered by the legal medical service to all health centers, were analyzed. Eighty-four percent were female,58 percent under 18 years-old, 76 percent single, 50 percent students and 52 percent had urban residence. In half of the cases were reported to the police, rape was the most reported attack with52 percent and percent of complaints were originated from a single event. Was obtained 36 percent of normal physical examinations. The most frequent lesions were extragenital, followed by genital and coloproctologic. Sixty-four percent of the offenderswere known by the victim; in 36 percent of cases the perpetrator was a relative and 6 percent of them was the father of the victim. We conclude that women are the main victims of sexual assaults,mainly children, singles and students. We recommenda systematic review of such complaints.