Evaluation of Juvenile and Adolescent Sexual Abuse Victims: A Retrospective Study

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the sociodemographic characteristics and the mental, anogenital, and physical examination findings of child and adolescent sexual abuse victims and to discuss them in the light of the literature. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study included a total of 134 children and adolescent cases between the ages of 0 and 18 who were victims of sexual abuse, from among the reports prepared in the Forensic Medicine Clinic of Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal Training and Research Hospital between 2015 and 2019. RESULTS: This study included 134 cases: 113 (84.3%) were female and 21 (15.7%) were male. The mean age was 13 ± 3.4 years (min: 3, max: 17). The average age of the defendants was 25.6 ± 13 years (min: 12, max: 75), and all the defendants were male. The defendants were strangers in 60 cases (4.8%). Sexual abuse mostly occurred as vaginal penetration in 46 cases (34.3%). Sixty–nine (51.5%) cases were exposed to abuse more than once. Depression due to sexual abuse developed in 14 (10.4%) of the cases. CONCLUSION: Considering that many child abuse victims have normal examination findings, it should not be forgotten that the interview and psychiatric examination with the child are as valuable as the genital examination.