The absence of sexually related injuries cannot be used in court to infer that rape victims are lying, according to a new study.
Researchers from the University of Birmingham analysed the last 30 years of published medical research to compare anogenital injury (AGI) in women who had been raped with those who had engaged in consensual sex.
They found that more than half of rape survivors had no detectable injuries, even when examined by experts using forensic dyes and magnification techniques.
Anogenital injuries were detected in 30 per cent of consenting women, the study found.
While the review found that AGI was 17 per cent more likely following sexual assault, both groups were found to have a combination of detected AGI and absence of AGI.
This means that AGI is “not proof of consent nor disproof of penetration”, the researchers said. ,
The researchers examined data from more than 3,000 women as part of the study.
More than 67,000 rapes were recorded by police last year but just 1.9 per cent resulted in a charge, according to Rape Crisis.
The study’s co-author Dr David Naumann, from the University of Birmingham, said: “Women may not disclose rape in the false belief that they won’t be able to prove assault if there are no injuries to their genital area.
“The presence or absence of anogenital injury may also influence law enforcement officers and jurors in the way they perceive the alleged assault.
“Our study provides definitive evidence that absence of injury cannot be used in court to infer that rape did not occur and victims are ‘making it up’.”
Physical examination findings for women after sexual assault may be used in court as forensic evidence.
However, the review found there is “no case for discrediting allegations of rape based on intimate physical examination alone”.
Dr Naumann said he hoped the research would help to “directly challenge rape myths and empower survivors to report their assault and bring the perpetrators to justice”.
“Numerous myths reinforce cultural attitudes towards reporting of sexual violence. One such myth anticipates physical violence, and thus injury, to be an inevitable accompaniment to rape. Sexual predators use different strategies, such as the threat of physical force, which reduce the likelihood of AGI.
“If we wish to support rape survivors, the clinical community must send an unambiguous, evidence-based message to ensure that rape myths are fully challenged. This will help survivors have increased confidence that the criminal justice system will support them in their disclosure and reporting of sexual violence.”
The research was published in the journal eClinicalMedicine on Friday.
