Falanga: The clinical correlates of surgical outcomes as a result of foot whipping in a resource poor setting.

In certain parts of the world, local communities are policed by different spectra of vigilantism, often as a result of government influence. This community assault can take the form of foot whipping or caning, which involves the repeated whipping of the bare soles of a person's feet (falanga). This method of punishment has been described in the Middle East (falanga), Italy (bastonata), Germany (bastonade), and China (da jiao xin) and is well documented to occur in South Africa1,2. In South Africa, the device used in foot whipping is a Sjambok which is a heavy leather whip traditionally made out of hippopotamus or rhinoceros hide but recently and more commonly whipping is completed with a simple cane made out of wood or plastic.

Source: Injury - February 17, 2021 Category: Orthopaedics Authors: R Dickson-Lowe, JJP Buitendag, MPM Graham-Brown, GVE Oosthuizen Source Type: research