If you have been the victim of sexual violence...
 Go to a safe place. If you think that the perpetrator will return or you are in danger, go elsewhere.
 Call someone!
- A friend, family member, spouse or neighbor
- Call 911
- Victim Services Center or your local 24 hour crisis hotline. At your request, a trained counselor/advocate will meet you at the hospital, or police station. The counselors/advocates are there for support, know your rights during the exam and will explain each step of the exam.
 Preserve the evidence. See how...
If you have been sexually assaulted or raped, consider saving any physical evidence of the attack. You may not want to talk with police right now, but you might in the days to come. Preserving evidence doesn't mean you have to prosecute! Even if evidence is collected, it is always your decision about what action you do or don't want to take. Through every step of the process of evidence collection, investigation, all the way up to a court case, it is your decision.
Some things you should know about how to preserve evidence before you call the police or in the event you might want a police investigation later:
- SAVE YOUR CLOTHING
Your clothing can be used as evidence, so keep on the clothes you were wearing at the time of the assault. If you have changed your clothes, put what you were wearing in a clean paper bag (plastic destroys evidence). Bring an additional change of clothing to the hospital or police station.
- DO NOT
- Bathe or shower
- Douche
- Go to the bathroom, if at all possible.
- Brush your teeth
- Smoke
- Comb or brush your hair
- Eat or drink
Even though you will want to do many of these things, you will wash away valuable evidence.
- SEEK MEDICAL ASSISTANCE
Ask the police or someone you know to take you to the hospital.
Go to an emergency room to check for injuries you might not feel right now. It's best if police or someone you know accompany you to the hospital for a Forensic Evidence Examination.
Remember to take a change of clothes to the hospital, since police may keep the clothes you were wearing at the time of the assault as evidence.
The hospital staff is there to provide you the best physical and emotional care possible. Feel free to ask questions or tell the nurse what you're feeling at any time. If you're feeling uncomfortable you can stop the exam at any time.
In the event you chose not to have the rape exam, at the minimum, go to your gynecologist or Planned Parenthood for STD testing and a medical check-up.
- Have the forensic exam WITHIN 72 HOURS
The forensic exam provides medical treatment for injuries and collects evidence for use in an investigation or in court. When evidence is not collected, investigation and prosecution may be more difficult. But an exam is essential, whether you decide to prosecute or not, to insure your physical health now and long term.
The highest quantity and quality of evidence is gathered within 72 hours after the assault. However, evidence has been found as long as three weeks after an attack. Therefore, you may still want a forensic exam at a later time.
Ideally, this exam should be done in hospitals that have certified forensic nurses or Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE).
Because a woman's vagina is not normally lubricated during forced penetration, there may be tears or abrasions that need medical care. There may also be bruises or injuries to other parts of the body that need attention. The examination requires some gentle touching of the genital and anal areas, which may be uncomfortable, especially after what the clients been through; however, it is usually not painful.
The forensic evidence examination takes approximately 1.5 to 2 hours. The client must sign a consent form allowing the nurse to proceed with the exam.
- Be questioned by a nurse about the assault, so they know what injuries to treat.
- Receive treatment for physical injuries.
- Be examined for any scratches, bruises, foreign material or debris that may be on the clients' skin.
- Receive a pelvic exam to check for internal injuries.
- Receive swabbing in various openings of the body to collect DNA
- Have blood tests for sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy. These tests will be sent to the hospital lab, with results in approximately 3 to 4 working days.
- Receive antibiotics to prevent sexually transmitted infections.
- If requested, receive emergency contraception (the morning-after pill) to prevent pregnancy.
For information about emergency contraception visit: RaisingHerVoice.org/AboutEC/
- The client undresses while standing on a piece of paper, to collect debris from clothes or the body that would link the client or the assailant to the crime scene. The client is then given a medical gown to change into.
- An oral swab and rinse, checking for bruising, bite marks or scratches. The nurse measures any marks and draws a picture of the injury.
- Client shakes their head above a piece of paper to collect additional forensic evidence.
- Nurse combs through clients hair and removes hair samples from various parts of the head. Samples allow comparison of the client's hair with any other hair found.
- A visual examination of the genitals and a pelvic exam.
- Swabs to test for sexually transmitted infections.
- A vaginal wash of sterile water gently squirted into the vagina and then removed.
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