NCJ Number
129865
Date Published
Unknown
Length
29 pages
Annotation
This training protocol presents the facts, procedures, and techniques that must be used by health professionals when they deal with sexual assault victims and the evidence to be obtained during the medical examination.
Abstract
The manual outlines a course and presents material for a 1-hour seminar for hospital emergency room staffs. The material provided includes Michigan Enrolled House Bill 4623, which pertains to procedures to be used in obtaining evidence in sexual assault cases. Under the act, the evidence-gathering procedure is not a medical procedure per se. The sexual assault victim, however, is still a patient in a medical setting, and treatment is still a medical procedure. Standard recommended procedures for the emergency treatment of sexual assault victims are designed to guide the staff of hospitals and other medical facilities in complying with the special needs of the victims, their families and friends, and the requirements of law enforcement authorities. Semen, hairs, and fibers are some of the most common and potentially valuable kinds of physical evidence in a sexual assault. This manual explains how to recover, handle, and preserve each of these. The manual also lists the type of data that can be obtained from each kind of physical evidence through laboratory analysis. The training protocol includes a video and slide presentation and necessary background material. Medical and evidence forms are provided.