Forensic medicine in South Africa: associations between medical practice and legal case progression and outcomes in female murders

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dc.contributor.authorAbrahams, Naeemahen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorJewkes, Rachelen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorMartin, Lorna Jen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorMathews, Shanaazen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-11-11T14:26:08Z
dc.date.available2015-11-11T14:26:08Z
dc.date.issued2011en_ZA
dc.description.abstractBACKGROUND: Forensic medicine has been largely by-passed by the tide of health systems research and evidence based medicine. Murder victims form a central part of forensic medical examiners' case load, and women murdered by intimate partners are an important subgroup, representing the most severe form and consequence of intimate partner violence. Our aim was to describe the epidemiology of female murder in South Africa (by intimate and non-intimate partners); and to describe and compare autopsy findings, forensic medical management of cases and the contribution of these to legal outcomes. METHODS: We did a retrospective national study in a proportionate random sample of 25 medico-legal laboratories to identify all homicides in 1999 of women aged 14 years and over. Data were abstracted from the mortuary file and autopsy report, and collected from a police interview. FINDINGS: In 21.5% of cases the perpetrator was convicted. Factors associated with a conviction for the female murders included having a history of intimate partner violence 1.18 (95%CI: 0.16-2.20), weapon recovered 1.36 (95% CI:0.58-2.15) and a detective visiting the crime scene 1.57 (95% CI:0.14-3.00). None of the forensic medical activities increased the likelihood of a conviction. CONCLUSION: The findings raise important questions about the role of forensic medicine in these cases.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationAbrahams, N., Jewkes, R., Martin, L. J., & Mathews, S. (2011). Forensic medicine in South Africa: associations between medical practice and legal case progression and outcomes in female murders. <i>PLoS One</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14916en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationAbrahams, Naeemah, Rachel Jewkes, Lorna J Martin, and Shanaaz Mathews "Forensic medicine in South Africa: associations between medical practice and legal case progression and outcomes in female murders." <i>PLoS One</i> (2011) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14916en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationAbrahams, N., Jewkes, R., Martin, L. J., & Mathews, S. (2011). Forensic medicine in South Africa: associations between medical practice and legal case progression and outcomes in female murders. PloS one, 6(12). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0028620en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Abrahams, Naeemah AU - Jewkes, Rachel AU - Martin, Lorna J AU - Mathews, Shanaaz AB - BACKGROUND: Forensic medicine has been largely by-passed by the tide of health systems research and evidence based medicine. Murder victims form a central part of forensic medical examiners' case load, and women murdered by intimate partners are an important subgroup, representing the most severe form and consequence of intimate partner violence. Our aim was to describe the epidemiology of female murder in South Africa (by intimate and non-intimate partners); and to describe and compare autopsy findings, forensic medical management of cases and the contribution of these to legal outcomes. METHODS: We did a retrospective national study in a proportionate random sample of 25 medico-legal laboratories to identify all homicides in 1999 of women aged 14 years and over. Data were abstracted from the mortuary file and autopsy report, and collected from a police interview. FINDINGS: In 21.5% of cases the perpetrator was convicted. Factors associated with a conviction for the female murders included having a history of intimate partner violence 1.18 (95%CI: 0.16-2.20), weapon recovered 1.36 (95% CI:0.58-2.15) and a detective visiting the crime scene 1.57 (95% CI:0.14-3.00). None of the forensic medical activities increased the likelihood of a conviction. CONCLUSION: The findings raise important questions about the role of forensic medicine in these cases. DA - 2011 DB - OpenUCT DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0028620 DP - University of Cape Town J1 - PLoS One LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2011 T1 - Forensic medicine in South Africa: associations between medical practice and legal case progression and outcomes in female murders TI - Forensic medicine in South Africa: associations between medical practice and legal case progression and outcomes in female murders UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14916 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/14916
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0028620
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationAbrahams N, Jewkes R, Martin LJ, Mathews S. Forensic medicine in South Africa: associations between medical practice and legal case progression and outcomes in female murders. PLoS One. 2011; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14916.en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDivision of Forensic Medicine and Toxicologyen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Health Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.rightsThis is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.en_ZA
dc.rights.holder© 2011 Abrahams et alen_ZA
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0en_ZA
dc.sourcePLoS Oneen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://journals.plos.org/plosoneen_ZA
dc.subject.otherForensic pathologyen_ZA
dc.subject.otherAutopsyen_ZA
dc.subject.otherViolent crimeen_ZA
dc.subject.otherIntimate partner violenceen_ZA
dc.titleForensic medicine in South Africa: associations between medical practice and legal case progression and outcomes in female murdersen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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