Police reporting in cases of sexual assault - a 10-year study of reported cases, unreported cases, and cases with delayed reporting.

The aim of this study was to identify characteristics of reported, later-reported and unreported cases of sexual assault. All cases with female complainants (> 15 years) of sexual assault, who had been examined at the Centre for Victims of Sexual Assault (CVSA) in the Region of Southern Denmark in a 10-year period, were included. Retrospective data were collected from medico-legal examination reports and police reports. Descriptive bivariate analysis and logistic analysis were performed. Forensic pathologists examined 850 complainants of sexual assault in 2009-2018, of which 753 cases were included in this study. Of these, 191 cases (25%) were initially not reported to the police, but 53 women (7%) filed a police report, days, weeks or months later. There was a higher relative risk (RR) of not-reporting for young adults, for single women, if the accused was well known to the complainant, if the complainant experienced amnesia, or if there had been some degree of consensual physical interaction at time of the incident but before the assault. The non-reporters also showed a higher degree of delayed examination. The later-reporters only differed from the non-reporters in one parameter - they had a higher degree of partial amnesia. Interestingly, injuries (ano-genital or other) or verbal/physical resistance was not associated with reporting tendency, reflecting the modus of the local judicial system. The opportunity of a reflection period after a high-quality forensic examination, which is not dependent of police involvement, is essential for sexual assault complainants. Furthermore, education and guidance of victims and of the police and judicial system on the unique nature of sexual assault cases is important.

Test-retest agreement and reliability of the Six Spot Step Test in persons with multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: The Six Spot Step Test (SSST) extends traditional walking outcomes in persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) by further challenging components of coordination and balance. Nonetheless, the test-retest agreement of the SSST has not been investigated. OBJECTIVE: To determine the within-day, day-to-day, and inter-rater agreement and reliability of the SSST in PwMS. A secondary aim was to investigate the validity of handheld timing. METHODS: A total of 38 PwMS with an Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) <6.5 completed two SSSTs with a 5-minute break in-between. After 2 days, this procedure was repeated. Bland-Altman analysis was performed to determine the 95% Limits of Agreement (LOA) and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) was calculated. In a subgroup of 18 PwMS, the SSSTs were video-recorded and timed by a second investigator. RESULTS: The relative LOA within and between days were ±15% and ±19%, while ICC were 0.987 and 0.983, respectively. A minor learning effect was found over four tests. The handheld timing error was ±0.5 seconds when compared to video-based timing. CONCLUSION: The SSST has an acceptable within- and between-day agreement and reliability. For interventional purposes, a change of >19% can be regarded as a real change. Valid timing can be performed by a handheld stopwatch.