Concerns are being raised regarding the lack of a uniform standard of care for sexual assault victims in emergency rooms in West Virginia.
Nancy Hoffman, the State Coordinator for the West Virginia Foundation for Rape Information and Services, voiced those concerns to lawmakers recently.
Hoffman pointed out several issues sexual assault victims were experiencing while trying to get a forensic exam and the care they need at hospitals.
One of the issues pertained to medical staff in a hospital’s emergency room trying to administer a forensic exam and not being able to because they were not trained to do so.
Hoffman said it is frightening and frustrating for victims to be in that kind of situation as well as frustrating for hospital staff because they want to do their best and help.
Another common issue pointed out by Hoffman involved the tampering with or contamination of forensic exam kits. These kits are used to find evidence that can be used in a trial.
“We see other cases where there is a break in the chain of evidence,” said Hoffman.
“This is evidence that could potentially go to court, so it has to be kept secured, has to not be left unsupervised during the exam process and the kit needs to be sealed and then submitted to the proper agency for processing.”
Hoffman recalls a case where a kit was contaminated and not used after it was left open and unsupervised during the exam. In other incidents, kits were given to the victims to take home which again makes the kit unable to be used.
These are only a few of the many issues that sexual assault victims are facing in emergency rooms today and Hoffman said they all, basically, result from the same problems seen within hospitals.
“These are availability issues, they’re protocol issues, and they are training issues as well as some sense of accountability issues,” said Hoffman.
Hoffman said she realizes that their needs to be identified medical emergencies in an emergency room, but there also needs to be a standard of care and protocol when it comes to sexual assault victims.