Medical Evidence in Rape Cases: A Continuing Problem for Criminal Justice
| Date | 01 November 1998 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2230.00180 |
| Published date | 01 November 1998 |
| Author | Jennifer Temkin |
Medical Evidence in Rape Cases: A Continuing Problem
for Criminal Justice
Jennifer Temkin*
Forensic medical evidence obtained by examination of the victim is of crucial
importance in the investigation and trial of rape offences. The outcome of a
prosecution is likely to depend on it. In the 1970s, one aspect of the concern which
began to be expressed in this country about the handling of rape cases by the
criminal justice system, was the manner in which forensic medical examinations
were conducted.1Measures intended to improve the situation were introduced in
the 1980s but there has been very little research to confirm how succesful they
have been. The purpose of this article is, first, to consider the present arrangements
for providing such examinations for rape victims in two different police areas viz,
the Metropolitan Police District and Sussex2and secondly, to examine and
evaluate the practice and attitudes of a sample of doctors who conduct these
examinations in each area.
The article will look briefly at the background to the current situation. It will
explain the methods used in this study and how data was analysed. It will then
examine the arrangements made in London and Sussex to provide forensic medical
examinations for rape victims and the problems raised by these arrangements. The
examination of victims will next be considered by looking at each stage of this
process and the attitudes and perceptions of doctors to each stage. The attitudes of
doctors to their role and to the crime of rape will also be discussed. Finally, the
policy implications of the study findings will be assessed.
Background
In the late 1970s and 1980s, trenchant criticism was voiced about almost every
aspect of the forensic medical examination of sexual assault victims.3Concern was
focused on the lack of skill of some doctors in the performance of examinations
which was leading to loss of vital evidence, on the location of examinations which
were generally held in the unpleasant and ill-equipped facilities of the police
station and on the attitude of doctors to rape victims which was found in some
cases to be unsympathetic to the point of hostility.4Police surgeons were mostly
The Modern Law Review Limited 1998 (MLR 61:6, November). Published by Blackwell Publishers,
108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA. 821
* Centre for Legal Studies, University of Sussex.
The interviews with doctors on which this is article is based were mainly conducted by Kandy Woodfield.
The author is indebted for their assistance to Professor Jennifer Platt and to the doctors who gave up their
time to be interviewed.
1 See eg G. Smith, ‘Rape’ (1980) 17 Police Surgeon 46.
2 Such research as there is into rape has tended to focus on London where the Metropolitan Police
Service has set the pace in improving services for rape victims. Sussex was chosen as a convenient
area to provide some counterbalance to this trend.
3 See, eg n 1 above.
4 See eg C. Corbett, ‘Victim Support Services to Victims of Serious Sexual Assault’ (1987) 28 Police
Surgeon 8,11.
unfamiliar with the Rape Trauma Syndrome which explains the impact of rape on
victims5and it was suggested that they were forming their own rapid judgements as
to the veracity of the complainant which was leading to less than thorough
examinations in some cases.6It was also pointed out that women were often given
no advice about pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases(STDs).7
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) responded to these censures by setting
up its own Working Party in December 1983 to examine police and medical
procedures in the investigation of sexual offences. The Working Party’s
endeavours led to the making of special arrangements with a number of London
hospitals for rape victims to be screened for STDs.8Steps were taken to recruit and
train more women doctors simply to carry out examinations on female victims of
sexual assault without having to take on the full range of police surgeons’ duties. It
was also decided to set up special suites with proper facilities for the examination
of victims.9In 1986, the Home Office issued a circular to all chief police officers
recommending that similar steps be taken throughout the country.10
Little research has been carried out to discover how forensic medical services for
rape victims are currently operating. However, a recent study11 found that in a
small sample of victims interviewed in the Sussex area, the majority were wholly,
mainly or partly negative about the medical examination. Criticism focused on the
examination itself, the way it was conducted and the attitude of doctors. Women
examined by male doctors were mostly unhappy about the experience.
Methods
Using qualitative methods, the study aimed to consider in depth the practice and
procedures employed by a sample of doctors from London and Sussex when
performing forensic medical examinations on adult rape victims, their attitudes to
various aspects of their work and the organisational context in which this took
place. At the time of the study in 1995, thirty doctors were on a special rota for
conducting such examinations in London. In Sussex, where the number of rapes
recorded annually is far fewer, there was no such rota. Examinations were
conducted by available police surgeons although the police would do their best to
locate a female police surgeon if the victim so requested. Most rapes were reported
in the busy, coastal towns such as Brighton and Hastings so that although there
were 50 police surgeons and deputy police surgeons in the Sussex area as a
whole,12 most were not utilised for rape examinations. It was decided that the
objectives of the study could be fulfilled by interviewing ten doctors in depth,
choosing as far as possible those whose involvement in the field was extensive.
This does not claim or aim to be a quantitatively representative sample, but it is
5 N. Davis, ‘In-house Training of Police Personnel in the Investigation of Sexual Offences’(1985) 28
Police Surgeon 8, 12.
6 n 1 above, 48–49.
7 I. Blair, Investigating Rape (London: Croom Helm, 1985) 37, 75.
8 Metropolitan Police Order 26/6/85 listed the STD Clinics offering priority appointments to victims of
sexual assault.
9 n 5 above, 12–13.
10 Home Office, Investigation of Rape Offences (1986) Circular 69/86.
11 J. Temkin, ‘Doctors, Rape and Criminal Justice’ (1996) 35 Howard Journal of Criminal Justice 1.
12 Police Research Group, Review of the Use of Medical Specialists by Police Forces (Home Office
Police Department,1996) Appendix 4.1.
The Modern Law Review [Vol. 61
822 The Modern Law Review Limited 1998
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