https://sciencenordic.com[...]-injuries-as-rape/1463843

New research surprises by showing that vaginal injuries are just as common after regular intercourse as after a rape. The findings could have great implications for forensic investigations into rape cases.

The results showed that vaginal injuries were found in 36 percent of rape victims at the Centre for Rape Victims at Odense University Hospital, and in 34 percent of the nursing students.

Birgitte Schmidt Astrup has examined rape victims and nursing students using three different methods to measure vaginal injuries.

In brief, the three methods measure injuries by using:

1. A small telescope, known as a colposcopy, which magnifies and provides sufficient light inside the vagina to enable effective photography.

2. A blue dye which attaches to injured areas, and

3. A traditional gynecological examination

The results for the nursing students were not affected by whether they for instance had engaged in gentle or rough sex, or whether they had used condoms or sex toys.

“This is the first time that results like these have been quantified, and that’s important,” says Astrup.

“It’s a useful tool for forensic investigation, and it also provides much greater certainty when a professional can tell the court that 34 percent of women get injuries from voluntary intercourse, instead of saying ‘It’s my personal experience that women may not get injuries from voluntary intercourse’.”