Autoerotic death in Australia and Sweden

January 01, 0001

Autoerotic death in Australia and Sweden

A review of the Australian National Coronial Information System and the Swedish National Forensic Database was undertaken over a 7-year period from 2001 to 2007 for all cases where death had been attributed to autoerotic death or sexual asphyxia.

In Australia, there were 44 cases (M:F = 42:2) with the majority of victims aged >30 years (77%)—a yearly national rate of approximately 0.3/million. In Sweden, there were nine cases (M:F = 9:0) with the majority of cases aged <30 years (55%)—a yearly national rate of approximately 0.14/million. The usual male predominance was present in both populations, although the Australian victims were older than is usually reported.

Lethal sexual asphyxia is uncommon in both the Australian and Swedish populations, with a lower rate than has been cited for North America. Whether this is because of different kinds of paraphilic activities in different populations or of differences in methods of central data collection is uncertain.

These figures are likely to be low as the diagnosis may be missed.


For the full abstract, click here.

Journal of Forensic Sciences published online 9 August 2011 © 2011 American Academy of Forensic Sciences
Autoerotic Death: Incidence and Age of Victims— A Population-based Study. Roger W. Byard and Calle Winskog. Correspondence to Roger Byard: [email protected]

Category: X. Female Genital System, Breast, Y. Male Genital System, Breast Keywords: forensic science, autoerotic death, sexual asphyxia, paraphilia, incidence, death rates, population- based study, journal watch.
Synopsis edited by , Melbourne, Australia. Posted on Global Family Doctor 2 September 2011

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