Seasonal variation of sexual abuse in Santiago de Chile.
BACKGROUND
Seasonal variations of sexual crime have been seldom studied in the world. Santiago, a city situated at 33 degrees south latitude with a well defined four season climate, has a reliable forensic registry, providing a good opportunity for the assessment of seasonality in this type of crime.


METHODS
After studying monthly records of sexual abuse from the registry of the Servicio Médico Legal of Santiago between 1990 and 2001, a ratio of observed to expected monthly frequency was obtained, allowing the assessment of the seasonal character of the phenomenon.


RESULTS
A total number of 11,844 cases of sexual abuse were recorded during 12 years of the study. Statistically significant differences could be demonstrated between spring and autumn, with a peak in November and a nadir in June.


CONCLUSIONS
A distinct seasonal pattern can be set forth for sexual abuse in Santiago, Chile.
Téllez
Carlos
C
Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile. sdiaz@redclinicauchile.cl
Galleguillos
Tamara
T
Aliaga
Alvaro
A
Silva
Claudio
C
D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002677:Chile; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010507:Periodicity; D011902:Rape / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012042:Registries; D012621:Seasons; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data