Medical Evidence on Trial: Legal Certainty and the Use of Medical Reports in Female Genital Mutilation Cases
Facts
- Contact person:
- Lotta Wendel
- Financer:
-
- Vetenskapsrådet
- Responsible at MaU:
- Lotta Wendel
- Project members at MaU:
- External project members:
-
- Birgitta Essén - Uppsala universitet
- Time frame:
- 01 January 2026 - 31 December 2028
- Faculty/department:
- Research environment :
- Research subject:
-
- Health and Society Studies
- Legal Science
About the project
The use of medical reports as legal evidence is critical in FGM investigations and prosecutions. However, contradictions between medical opinions and the lack of clear guidelines on assessing different types of reports create legal uncertainty.
Aim
This project examines how medical reports are interpreted and weighed as evidence in legal contexts. Bringing together scholars from law, medicine, and medical anthropology, we will analyse an existing archive of investigative and court materials from suspected FGM cases in Sweden, focusing on how medical reports shape investigative decisions and legal evidence. Additionally, vignette-based interviews with medical professionals, judges, and lay judges will explore how different types of medical evidence are evaluated in legal decision-making. The study is theoretically grounded in medico-legal research and alignment work, examining how medical knowledge transfers into legal contexts. Preliminary findings indicate that contradictory medical reports contribute to investigative inconsistencies and prolonged legal uncertainty.
Result
By analysing how medical reports are used in investigations and trials, this project advances debates on evidentiary reliability and medico-legal knowledge transfer. It will provide insights into improving forensic medical assessments in legal processes, strengthening legal certainty and procedural fairness in FGM-related cases and beyond.