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State Budget Includes Funding for the Nation’s
1st Statewide Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program
Creates Network of Expert Nurses to Support Rape Victims And
Collect Evidence to Aid in Prosecution of Perpetrators of Sexual
Assault
With the completion of work on the State Budget
last week, the Governor and the legislature committed more than
$900,000 to the creation of the nation’s most extensive statewide
Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program (SANE).
The Department of Public Health is responsible for
the administration of the program, which provides specially trained
“forensic” nurses to hospital emergency rooms who are available
24 hours a day to care for victims of rape and other forms of sexual
assault. The nurses are experienced in supporting victims
of assault, as well as in gathering evidence that is vital to successful
prosecution of perpetrators of assault. The nurses are also
available to serve as expert witnesses at the court trials of perpetrators.
A SANE program in Wisconsin reports a 100% conviction rate in cases
where a SANE testified at trial, directly attributed to the quality
of evidence collected and the knowledgeable testimony of the nurse
examiners.
Since 1995, the DPH has operated a limited SANE
program, which serviced the Boston and the Lawrence area. To date,
more than 450 rape victims have been assisted by the program, providing
compassionate care to victims, while collecting solid forensic evidence
which has assisted District Attorneys in the successful prosecution
of sexual assaults. In the first half of 1999, the SANE program
served over 200 victims of domestic violence and other sexual assaults.
The nurse examiners report that 84% of the victims were under age
20.
According to the National Women’s Study, there are
683,000 rapes which occur each year, representing an estimated 78
rapes per hour in America. In Massachusetts it is estimated
that annually, 2800 women, children and men seek medical treatment
for sexual assault.
According to Rep. David Donnelly (D-Boston), House
Chairman of the Judiciary Committee which heard the measure filed
by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, “SANEs will now be available
24 hours a day in designated emergency rooms in every region of
the Commonwealth to implement the proven SANE program’s response
to victims’ and communities’ safety and health needs.”
Sen. Mark Montigny, (D-New Bedford) the Senate Ways
and Means Chairman, and a strong supporter of the Sane program,
was responsible for inserting the $900,000 in the state budget.
Montigny stated, “nurse examiners will provide critical support
for sexual assault victims while collecting key forensic evidence,
enhancing our ability to put some of society’s most dangerous criminals
behind bars.” Sen. Cheryl Jacques, (D- Needham) who
co-sponsored the SANE legislation comments, “This program provides
welcomed expertise to those hospital emergency rooms where a sexual
assault victim of any age presents themselves for medical care.
As a former criminal prosecutor, I can’t say enough about the importance
of this program as a support for victims and as an essential component
in the successful prosecution of sexual assault cases.”
A Department of Public Health study found that according
to Boston and State Policy Crime Laboratories, among the standard
evidence collection kits examined between October 1996 and February
1997, 38% lacked three or more specimens necessary for analysis
and 39% contained two or more specimens deemed unacceptable for
analysis. Developments in the science of evidence collection
and available DNA testing mandate a higher level of expertise in
the collection of evidence for sexual assault cases.
How the Program Works
The funding for the SANE program will be used by
the Department of Public Health to recruit and certify as many as
75 Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, who will work in five regions
of the state to provide immediate service to local emergency departments.
Upon the entrance to a hospital emergency department
by a victim of sexual assault, the area sexual assault nurse examiner
would be paged to the emergency department to conduct an exam of
the patient. The estimated duration for a SANE exam
is 3-6 hours and cost is $322 per victim.
The SANE nurse:
- Provides specialized care, support and education
to sexual assault victims during the medical-legal exam.
- Collects consistent, complete quality forensic
evidence
- Links the victim with community services including
Rape Crisis Centers
- Develops and implements a standard for informed
consent with Rohypnol/GHB/Drug testing in the State’s Crime Lab
- Encourages victims to seek legal resolution
of the case
- Provides a bridge between the medical and criminal
justice communities
- Increases the opportunities for criminal prosecution
by incorporating improvements in forensic evidence collection
techniques and standardizing the preservation of the chain of
evidence
- Provides information and referral for counseling,
testing and treatment of post-sexual assault sexually transmitted
diseases such as HIV.
May testify at court trial of the perpetrator as an
evidentiary expert
For a fax copy of a fact sheet on the SANE program, contact Martha
Campbell at 781.821.4625 x725, mcampbell@mnarn.org
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