Reliability of Surveys on Alcohol Consumption, Sexual Coercion and Contraception

A series of case reports has been started in preceding papers on alcohol misuse, sexual misbehavior and related topics from the last decades of the Soviet period [1-5]. These cases have been reported to the authorities after a many years' delay or not reported at all. The denunciation has been generally condemned in the former Soviet Union: on the one hand, whistleblowers were seen as accomplices of the regime; on the other hand, it has been reasonably assumed that the regime cooperates with criminals. Indeed, the fact of denunciation has sometimes become known to the criminals with undesirable consequences for the whistleblower [2]. However, this letter is not on the crime detection but on public health; and the method under discussion is the survey. The proper use of surveys, in condition of mutual trust of participants, could contribute to detection and eradication of immoral and illegal acts. Several case reports follow.