This is a presentation i did during my 4th year in the medical school as a medical undergraduate.

1. Sample Collection of
sexually assaulted victims

2. Overview
• In which conditions ?
• Why ?
• What are collected ?
• How ?
• Type of sample Vs Significance

3. Sexual Assaults
• Alleged rape
• Childhood sexual abuse
• Unnatural offences

4. Purpose
• To find out whether sexual intercourse has
taken place or not.
• If it has, whether it was with consent or not.
• Identification of possible assailant/s.
• Estimation of age.
• Examination for STDs.
• Examination for pregnancy.
• Examination for intoxication.

5. Samples collected
(From whom?)
• Victim
• Suspected assailant/s
• Scene (Locus)

6. Samples Collected from
the Victim

7. Should be accompanied by a
detailed history taking &
followed by a thorough
examination

8. Samples are collected from…?
• Clothing
• Perineum
• Anus
• Thighs
• Pubic area
• Bite injuries
• Finger nails
• ANY part of the victim’s body (appropriately)

9. Types of Samples
• Seminal stains
• Blood stains
• Loose & matted pubic hair
• Loose scalp hair
• Saliva from bite marks
• Nail scrapings

10. Types of Samples
• Foreign material (e.g. Mud, Weeds)
• Blood for alcohol or drugs
• Blood (5 ml), few plucked pubic hair & scalp
hair
• Trace material from genital areas

11. How to collect

12. How to collect
From Clothing;
→ Depends on the sample
If wet (blood or secretions)
Air dry before sending to the serologist

13. How to collect
Vaginal swabs
 From vulva
 Low vaginal
 Upper vaginal
 Cervix
Before Per vaginal examination or instrumentation (why?)
Capillary pipette
Smears prepared immediately & examined

14. How to collect
Other swabs
 From perineum
 Anus & rectum
 Thighs
 Mouth
 Any other area (appropriately)
Mainly for semen
Smears prepared immediately & examined

15. How to collect
Pubic area
 Loose hair – From assailant
 Dried & matted seminal fluid in pubic hair
Bite marks
 May contain saliva - swabs
Blood group Serological
antigens studies
Saliva
Buccal
DNA analysis
mucosal cells

16. How to collect
Nail beds
 Epidermal debris – From assailant
 Nail clipping – Disposable sterile tooth picks
 Nail scraping – Suitable scraper run under fingernails
Blood stains
Usually dried
Use a moistened swab*
Nail scraping – Suitable scraper run under fingernails
Discharges
From vagina – Swabs  Smears Microbiological studies

17. Medico legal Examination in a
case of sexual assault would not
be complete without
examination & obtaining trace
material from the suspected
assailant/s & the Scene.

18. Thank You