A National Protocol for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examinations Adult/Adolescents
"This document is intended to improve the criminal justice system’s response to victims of sexual assault and the sexual assault forensic examination process."
Benefits of a Coordinated Community Response to Sexual Violence, Issue #7 (PDF)
This In-Brief discusses the benefits of a coordinated community response to sexual violence.
Ensuring Forensic Medical Exams for All Sexual Assault Victims: A Toolkit for States and Territories
This "toolkit is designed to help states and territories address compliance with federal statute to ensure that victims of sexual assault can get a forensic medical exam free of charge or with full reimbursement regardless of whether they report the crime to police or otherwise cooperate with the criminal justice system."
Forging New Collaborations: A Guide for Rape Crisis, Domestic Violence, and Disability Organizations
Through its Accessing Safety Initiative, Vera’s Center on Victimization and Safety provides training and consultation on collaboration and capacity-building at the intersection of violence and disability. By the end of 2010, OVW’s Disability Grant Program had fostered more than 40 such collaborations. This report is based upon Vera’s work with and observations of those collaborations from 2006 through 2010, as well as in-depth interviews with representatives from 10 of the groups and an extensive literature review on effective collaboration. It is designed for policy makers, practitioners, and first-responders interested in using collaboration to address violence against people with disabilities. It offers concrete recommendations for how to build effective collaboration between victim services and disability organizations, practical strat¬egies for overcoming common obstacles, and steps to begin the collaboration process.
Interactive Training Exercises on Abuse in Later Life (PDF)
Skilled trainers need a variety of tools to impart information. To that end, WCADV has developed a curriculum development process to create interactive exercises on a variety of topics. This manual will provide directions for 16 exercises focusing on several key training points for multiple target audiences such as professionals from domestic violence/sexual assault, elder abuse/adult protective services, aging, health care, justice and others and give ideas of exercises that trainers can adapt to meet the needs of many audiences.
Mental Health Services for Rape Survivors: Current Issues in Therapeutic Practice
This Violence Against Women Online Resources commissioned document reviews three critical issues for mental health practitioners working with rape survivors. First, current research suggests that victims experience a variety of negative mental health effects from sexual assault, including, but not limited to, post-traumatic stress symptoms. Second, empirical evaluations of therapeutic techniques suggest that cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT) can be effective in reducing short-term post-rape fear and anxiety symptoms. Finally, it is not uncommon that mental health practitioners who work with rape survivors experience distressing emotions similar to those of the survivors. Self care strategies are particularly important for therapists engaged in this kind of work.
Model Code On Domestic and Family Violence (PDF)
Model Code on Domestic and Family Violence is a brief description of the Model Code (1994), which is available from the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and posted by the American Bar Association.
National Sexual Assault Response Team Survey Report (PDF)
This report summarizes the information gathered by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) via a web-based survey regarding how local, state, territory and tribal communities have developed Sexual Assault Response Teams (SARTs). The survey is a follow-up to the national needs assessment conducted in 2005 by NSVRC. The information from the current survey will help NSVRC obtain an updated picture of SARTs nationwide.
National Training Standards for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examiners (PDF)
The standards in this document "provide guidelines to prepare SAFE candidates to work in coordination with other responders to meet the health care, forensic, and information needs of adult and adolescent sexual assault patients who present for the medical forensic examination."
Preventing Domestic Violence: Clinical Guidelines on Routine Screening (PDF)
In this document, the Family Violence Prevention Fund presents recommendations for how domestic violence screening should occur within the health care system and recommends that all health care institutions and practitioners follow these guidelines which include both a general policy statement and specific recommendations.
Sexual Assault Response Team Development: A Guide for Victim Service Providers (PDF)
The focus of this Technical Assistance Guide is to help sexual assault service providers build, expand, formalize, and maintain strong interagency responses to sexual violence. It includes a brief overview followed by Practice Tips, Ways to Build SART Excellence, and Key Resources.
Sustainability 101 Creating a Business Plan for Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (PDF)
This guide reviews the basic steps of developing a business plan and explains the components needed for SANE services to be successful. It is identified as a critical tool for starting and sustaining existing healthcare services.
Sustainability 101 Fostering Collaboration Between SANE Program Coordinators and Medical Directors (PDF)
In addition to collaboration between Sexual Assault Response Teams (SARTs), community partners and other agencies, this document talks about the importance of collaboration between SANEs and physician colleagues to assist with the credibility and sustainability of a SANE Program.
Sustainability 101 Long Range Thinking for Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program Managers (PDF)
This document explains how issues such as infrastructure (e.g., staffing, training, leadership) and relationships (e.g., collaboration with healthcare institutions and victim service providers), can impact sustainability of SANE programs.
The Role of the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner in the Prosecution of Domestic Violence Cases (PDF)
"This document examines the basic components of the domestic violence medico-legal examination; the potential for using findings from the medico-legal examination in prosecutions; and the role of the prosecutor and other Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) members in expanding forensic nursing programs to include care of the domestic violence victim."
Toolkit to End Violence Against Women (PDF)
To provide concrete guidance to communities, policy leaders, and individuals engaged in activities to end violence against women developed the Toolkit To End Violence Against Women. The recommendations contained in the Toolkit were reviewed by numerous experts in the fields of sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking. Each Toolkit chapter focuses on a particular audience or environment and includes recommendations for strengthening prevention efforts and improving services and advocacy for victims.
Understanding Anogenital Injury in Adult Sexual Assault Cases, Issue #5 (PDF)
Anogenital injury is often seen as the ultimate evidence in sexual assault cases. However, the reality is that anogenital injury evidence has significant limitations. Specifically, in the vast majority of cases we are limited in our ability to distinguish between injuries resulting from a sexual assault and those sustained during consensual sexual activity.Understanding the emerging research on consensual sexual activity injury can therefore help us provide more accurate information to attorneys, judges, and juries in adult sexual assault cases. This In-Brief discusses research on injury rates, sexual assault versus consensual sex, other uses of injury evidence, and using evidence for prosecution.
Victim Responses to Sexual Assault: Counterintuitive or Simply Adaptive? (PDF)
"This resource provides information on the different responses that individuals who are sexually assaulted display as well as the different coping strategies of victims."
When a Youth is Victimized
This document provides information on how to help a youth who has been victimized by crime.