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Medical professionals are often hesitant to examine younger victims of sexual abuse, as many lack the expertise to handle such sensitive cases.

This was highlighted during a symposium on child sexual abuse, where experts highlighted that as victims are getting younger, authorities face increasing difficulty in collecting forensic evidence.

The youngest victim reported last year was four months old, while the youngest case recorded so far this year involves a three-year-old.

Scientific officer at the Forensics Biology and DNA lab, Eta Kedrayate.

Scientific officer at the Forensics Biology and DNA lab, Eta Kedrayate, says the medical professionals often hesitate to handle such cases because of the legal aspect involved in the matter.

“The prospect of being called up in court. They know how to do their jobs; they’re very confident in that, but when it comes to the legal aspect of it or the possibility of being called up in court that can be very daunting to a lot of people. So medical officers are not trained in it.”

Kedrayate says that UNICEF has helped them to procure a sexual assault evidence kit, which has been used to streamline the examination for victims.

However, she says not all doctors have been able to utilize it well.

“But that luxury is only afforded to medical officers who are in hospitals, the outer hospitals, because it’s empty and they have a lot of time on their hands. When it’s the main hospitals in Suva or Lautoka, medical officers are very busy and they don’t have time to examine victims or spend time with victims. So they usually, the victims sit there for hours waiting until a doctor is free and they can come and see them.”

Kedrayate adds that a lot of cases involve children between the ages of 11 and 17.

However, she believes this does not depict the true picture, as children from zero to five years are unable to share their ordeal, and their abuse often remains undiscovered until a parent notices a problem.

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