QuaCKEry aND VIOLENCE

Abstract

Quackery, always present in our society, is the habit or art of charlatanry. It is the fact of practicing deception
or cheating game to others. Methods used by the quack are varied. Violence can be practiced by infringement of
physical integrity or even death. This is why quackery is dangerous.
We report the case of a 25 years old girl, victim of violence practiced by a quack in order to balance her personality.
We propose to analyze this social phenomenon and to understand its components, to clarify the position of the
physician and deontology face of this phenomenon, to discuss penal consequences of quackery and to suggest suitable measures to reduce the magnitude of this phenomenon in our society.
Quackery finds members in all social classes. It is generated by the synergy of several factors, including illiteracy, under medicalization, lack of health education, low economic status and legal vacuum. To protect patients
against quacks, the practice of medicine is regulated by legislation and ethics.
Unfortunately, Tunisian Penal Code (TPC) does not sanction medical quackery. In this case, quackery can be
prosecuted as an offense of fraud, illegal practice of medicine or deliberate assault and injury according to articles
208, 218, 219, 291 and 319 of the TPC and Law number 91 -21 ( 13 March 1991).
Besides this legislation, all the constituents of our civil society should actively participate to fight against quackery’s risks.