The sexual life of woman in its physiological, pathological and hygienic aspectsKisch, E. Heinrich (Enoch Heinrich)
Science
The sexual life of woman in its physiological, pathological and hygienic aspects
Kisch, E. Heinrich (Enoch Heinrich)
Gynecology; Menstruation; Women -- Diseases
Very remarkable is the influence, demonstrated especially by _Lombroso_,
exercised by menstruation on the commission of certain crimes. Of eighty
women taken into custody for resisting the police, there were nine only
who were not menstruating at the time. Four notorious murderesses and
one woman convicted of arson were all menstruating at the times when
their crimes were committed. _Krugenstein_ found evidence of
menstruation in the bodies of 107 women who committed suicide. Thefts
committed by ladies in the great shops of Paris are most commonly
effected during menstruation, as was found by _Legrand du Saulle_ to be
the case in thirty five instances out of fifty-six investigated by him
in respect to this matter. According to the same author, hysterical
girls who steal articles of clothing, bottles of scent, and the like,
from the counters of shops, are almost always menstruating at the time.
_Von Krafft-Ebing_ puts forward the following propositions with regard
to the forensic significance of offences committed by women during
menstruation: 1. The mental integrity of a menstruating woman is
questionable from the forensic standpoint. 2. In the case of women on
trial for any offence, the point should be determined whether that
offence was committed at a menstrual period. 3. An inquiry into the
mental condition is expedient in cases in which such a coincidence is
established; light is thrown on the matter when investigation shows the
existence of hereditary predisposition, when we learn that psychopathic
manifestations have occurred at previous menstrual periods, or when the
very nature of the offence is one suggesting the presence of mental
disorder. 4. A recognition of the powerful influence which the menstrual
process exercises upon the mental life should lead, even in cases in
which no menstrual psychosis has been proved to exist, to the admission
of extenuating circumstances in apportioning the punishment for the
offence. 5. In the case of the commission of a punishable act during
menstruation by a weak-minded individual, we must as a rule admit the
plea of irresponsibility—at any rate in the case of an offence committed
under the influence of strong emotion. 6. Persons who have been
discharged without punishment on the plea of mental disorder
accompanying menstruation must be regarded as dangerous to the
community, and should always be under careful supervision during the
menstrual periods.
_Amenorrhœa, Menorrhagia, and Dysmenorrhœa._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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