Impact of the Covid-19 lockdown on sexual assault cases in Eastern Denmark – a retrospective clinical forensic study

Abstract

To explore if the shutdown of Danish nightlife during the Covid-19 pandemic caused a decrease in the number of clinical forensic examinations of victims of sexual assault in Eastern Denmark. Secondarily, to investigate, if there was a change in criminological characteristics, e.g. scene and time of crime, relation to the perpetrator and the proportion of possible drug-facilitated sexual assaults. 130 case files from clinical forensic examinations of individuals of alleged sexual assault in the period 1 st of April to 30 th of June in both 2019 and 2020 were included. 67 and 63 examinations were performed in 2019 and 2020, respectively. 125 cases were female and five were male. Approximately 70% were 15–25 years of age. Pre- and post-lockdown victim profiles were similar regarding assailant relation, location of crime and time of assault. Voluntary intake of alcohol prior to the assault was registered with 46.3% in 2019 and 62% in 2020. The ratio of possible drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) was approximately 50% each year. The lockdown did not seem to change the overall number of examinations or the demographic and criminological characteristics of the sexual assault victims. No decrease in cases of possible DFSA was found despite the lockdown of nightlife venues.

Victims of drug facilitated sexual assault aged 13-24: a cross sectional study on the pool of users of a sexual violence relief centre in Northern Italy

“…Interestingly, its findings show how DFSA was more prevalent when violence occurred in public places or in houses different from the one of the victims, and women aged 18–25 were considered the group at higher risk of victimization [ 41 ]. In a study conducted in Denmark [ 42 ] 70% of all victims of DFSA between 2019 and 2020 were between the age of 15 and 25 and during 2020 62% of the overall victims of DFSA had voluntarily consumed alcohol, a figure lower than our results.…”

Does routine activity theory still matter during COVID-19 restrictions? The geography of sexual assaults before, during, and after COVID-19 restrictions

“…One crime that has been notably absent from this list is an in-depth examination of sexual assaults. While a number of researchers have explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the delivery of support services and health care to survivors of sexual assault ( Engleton, Goodman-Williams, Javorka, Gregory, & Campbell, 2022 ; Munro-Kramer, Cannon, Scheiman, St Ivany, & Bailey, 2021 ; Wood et al, 2022 ), few studies have reported more than general trends, such as the decline in sexual assaults and other violent crimes during precautionary lockdowns ( Bidstrup, Busch, Munkholm, & Banner, 2022 ; Payne, Morgan, & Piquero, 2022 ; Shen, Fu, & Noguchi, 2021 ).…”