medical evidence

Law No. 12,845/2013, known as the “Minute After Law,” requires public hospitals within Brazil’s Unified Health System (SUS) to provide immediate, comprehensive, and free care to victims of sexual violence. The law mandates emergency, multidisciplinary treatment addressing both physical and psychological consequences, and referral to social services when necessary. The law defines sexual violence as any non-consensual sexual activity.

On appeal, the Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s judgment that appellant was guilty of rape and reduced his sentence from life imprisonment to 50 years imprisonment. The victim, an 11-year-old girl, stated that the appellant, 38, forced her into his room and had nonconsensual sexual intercourse with her. The court affirmed the lower court’s admission in evidence of the testimony of the victim’s mother, who testified that she saw blood on the victim’s skirt and questioned the victim about the incident.

In Police v. Apelu, the defendant, a nurse, was charged with 16 counts of unlawfully performing abortions between 2000 and 2003, contrary to Section 73A of the Crimes Ordinance 1961, which criminalizes administering or causing a miscarriage. The Court emphasized that the prosecution bore the burden of proving beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant’s actions were not done “in good faith” to preserve the life or health of the woman.

The accused took a concoction of herbs with the intent to procure an abortion when she was six months pregnant and buried the fetus. She pled guilty to contravening the Termination of Pregnancy Act, which bans abortions subject to enumerated exceptions. She was sentenced to nine months imprisonment that were suspended on the condition that she complete 305 hours of community service. The issue under review was whether the conviction was proper without medical evidence to prove that the ingested herbal concoction could induce an abortion.

Pretty, an eight-year-old girl, was on an errand with her friend Violet, a seven-year-old girl. Along the way the inebriated defendant, Manroe, grabbed both girls, stuffed their mouths with cotton, and had sexual intercourse with both of them against their will. After he completed these acts, he threatened to kill them if they told anyone what transpired. Four days after the crime, Pretty’s mother noticed that Pretty was walking rather awkwardly, and upon inspection, discovered cuts on Pretty’s private parts.