University of Aarhus 2005
Impartiality is the hallmark of a forensic pathologist
Forensic pathologists see many of society’s darker sides, but often their examinations and conclusions can help the families of victims of crime come to grips with what has happened so they can move on with their lives..
By Jakob Kehlet
On Annie Vesterby Charles’ desk is a white mug with three large black letters: FBI.
One could be tempted to think that a cheeky family member had bought the mug in a joke shop, but this is the real thing. Professor Charles purchased it herself when she attended a course organised by the American Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The mug is in keeping with the spirit at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in general, where only the real thing counts.
“This is the only institute at the University of Aarhus that is DANAK certified,” says Professor Charles, who has held the titles Head of Institute, Professor, and Chief Forensic Pathologist since 1 February 2005.
The DANAK stamp is a sign of stringent government quality control, and it is with a certain pride that Professor Charles stresses the importance of this approval.
“We can document that we comply with high professional standards, and this is very important to us and our working partners,” she says.
On a day-to-day basis, the doctors at the Institute of Forensic Medicine carry out forensic investigations on behalf of the police and the judicial system in general, and to a lesser extent, on behalf of other public authorities such as the Danish National Board of Industrial Injuries. If someone commits murder, rape, child abuse or other criminal acts, the forensic pathologists are responsible for examining and documenting the acts that took place, to the extent possible.
“It is of decisive importance that forensic examinations are undertaken by a completely impartial and neutral body. Our conclusions are entirely objective and based on scientific considerations. It is therefore very important for us to be associated with a university. To the citizens, this vouches for our independence as regards the police and the legal system,” says Professor Charles.
Confidence in Danish forensic pathologists
In Denmark, there is a great degree of confidence in the impartiality and the level of professional skills exercised by the forensic pathologists. It is therefore very rare that either the defence or the prosecution requests statements from other experts. In this respect, “American conditions” do not yet prevail in Denmark.
“In the famous court case against the American footballer O. J. Simpson, we saw a multitude of different experts with a variety of opinions and significantly different interpretations of the case. In Denmark, there is no tradition for seeking the advice of other experts, but in difficult cases, a second opinion may be obtained from the Danish Medico-Legal Council. However, this happens very rarely,” says Professor Charles.
Suicide, murder, rape and violence
It is the darker sides of society with suicide, violence, murder and rape that dominate the day-to-day routines at the Institute of Forensic Medicine. It is therefore no surprise that the head of the institute admits she is dealing with some gruesome cases and that the images can be difficult to forget at the end of the working day.
“The things I see obviously affect me, but it is important for me to focus on the problem I am facing in a given matter. If I do a good job, it may help the family affected by an unfortunate event to move on by giving them certainty about what actually happened,” says Professor Charles.
In her inaugural lecture, she talked about a niche in forensic medicine that is close to her heart: sexual abuse of children.
“Children are among the weak members of society and you have to make an extra effort to see that justice is done. Children are very dependent on adults, and it is therefore important that we take them seriously. We place a lot of emphasis on that in this institute,” says Professor Charles.
Painless examinations of children
In addition to listening to what the children actually say, the forensic pathologists also perform the inevitable examination of the children’s sexual organs as gently as possible.
The forensic pathologists have purchased a so-called colposcope that is normally used to examine cell changes in a woman’s uterus, but it can also be used to carry out painless examinations on children. This method makes it possible to enlarge and photograph even minute traces of sexual abuse for use as documentation in a court case.
Although the protection of the children’s legal rights is very important to Professor Charles, she does not get involved in discussions about whether society does enough to protect the children or whether the number of child abuse cases is increasing or decreasing. Only the facts related to her own particular field of study matter to Professor Charles.
“We only see a small part of the abuse that occurs. It is up to others to find out if the number is increasing or decreasing. We have considerable knowledge about how to reveal abuse and therefore have to focus on developing our skills in this area by gathering all available research and knowledge that may help us from around the world,” says Professor Charles.
“It is of decisive importance that forensic examinations are undertaken by a completely impartial and neutral body,” claims Annie Vesterby Charles, Chief Forensic Pathologist.