Pediatric sexual assault nurse examiner care: Trace forensic evidence, ano-genital injury, and judicial outcomes

Abstract

The addition of a P-SANE to the emergency department (ED) provider team improved the quality of care to child/adolescent victims of acute sexual abuse/assault.

Improving the Credibility of Child Sexual Assault Victims in Court: The Impact of a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner

“…The present results therefore support those of Wasarhaley et al () with regard to SANE testimony in an adult rape trial. Moreover, the results indicate that beyond the value of SANE examinations in leading to more criminal prosecutions and plea bargains in child sexual assault cases (Campbell et al, ; Horner et al, ; Patterson & Campbell, ), once a child sexual assault case gets to the courtroom, SANE testimony should have a positive impact on jurors’ perceptions of the case, regardless of whether the child was 6 or 15 years old.…”

“…Communities throughout the United States have developed sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) programs in an attempt to help victims of child sexual assault during an initial hospital examination, to increase the prosecution rates of these cases, and to gather critical evidence that will lead to conviction (Campbell, Patterson, & Lichty, ). A certified SANE is a registered nurse (RN) who has significant supplementary training in examining sexual assault victims of all ages (Campbell et al ., , ; Campbell, Patterson, & Bybee, ; Horner et al ., ; International Association of Forensic Nurses [IAFN], ; Littel, ). The purpose of the present study was to investigate the decision‐making process of mock jurors when presented with a child sexual assault case that included testimony from a SANE.…”

“…SANE training involves learning to document injuries (both genital and non‐genital), collect and preserve forensic evidence, provide emotional support to the victim and family, test for sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy, and refer victims to appropriate counseling (Horner et al, ). Also, SANEs receive specific training in providing courtroom testimony and can testify in court as factual or expert witnesses (Ledray & Barry, ).…”

“…They found that prosecutors charged the alleged perpetrators more often in cases when there was a SANE examination than when non‐SANE examinations took place. Second, Horner et al () investigated a large Midwestern hospital and found that following the implementation of a SANE program for child sexual assault, the detection and documentation of anogenital injury, evaluation and documentation of pregnancy status, and testing for sexually transmitted diseases improved compared with before the hospital started the program. Also, the data showed a trend toward more criminal charges, more secured convictions, and more defendants pleading guilty after the SANE program implementation.…”

Sexual abuse of children in low-income settings: time for action

“…The social and economic consequences of abuse are enormous and, if one-stop centres fulfil a training and capacity-building role, it can be argued that they do offer a cost-effective approach. 52,53 However, they can only ever be a component of a national child protection programme. There is also the need to develop low-cost alternatives for delivering comprehensive services in rural areas.…”