The Forensic Nurse

 Your government needs your help, and so do countless men, women, and minors who are victims of intimate partner violence.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is asking developers to submit ideas about applications to help prevent or assist victims of dating violence. Nearly 20% of women in college report experiencing sexual assualt while in college.

Judging criteria for submissions
Usefulness
Each entry will be rated for its ability to empower users for the prevention of youth dating violence and sexual assault with real-time direct connections, social media integration, safety/privacy, and access to reputable resources all considered.
Innovativeness
Each entry will be rated for the degree of new thinking and creativity it brings to applications focusing on the prevention of violence and abuse among young adults.
Usability
Each entry will be rated on its user-friendliness and interactive capabilities.
Potential Impact
Each entry will be rated on the strength of its potential to help college students and young adults prevent violence and assault from occurring

Check out challenge.gov for more information. Submit your ideas. Maybe save a life.

Many people know that the color of your skin can have an effect on almost every aspect of your life. But what about being raped?

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing have released a new study that shows dramatic results when it comes to identifying injuries that may have occurred during a sexual assault depending on the color of the victims skin.

The Researchers conducted a study of 120 volunteers who were predominatly white or african-american and conducted examinations after they had engaged in consentual sex. They found that 68% of the white women had incurred at least one external injury (tearing, abrasions, or swelling), but only 43% of the darker skinned women showed the same levels of injury.

Because physical injury as a result of sexual assualt is usually the exception rather than the norm, being able to clearly show an injury often has a positive effect on people “believing” the victims story.

Being a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner or SANE, I have heard countless times from law enforcement officers, social workers, other nurses, and even the victims own family members that they dont believe the victims story.

Sexual Assualts usually happen one on one, in a private setting with no other witnesses, cameras, or other ways to try and help determine if the sex was consentual or not.

Because most of these cases come down to a he said / she said scenario the ability to produce accurate forensic evidence is critical. There may or may not be DNA evidence and if injuries are harder to detect on darker skinned victims that puts them at a distinct disadvantage both clinically and in the criminal justice system.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation  has published a document for the requirements needed to submit evidence collection kits for processing.

 http://www.ganet.org/gbi/labmanual.html 

Law enforcement agencies (local, state and federal)
Judicial systems
Medicolegal community
Other government laboratories
Regulatory and public service governmental agencies
Non-law enforcement security departments (for criminal cases only)

HOURS OF OPERATION

Laboratory hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Evidence receiving hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. , Monday through Friday .

The Crime Laboratory observes the State of Georgia official holiday schedule.

According to the National Crime Victimization Survey only 26% of those victims who where raped or victim of attempted rape where attacked by a person they did not know. That means that almost 3 out of 4 times the rapist / attempted rapist was either a friend, acquintance, date, family member, or other relative.