[Prospective forensic study on the characterization of genital examination in women with consented sexual activity]

The number of women victims of sexual assault remains high, despite prevention and information campaigns. These victims can be adolescent girls, women of childbearing age or postmenopausal women. As part of examinations of victims of sexual assault, the morpho-anatomical diversity of the female genitalia requires knowledge of the physiological variations existing by the practitioners caring for these victims. Our work aimed to describe and characterize the genital examination of women with consented sexual activity.

Our cohort consisted of 196 women aged 14 to 81, examined in the context of medical gynecology consultations in two French maternity hospitals.

Recent genital traumatic injuries were found in 12.8% of women whose last sexual intercourse was less than 5days old. Intact hymens, free from traumatic tearing despite regular sexual activity, were present in 10.7% of these women.

Thus, in many cases, genital examination alone cannot confirm or deny the existence of prior sexual intercourse, whether or not it was consented to. The development of work on data on female genital anatomy would make it possible to optimize the medico legal care of victims of sexual assault.