[The profile of female victims of conjugal violence].
OBJECTIVE
To define the profile of female victims of conjugal violence examined in the Legal Medicine emergency unit of the Hotel-Dieu hospital in Paris.


METHODS
A self-administered questionnaire with 15 questions was distributed to 100 victims.


RESULTS
The 100 victims replied: 86 cases of violence took place usually in the home, 78 episodes of violence were multiple and complaints were rarely lodged after the first episodes. Mental and sexual violence were severe and unrecognized. Eighty women interviewed suffered from mental violence. In 43 cases, alcohol played a determining role in the onset of such violence.


CONCLUSIONS
Female victims of conjugal violence do not have a specific profile. The law of silence persists, but the increase in the number of complaints from North African and African women is encouraging for the future.
Vasseur
Philippe
P
Unité médico-judiciaires, Hôtel-Dieu, Paris. philipvasseur@yahoo.fr
D000328:Adult; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D017579:Domestic Violence; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors