4.4.1.2 Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Exam

If a Sexual Assault Evidence Kit is available at your health center, obtain one and make sure that it’s fully intact.

If there is not a Sexual Assault Evidence Kit available, you may be able to create one with materials you have at the health center.

See the section, ‘Materials’ under ‘Creating Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kits’, for what you need to do this.

Read all of these instructions completely, prior to starting the sexual assault exam.

Use personal protection equipment (gloves) while collecting evidence in order to prevent cross-contamination, and change gloves frequently during the sexual assault exam.

The patient’s history is critical in directing the examiner’s collection of evidence.

Specimens are collected from orifices or sites that the patient indicates were involved in the sexual assault.

Exceptions would include pediatric patients, drug-facilitated assault, patients with no memory or ability to verbalize the alleged assault and if the examiner observes injuries or other findings.

For these exceptions, where the evidence is collected by the examiner but not reported by the patient, write on the outside of that envelope ‘Collected Not Reported’.