Abstract:
Rape is a serious, violent crime that is under-reported across the United States. Multiple
factors affect the choice to report, as well as the legal processes that ensue when a rape is
reported. Prior to the development of the formal Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners
(SANEs) role in 1992, there were reports of poor documentation of the physical and
genital injuries. The significance of this study is first to seek to improve care for women
who have been sexually assaulted. The secondary significance is to seek to reduce the
likelihood of court errors through improving the testimony by experts about the injuries
that women may or may not have after being sexually assaulted. The purpose of this
study was to describe the profile of injuries sustained by females who have been raped
and subsequently examined by a SANE. In addition, the injury patterns of women
reporting consensual and nonconsensual intercourse were compared. Genital injuries
were documented using a three-part examination process (Direct visualization, use of
toluidine \blue dye, and with magnification). This study was a logical extension of the
research performed to date, and seeks to fill some of the methodological gaps in extant
findings. The genital profile of the woman who was sexually assaulted is also variable,
with no definitive pattern. With direct visualization, over 70% of the women did not have
genital injuries. While genital injuries are present in approximately 30% of the women
after a sexual assault, on direct visualization, injuries are not a determining factor that a
sexual assault occurred.
