A comparison of the international protocols for the forensic assessment of conflict-related sexual violence victims.

International protocols for forensic investigations are often created by committee and in isolation. When field tested, the results of such tests are rarely reported to the wider forensic community. This study presents a comparative study of one such protocol, the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict: Best Practice in the Documentation of Sexual Violence as a Crime or Violation of International Law. The protocol was used in a pilot study involving 20 victims of conflict-related sexual assault in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The results of the pilot study were compared with an existing database of 341 victims of sexual assault (also from the same region of the DRC) who were examined using another protocol developed and utilized by Medicins Sans Frontier (MSF). The results clearly indicate the international protocol was far superior in all aspects, including comprehensive data capture and ease-of-use. Although the MSF protocol is intended for humanitarian purposes, all medical records are subject to potential downstream forensic applications. Given constraints in funding and resources in conflict zones, the wide-spread adoption of the full international protocol would ensure that every victim receives a complete, forensically valid examination suitable for the future pursuit of justice.

Isenção e autonomia na perícia médica previdenciária no Brasil / Disclaimer and autonomy in medical expertise social security in Brazil

A perícia médica é requisito obrigatório para a concessão da maioria dos benefícios concedidos pelo Instituto Nacional do Seguro Social. Trata-se de atividade complexa, pois exige amplos conhecimentos de medicina e de legislação, e que tem por finalidade garantir a subsistência do trabalhador segurado quando incapacitado. Verificou-se que diversos são os elementos passíveis de modificação e que beneficiariam o atuar do perito. A adequação do ambiente físico, o esclarecimento da população acerca das particularidades da atividade pericial, o fim da obrigatoriedade da entrega da Comunicação de Resultado de Requerimento pelo médico, a melhora do sistema informatizado disponibilizado, a discussão acerca do número de atividades agendadas por dia que respeite a capacidade do perito, afastando-o da exaustão e, portanto, dos erros, bem como o respeito às normas balizadoras da atividade médica emanadas dos conselhos de medicina, permitiriam o labor com a isenção e a autonomia necessárias.

The medical examination is a mandatory requirement for the granting of most of the benefits granted by theNational Social Security Institute. It is a complex activity that requires extensive knowledge of medicine andlaw and aims to ensure the maintenance of the insured worker when incapacitated. It was found that several elements are modifiable and which would benefit the work of the expert. The adequacy of the physical environment, clarification of the population about the particularities of expert activity, the end of the obligation by the physician to deliver the Communication of Results, the improvement of thecomputerized system available, the discussion about the number of scheduled activities per day that respects the ability of the expert, away from the exhaust and thus the errors, as well as respect for the rules that guide the best medical practice issued by the medical council, would allow the work to the exemption and thenecessary autonomy.

[Alcohol advertising and alcohol consumption among youngsters: review of the international literature]. / O impacto da publicidade de bebidas alcoólicas sobre o consumo entre jovens: revisão da literatura internacional.

OBJECTIVE: Problems related to alcohol consumption are frequent, especially among the youth population. We analyzed advertisement as one of several modifiable factors with impact over alcohol consumption. METHOD: The authors carried out a literature review within Medline, SciELO, PsychoInfo and Google Scholar databases between 1990 and 2008, retrieving studies with different approaches of the alcohol advertisement impact on consumption. Besides, a ' snowball' technique was applied to identify the most proficuous authors on the matter. Over a hundred papers were initially selected. RESULTS: The overall set of papers indicate that factors such as exposition to the advertising and attractiveness of the alcoholic beverage advertising are related with greater expectation of future consumption and with a higher and precocious consumption of alcohol, specially among adolescents and young adults. Despite methodological difficulties, recent econometrical studies indicate that reduction and/or banishment of advertising would decrease alcohol consumption. We also consider issues about the neurophysiology of decision making process and the freedom of choice in the context of exposition to advertisements. CONCLUSIONS: The current knowledge on the matter strongly suggests that a reduction of the exposition to alcohol advertisements impacts on its consumption, mainly among young populations.