Injury-Free Assault
Definition
The documented phenomenon whereby penetrative sexual assault produces no detectable anogenital injury in a significant proportion of cases. Supported by multiple prospective studies; the examiner must not treat absence of injury as evidence of absence of assault.
- Field
- Forensic medicine, sexual assault examination
- Finding
- No detectable anogenital injury in a significant share of confirmed assaults
- Evidence base
- Multiple prospective clinical studies
- Clinical rule
- Absence of injury is not evidence of absence of assault
Common questions
Why can penetrative assault leave no visible injury?+
Anogenital tissue is elastic and highly vascular, and can distend and recover without tearing, particularly when there is minimal resistance or when examination occurs after some healing has already begun.
How should a lack of injury be presented in court testimony?+
An examiner should explain injury-free assault as an established clinical phenomenon rather than let a normal examination be read as contradicting the complainant's account, since the two are not mutually exclusive.
Related terms
- Fossa Navicularis
- The shallow fossa between the posterior fourchette and the hymenal ring, anterior to the fourchette. An anatomically vulnerable zone often involved in...
- Hymenal Remnants
- Tissue tags remaining from the hymenal membrane. In adults, remnants are normal findings and should not be described as evidence of prior...
- Posterior Fourchette
- The posterior midline junction where the labia minora meet, at the inferior border of the vaginal introitus. The most frequently reported site...
- TEARS
- The systematic mnemonic for anogenital findings: Tears (lacerations or fissures), Ecchymosis (bruising), Abrasions (superficial skin loss), Redness (erythema, which may be non-specific),...
- Vestibular Papillomatosis
- A normal variant consisting of symmetrical micropapillary projections on the inner labia minora and vestibule. Often mistaken for condylomata acuminata (genital warts)...