For the Defense - Vol. 4, Issue 3 - 42

Standards for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic
Examiners.9 Furthermore, the International
Association of Forensic Nurses has set out
educational guidelines for SANEs.10 According to
the International Association of Forensic Nurses, the
minimum number of course hours to meet the SANE
training requirement and to sit for the Commission
for Forensic Nursing Certification examinations are
as follows:
Adult/Adolescents or Pediatric/Adolescent
* A minimum of 40 hours of didactic coursework
that yields 40 continuing nursing education
contact11 hours, or academic credit or the
national equivalent from an accredited
educational institution; and
* Clinical components, including simulated clinical
experiences, are completed in addition to the
coursework and are not calculated as part of
the 40 hours.
Combination Adult/Adolescent and Pediatric/
Adolescent
* A minimum of 64 hours of didactic coursework
that yields 40 continuing nursing education
contact hours, or academic credit or the
national equivalent from an accredited
educational institution; and
* Clinical components, including simulated clinical
experiences, are completed in addition to the
coursework and are not calculated as part of
the 64 hours.12
Currently, 75 percent of SANE programs are
hospital-based in emergency departments.13 The
other 25 percent of SANE programs are located
in community settings such as rape crisis centers
or health clinics.14 Prior to establishment of SANE
programs, nearly half of sexual assault survivors
treated in an emergency department were not
informed of the collateral risks of sexual assault.
The collateral risks of sexual assault include the risk
of pregnancy, emergency contraception to prevent
pregnancy, and information on the risk of STDs/HIV.16
In communities lacking a SANE program
emergency department, personnel often do not
have the training in medical forensic evidence
collection, and those with training do not perform
a sufficient number of forensic interviews to
maintain their proficiency.17 In communities where
there are SANE nurses, victim reports to police of

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Vol. 4, Issue 3

sexual assault rise to 72 percent compared to a 50
percent report rate for those communities without
SANE nurses.18 The conviction rate for charged SANE
cases was 69 percent compared to non-SANE cases at
50 percent, and entry of guilty pleas are significantly
higher in jurisdictions with access to a SANE Nurse.19
A study of "whether adult sexual assault cases
in a Midwestern community were more likely
to be investigated and prosecuted after the
implementation" of a SANE program was conducted.
The study looked at 156 pre-SANE hospital cases and
141 post-SANE cases that met the following criteria:
* the victim was age 18 or older at the time of the
assault;
* the victim was assaulted within the local county
so that all cases would be processed by the same
prosecutor's office;
* the case was investigated by one of the five
largest police departments in the county;
* a complete medical forensic exam was conducted
by either county hospital personnel (comparison
group) or the SANE program (intervention group);
and
* the exam results were analyzed by the state crime
lab for DNA evidence. 21
The study showed that, after the implementation
of the SANE program, there was a decrease in
the number of cases that police did not refer for
prosecution and in which a prosecutor found
prosecution was not warranted.22 Furthermore, there
was an increase in the number of cases which led to
a conviction following implementation of the SANE
program.23 The table below shows the case progression
outcome of the study before and after the SANE
program implementation.24
OUTCOME

PRE-SANE POST-SANE

Not Referred by police
for prosecution

49%

43%

Referred to prosecutor, but
not warranted for prosecution

17%

15%

Warranted by prosecution,
but dropped or acquitted at trial

10%

13%

Guilty plea or trial conviction

24%

29%

Table 1.25
For the Defense - Vol. 4, Issue 3

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of For the Defense - Vol. 4, Issue 3
