4.3.3 What to Expect from a Forensic Exam
In general, medical care after sexual assault is helpful in treating or preventing illness and injury and is an important way to preserve evidence. For these reasons, it’s important to get medical care as soon as possible.
Healthcare providers can offer:
A physical exam to identify any injuries,
Emergency contraception to prevent pregnancy,
Medication to prevent HIV and other sexually-transmitted infections, and
Testing to determine if the survivor was given a drug or other sedating substance.
As an advocate, you are there to emotionally support the survivor as the healthcare provider goes through the medical exam and the process of collecting evidence.
They may be feeling nervous, scared, angry, sad, confused, embarrassed or numb.
It can help to reassure the survivor that the sexual assault was not their fault.
If a survivor has decided to take this course of action, it’s important that they do not eat, drink, smoke or use the toilet until evidence is collected.
If the survivor must use the toilet, a trained nurse can assist them.
At all points during their visit to the health center, the survivor has a right to choose what care they want to receive. This is called ‘informed consent’.
It’s important that the survivor understand that the forensic examination involves the collection and storage of evidence, documenting (with photography) their injuries.
The exam can be done whether the survivor wants to involve the police or not.
It’s important for the exam to be completed at the health center because it’s time sensitive. The more time that passes after the assault, the more likely it is that potential evidence could be lost.
During the exam, it’s important that the survivor understand that they can change their mind at any time and stop the process.
Just because they already signed forms or consented to the exam does not mean there is any pressure on them to have every aspect of the exam completed.
It’s always their right to choose what parts they want completed and what parts they do not want completed.
As an advocate, you may be asked to help the healthcare provider go and get something they have forgotten or to pass a message to a colleague. This is because once the evidence collection process has been started, the provider can’t leave the room without compromising the chain of evidence.
You may be asked to speak with family members who are at the health center; do this only if the survivor signs a release form authorizing you to do so (see the ‘Resources’ section).
If this is the case, observe confidentiality and only pass on the information that the survivor has requested.
For example, the survivor might ask you to go to the waiting room to tell their partner or mother that they are okay or to confirm that they are physically at the health center.
If the police arrive during the evidence collection process to speak with the survivor, you will need to ask them to wait until the process is completed.