Epidemiological and clinical aspects of the management of sexual aggression among female victims in Lomé
Adama-Hondégla, A.B.; Aboubakari, A.-S.; Fiagnon, K.; N'kamga-Tchocote, A.R.; Akpadza, K.
African Journal of Reproductive Health 17(1): 67-72
2013
ISSN/ISBN: 1118-4841 PMID: 24069735 Document Number: 578406
This is a retrospective study whose objective is to describe the epidemiological and clinical aspects of the management of sexual violence in Black Africa. The study included 373 cases of alleged female victims of sexual assault registered in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the University Teaching Hospital, Tokoin, Lomé, from 2007 to 2009. Sexual assault accounted for 4.37% of reasons for consultation and vaginal penetration (62.2%) was the predominant mode. The victim was often a small girl of an average age of 12 years. The mean reporting delay which was about 13 days has considerably limited some aspects of the management. We found 14.5% signs of genital trauma, nine cases of HIV serological conversions (2.4%) and eight induced pregnancies. Sexual assault among female victims in Lomé affected the young and vulnerable population. Governments must further inform about this issue and create multidisciplinary free management centres.