Rapes in the Federal District: Possibility of Prevention Based on Forensic Intelligence
Rape crimes; Forensic science; Child Abuse; Family Violence; Brazil
A population-based, observational, cross-sectional study was conducted with 3387 rape cases registered by the Civil Police of the Brazilian Federal District (BFD) between 2018 and 2021. The results indicated that the differences in frequency parameters were not significant. The Administrative Regions (ARs) with the highest cases per 100,000 inhabitants were SCIA/Estrutural, Brazlândia, Varjão, Paranoá, and Fercal, which are regions with a low Human Development Index compared to the DF average, with a predominance of incidents occurring in residences. Most of the crimes took place in a family environment, and the majority of the victims were female children/adolescents. Regarding the perpetrator's profile, in 80% of the cases, the perpetrator was known, and 98% of the perpetrators were male. Firearms or bladed weapons were used in 11% of the cases, and 29% of the victims reported the use of physical violence, mostly of a mild degree. As for sexual violence, about one-third of the victims suffered carnal conjunction, and half of them were subjected to libidinous acts. A total of 119 victims became pregnant as a result of the crime, and 13 of them terminated the pregnancy, of which 9 underwent legal abortion. The identification of socio-demographic and environmental characteristics associated with rape, as well as the forensic analysis, may contribute to reducing crimes, better planning of preventive measures, and care for those at higher risk.