• Transportation;
• Medical services outside the hospital emergency departments;
• Medical treatment to anyone other than victims

What Happens at the Hospital?

It is important that a victim/survivor of recent sexual assault/abuse consider seeking medical attention for several reasons:

• To take care of physical needs resulting from the assault/abuse;
• To test for infections and pregnancy;
• To begin treatment if required;
• To collect evidence if requested by the victim;
• To reduce undue worry later on.

When the victim/survivor goes to the emergency room at the QEII or Dartmouth General Hospitals or the Cobequid Multi-Service Centre, and tells the medical personnel that s/he has been sexually assaulted, a SANE nurse will be called. She will be able to attend to the victim/survivor’s medical needs at this time, and if the victim/survivor chooses to have a forensic examination (evidence collection), the SANE will conduct the examination.

The medical examination involves:

• Taking a medical history;
• Documenting details of the assault/abuse to help identify potential infections, injuries or treatment required;
• Taking blood and urine samples to test for pregnancy and/or infections (follow-up testing may need to occur in 6, 12 and 24 weeks);
• An internal exam (vaginal);
• Provide information regarding follow-up testing and/or treatment;
• A general physical exam

The victim/survivor may also ask to have a forensic examination. It should be conducted within 72 hours of the assault/abuse. It is preferable, but not mandatory, for the victim/survivor not to shower, bathe, douche, use the washroom, change clothes, eat/drink, or clean teeth, etc. until after the exam is completed, as this may destroy evidence.

Please note, the forensic examination will only be conducted if the victim/survivor has given consent. The victim/survivor can stop the forensic exam at any time.

What is a forensic examination?

A forensic examination includes the steps listed for a medical exam, as well as the following:

• May collect clothing for evidence;
• A head to toe visual exam looking for bruises, cuts, scratches, blood stains, seminal stains, etc.;
• Photographs may also be taken of injuries;

This process takes approximately two hours to complete. Only the SANE nurse(s) and other emergency department personnel need to be present during this exam. The victim/survivor may wish a support person as well (i.e. a friend or a sexual assault worker). The police are not present during the exam.

What Happens to the Forensic Samples Collected?

The time following a sexual assault can be very traumatic for individuals. The victim/survivor may or may not want to report the sexual assault to the police, or s/he may be undecided. This is understandable given what has just happened.

The SANE Program allows people to make decisions about reporting the sexual assault to the police.

If the victim/survivor decides to immediately report the assault to the police, the police will be notified. Forensic evidence will be handed over to them at that time (see “What Happens If I Report to the Police?” for more information regarding the reporting process).

The victim/survivor may decide that s/he does not want to involve the police at this time. If the victim/ survivor decides not to file a report with police at this time, s/he may still want to have a forensic examination. Through the SANE Program, victims/survivors have the option of having forensic evidence collected, frozen and stored for up to six months. During the six month period, if the victim/survivor decides to report the sexual assault, the SANE Coordinator will contact the police and provide the forensic evidence at that time. They will then proceed with the investigation.