What Is a Sexual Assault Forensic Exam?
DNA evidence from a crime like sexual assault can be collected from the crime scene, but it can also be collected from your body, clothes, and other personal belongings. You may choose to have a sexual assault forensic exam, sometimes known as a “rape kit,” to preserve possible DNA evidence and receive important medical care. You don’t have to report the crime to have an exam, but the
process gives you the chance to safely store evidence should you decide to report at a later time. DNA evidence can be collected from blood, saliva, sweat, urine, skin tissue, and semen. That’s why it’s important to try to avoid bathing, cleaning your fingernails, or urinating until after a sexual assault forensic exam has been performed. In most cases, DNA evidence needs to be collected within 72 hours in order to be analyzed by a crime lab—but a sexual assault forensic exam can reveal other forms of evidence beyond this time frame that can be useful if you decide to report.
What is a rape kit?
You may have heard the term “rape kit” to refer to a sexual assault forensic exam. The term rape kit actually refers to the kit itself—a container that includes a checklist, materials, and instructions, along with envelopes and containers to package any specimens collected during the exam. The contents of the kit may include things like bags for evidence collection, a comb, documentation forms,
envelopes, instructions, materials for blood samples, and swabs.
How long is the exam?
The length of the exam may take a few hours, but the actual time will vary based on several different factors. After you arrive at any of the hospitals in our catchment area (Kennebec and Somerset Counties), our office will be immediately notified and an advocate will come to support you during the process.
What happens during a sexual assault forensic exam?
The steps below outline the general process for the exam. Remember, you can stop, pause, or skip a step at any time during the exam. It is entirely your choice.
process gives you the chance to safely store evidence should you decide to report at a later time. DNA evidence can be collected from blood, saliva, sweat, urine, skin tissue, and semen. That’s why it’s important to try to avoid bathing, cleaning your fingernails, or urinating until after a sexual assault forensic exam has been performed. In most cases, DNA evidence needs to be collected within 72 hours in order to be analyzed by a crime lab—but a sexual assault forensic exam can reveal other forms of evidence beyond this time frame that can be useful if you decide to report.
What is a rape kit?
You may have heard the term “rape kit” to refer to a sexual assault forensic exam. The term rape kit actually refers to the kit itself—a container that includes a checklist, materials, and instructions, along with envelopes and containers to package any specimens collected during the exam. The contents of the kit may include things like bags for evidence collection, a comb, documentation forms,
envelopes, instructions, materials for blood samples, and swabs.
How long is the exam?
The length of the exam may take a few hours, but the actual time will vary based on several different factors. After you arrive at any of the hospitals in our catchment area (Kennebec and Somerset Counties), our office will be immediately notified and an advocate will come to support you during the process.
What happens during a sexual assault forensic exam?
The steps below outline the general process for the exam. Remember, you can stop, pause, or skip a step at any time during the exam. It is entirely your choice.
- Immediate care. If you have injuries that need immediate attention, those will be taken care of first.
- History. You will be asked about your current medications, pre-existing conditions, and other questions pertaining to your health history. Some of the questions, such as those about recent consensual sexual activity, may seem very personal, but these questions are designed to ensure that DNA and other evidence collected from the exam can be connected to the perpetrator. You will also be asked about the details of what has happened to you to help identify all potential areas of injury as well as places on your body or clothes where evidence may be located.
- Head-to-toe examination. This part of the exam may be based on your specific experience, which is why it is important to give an accurate history. It may include a full body examination, including internal examinations of the mouth, vagina, and/or anus. It may also include taking samples of blood, urine, swabs of body surface areas, and sometimes hair samples. The trained professional performing the exam may take pictures of your body to document injuries and the examination. With your permission, they may also collect items of clothing, including undergarments. The Sexual Assault Crisis & Support Center provides clothing for anyone that has their clothing collected for evidence Any other forms of physical evidence that are identified during the examination may be collected and packaged for analysis, such as a torn piece of the perpetrator’s clothing, a stray hair, or debris, etc.
- Possible mandatory reporting. If you are a minor, the person performing the exam may be obligated to report it to law enforcement.
- Follow up care. You may be offered prevention treatment for STDs and other forms of medical care that require a follow up appointment with a medical professional. An advocate will reach out to you within a few days, only if you have given written permission, but you don’t have to wait for our call. You can call our 24-hour, free, confidential support line at 800- 871-7741 and a well-trained advocate will respond within 15 minutes. It is your choice whether you want advocacy or support. We respect your privacy and how you choose to handle your own healing process. If you request that we not call you, we won’t. Our policy is strictly choice-based with you in the driver’s seat.
- Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs) — registered nurses who receive specialized education and fulfill clinical requirements to perform the exam
- Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners (SAFEs) and Sexual Assault Examiners (SAEs) — other healthcare professionals who have been instructed and trained to complete the exam.
- Or any Medical Doctor if a SAFE is not available.
- It won’t cost you. You will not be charged for the exam. The Violence Against Women Act requires states to provide sexual assault forensic exams free of charge if they wish to remain eligible for critical anti-crime grant funding.
- You can have time to decide if you want to report. The decision to report the crime is entirely yours. It may take some time to decide what to do. Having a sexual assault forensic exam within 72 hours ensures that the forensic evidence will be safely preserved if you decide to report at a later time. New legislation recently passed in the state of Maine requiring law enforcement agencies to store forensic exam kits for sexual assault for 20 years. If a survivor has a forensic examination kit involving only strangulation, that kit must be kept for six years.
- It increases the likelihood of prosecution. The importance of DNA evidence in sexual assault cases cannot be overstated. Not only does DNA evidence carry weight in court, but it may prevent future sexual assaults from occurring. Even if the perpetrator is not prosecuted, their DNA may be added to the national database, making it easier to connect the perpetrator to a future crime.
- Your health matters. Sexual assault can affect your physical health. You may have injuries and trauma related to the assaults that aren’t immediately visible. During an exam you may be able to access treatment for these injuries, receive preventative treatment for STIs, and obtain emergency contraception to prevent pregnancy.
