News Release

Victims of rape, especially children, failed by lack of referral centres and experienced doctors

A UK study published on medical and forensic services for victims of sexual assault reveal wide discrepancies in services

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Elsevier

Amsterdam – A study published in the latest issue of the Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine examined the availability of Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) in the UK and compared their services with each other and with non-SARC police victim examination suites. A SARC is a model service established to address the forensic and therapeutic needs arising following sexual assault.

The study was set up by Mary Pillai, a Consultant Gynaecologist and Forensic Sexual Assault Examiner at Cheltenham General Hospital, and Sheila Paul, a Forensic Physician for Thames Valley Police and general practitioner, after learning from concerned colleagues that services to complainants were becoming increasingly disparate across the UK. The organisation of a forensic medical examination following a complaint of sexual assault has traditionally been a police responsibility with the main focus being the forensic element and varied attention given to the medical needs arising for complainants. There are however, other therapeutic considerations at the initial examination and subsequently, if physical and psychological sequelae are to be minimised and recovery facilitated.

The results of the study showed that complainants of sexual assault in the UK, especially children, face wide differences in forensic and medical services between SARCs and non-SARC facilities. It also revealed that there is a severe shortage of experienced doctors willing to do this work, and in many no, some areas only male doctors are available. Some areas, including those served by SARCs, have so few doctors that they cannot provide a rota, or 24/7 cover for examinations, resulting in long waits for an examination. For children identified acutely following a sexual assault there is virtually no service available.

Although there was some variation in services between SARCs, all offered better all-round services to complainants than non-SARC facilities, providing attendees with all the forensic and medical care they need, under one roof in most cases or being able to easily refer on for such care if not In the non-SARC services, lack of co-operative working with local health services, lack of equipment, and lack of formal medical follow up arrangements is the norm The lack of health funding and facilities to address the health consequences of sexual crime is most extreme in the non-SARC services, with many areas relying on the good will of a small number of doctors to provide a comprehensive service under less than ideal circumstances, often with great difficulty and often without a rota.

Ideally, any complainant would be served by a SARC offering 24/7, full holistic forensic and medical care, working closely with the forensic medical examiner and the police. Nevertheless, in 2005 there were only 13 SARCs in England and Wales for more than 60,000 sexual offences recorded by police, of which 14,000 were offences of rape.

###

About the Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine
The Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine is the official journal of The Association of Forensic Physicians (http://www.afpweb.org.uk), the Australian College of Legal Medicine (http://www.legalmedicine.com.au) and the British Association in Forensic Medicine. The journal provides a forum for the rapid publication of topical articles on all clinical aspects of forensic medicine and related specialities. The Journal carries definitive reviews, original communications, hypotheses, learning points of important issues, offering critical analysis and scientific appraisal.

About Elsevier
Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. Working in partnership with the global science and health communities, Elsevier's 7,000 employees in over 70 offices worldwide publish more than 2,000 journals and 1,900 new books per year, in addition to offering a suite of innovative electronic products, such as ScienceDirect (http://www.sciencedirect.com/), MD Consult (http://www.mdconsult.com/), Scopus (http://www.info.scopus.com/), bibliographic databases, and online reference works.

Elsevier (http://www.elsevier.com/) is a global business headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and has offices worldwide. Elsevier is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc (http://www.reedelsevier.com/), a world-leading publisher and information provider. Operating in the science and medical, legal, education and business-to-business sectors, Reed Elsevier provides high-quality and flexible information solutions to users, with increasing emphasis on the Internet as a means of delivery. Reed Elsevier's ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

Notes to Editors: For courtesy review copies of the article, please contact newsroom@elsevier.com For further commentary, please contact: Dr. Mary Pillai, Consultant Gynaecologist and Forensic Sexual Assault Examiner at Cheltenham General Hospital mary@mpillai.fsnet.co.uk and mary.pillai@glos.nhs.uk Tel:+44 (0)8454 224365


Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.