S.A.

Medical Forensic Examination

1. Advocates are supposed to help the victim, they advocate for them and offer support,
info, and crisis intervention. Law enforcement is supposed to respond to the complaint,
collect evidence, interview suspects, and do other investigative activities. Forensic
scientists analyze the forensic evidence and give the results to investigators, they can
also testify at trial. The prosecutor should see if there's enough evidence for a case and
prosecute the case.

2. Victim centered care means the sexual assault victims should be counted as priority
and treated with privacy. The health care workers also try to give the patient whatever
they need to feel comfortable since this is a hard time for them.

3. In this context, informed consent means that patients should fully understand and
consent to the procedure they're about to go through.

4. Timing considerations for collecting evidence used to be 72 hours, but many

jurisdictions have changed that to be 5-7 days.

5. The first step is initial contact, the patient may call 911 or just show up at a
designated exam facility, the next step is triage and intake where health care workers
evaluate and treat any serious injuries. Next is documentation by health care personnel
where exam findings, forensic medical history and evidence are put in the report. After
that is the photography step where any visible evidence is documented, then the
examiner examines the patient and collects evidence. Following that the examiner will
screen the patient to see if there's any alcohol or drugs in their system, and then they
test for STDs and treat it if needed. Patients are then tested to see if they're pregnant (if
they can become pregnant), and then they are able to be discharged. Then later if
necessary, the health care examiner can be called to testify in court.

6. The SAFER act is the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Reporting Act. It was made
to start practices that were good for the accurate, effective, and timely collection and
processing of DNA evidence . This act outlines the parameters for identifying and
prioritizing sexual assault kits to be tested and the time period for testing.

7. A trauma informed approach is supposed to positively impact victim engagement, it

considers the impact of the trauma and victim safety considerations. This helps reduce
the chances of the victim feeling re-victimized by the medical procedure.

8. The recommended time frames for evidence collection vary depending on where the
assault occurred. Vaginal is up to 5 days, anal is up to 3 days, oral is up to 1 day, and
bite marks/saliva on skin is up to 4 days.