Evaluation of the incest cases in Hatay

Abstract

Incest is traditionally defined as any sexual activity between family members who are forbidden to marry by law. The inability of apply contemporary interview techniques to the victims and the fact that the family members do not cooperate due to intimacy of the event, make it difficult to determine the actual prevalence of incest cases. In this study, the aim was to determine the prevalence and evaluate characteristics of incest cases. We examined the sexual crime cases have sent to forensic units in 4 years between 2013-2016. Demographic data and the relationship between the victims and defendants were evaluated. The Statistical Package for social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0 was used to analyze the data. There were 737 sexual crime cases and 57 of them (7.7%) were incest cases. Among these, 15.8% (n=9) of the victims were men and 84.2% (n=48) were women. The average age of victims was 15.3 ± 5.43. We determined that the defendant was mostly the father (n=24, 42.1%). The penetration rate was 33.3% (n=19). Because of late notification and incidental recognition, physical examination findings usually are not detectable. Increasing the education and sensitivity of the individuals who can encounter with these cases like medical staff, teachers, etc. is an important process in the protection of children and their acceptance by society.

Incestuous childhood sexual abuse between siblings resulting in pregnancy without sexual intercourse

“…The worldwide prevalence of incest is not clearly understood due to the differences between its definitions [14]. A study of the overall prevalence of incest in Turkey specifically has not been published yet either, though it varies between 4% and 33.4% in studies on sexual crimes in different Turkish provinces [15][16][17][18]. The true rate is estimated to be much higher by reason of the large differences in findings related to the prevalence of incestuous sexual abuse in Turkey [19].…”

Eskişehir Osmangazi Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Adli Tıp Ana Bilim Dalına 2015 İle 2019 Yılları Arasında Başvuran Ensest Vakalarının Adli Tıbbi Değerlendirilmesi

“…In a study conducted in Hatay, it was reported that 737 cases of sexual assault were evaluated in the Department of Forensic Medicine at Mustafa Kemal University Faculty of Medicine between 2013 and 2016, and 57 (7.7%) of these cases were found out to be incest cases (6). Our study found that 64 (9.7%) of the 661 cases of sexual assault were incest.…”

“…The actual frequency of incest is very difficult to determine. In this literature, incest cases, which were reflected to the unit where the study was conducted, were presented rather than the frequency of occurrence in the society (5,6). Zonguldak Bulent Ecevit University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Forensic Medicine reported that 39 incest cases were evaluated between 2010 and 2014 (11).…”

“…Incest cases are thought to be higher than reported numbers (5,6). The true prevalence of incest cases is quite difficult to determine.…”