Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Program

The medical examination conducted by a SANE/FNE may involve:

• Taking a medical history
• Medical treatment for physical injury as well as options to take antibiotics (to help prevent Sexually Transmitted Infections [STIs]), emergency contraception pills (aka “the morning after pill”) to help prevent a pregnancy from starting), and HIV nPEP pills (only if indicated) to help prevent HIV which cause AIDS.
• A general physical exam
• Collecting and documenting details of the assault/abuse to help identify potential infections, injuries and/or treatment required
• Taking blood and urine samples to test for pregnancy and/or infections (follow-up testing may also be recommended)
• An internal exam may also by performed at this time

The victim/survivor can stop or opt out of parts of the medical or forensic examinations at any time.

A forensic examination may be conducted if the victim/survivor chooses, within the appropriate evidence collection timeframes of the individual case.

The purpose of the forensic exam is to look for and collect possible evidence based on the victim/survivor’s story and evidence found/seen on the body.  SANEs/FNEs have special tools to help see evidence that can not be seen with the naked eye. The evidence is analyzed by specially trained forensic lab experts once the client chooses to involve the police and have an investigation started.

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 until the time of the exam to maintain any potential evidence, should the person choose this option. However, evidence collection is still possible following these activities and should not deter anyone from seeking this option. Bringing a change of clothing to the hospital and/or the clothing worn at the time of the assault (including underwear worn during and after the assault) may be beneficial, in-case clothing collection is recommended as part of the evidence collection procedure.

• A forensic examination conducted by a SANE/FNE may involve:
• Collecting clothing for evidence
• A head-to-toe visual exam
• Taking swabs from different areas of the body for possible evidence
• Collecting blood and/or urine samples for toxicology

This process may take a few hours to complete. Only the SANE/FNEs need to be present during this exam. Other emergency department personnel will be involved only as necessary (during triage/admission, for special tests which may be required, etc.) although usually brief and not generally for the exam itself. The victim/survivor may have a support person with them as well (i.e., a friend or advocate). The police are not present during the exam.

The victim/survivor can stop or opt out of parts of the medical or forensic examinations at any time.

It is up to the victim/survivor to decide what they want to do with forensic evidence. There are two options:

1. Immediately report the assault to the police. If the victim/survivor chooses this, the police will be notified, and forensic evidence will be handed over to them at that time.
2. Have the forensic evidence collected and stored by the SANE/FNE Program for up to six months. If the victim/survivor is undecided about filing a report with the police, they can still have a forensic examination to collect evidence.  If the victim/survivor decides to report the sexual assault within the six-month period, they will need to contact the local police agency to provide a statement and give consent for the kit to be retrieved from the SANE/FNE program. The SANE/FNE coordinator will then transfer the forensic evidence to police and police will continue with the investigation.