Sexual assault is a serious social problem that affects women's
life. In Egypt, there is no accurate epidemiological study on sexual assault,
although it has undergone a dramatic surge in 2013. The goals of this study
were to estimate the prevalence and the characteristics of sexual assault
against female in Qalyubia Governorate, Egypt. It is a retrospective study
evaluating sexual assault against females from 2009 to 2013. Total numbers
of cases of female sexual assault was 130 over the studied years.
The mean (SD) age of victims was 15.2 (6) years ranging from 4 to
40 years. Fifty-eight percent fall in the age group of 12 to 18 years. Most
victims (61.5%) came from urban areas. Summer was relatively a vulnerable
season for sexual assault (53.1%); 81.5% of victims was unmarried and
94.6% with normal mentality. The highest percentage of sexual assault
crime was found in females with primary education (44.6%). Twenty-two
(16.9%) of the assaulted cases were considered intrafamilial assault,
whereas 83.1% were extrafamilial. The most common location for assaults
was at the assailant's home (50.8%), and 80% of the victims were exposed
to assault by 1 assailant. The shortest time between alleged assault and the
examination was 1 day in 12 cases (9.2%). The most frequent type of assault
was complete vaginal penetration (48.55%). The most common type
of physical injury was abrasions (48.1%), whereas the least was burn or broken
teeth (1.3% for each). The highest percentage of genital injury was lacerations
(36.4%), and the most common location was the hymen (36.4%).