Rape may be the most heinous of all crimes committed against a human being. The victim may feel that it is their own fault for being sexually assaulted and they may believe that they did something that lead the attacker to commit the offense. At times getting the victim to come forward with the information can be difficult, however, investigators must ensure that every single sexual assault is reported and investigated and what can the police do to make sure this is the case.
The amount of rapes that occur in America is an unknown number because of the fact that some go unreported …show more content…
Analyze the importance of the evidentiary examination of the victims of a sex crime. Address what goes into preserving this type of evidence for court.
An evidentiary examination must be performed in the event a sexual assault has taken place. Although reliable the examination is not without its draw backs and needs to be conducted by qualified personnel and the evidence has to be handled properly to lessen or avoid courtroom challenges.
The victim’s body is the primary crime scene in sexual assault cases. Two critical parts of an investigation are the interview of the victim and the evidentiary examination. Most sexual assault evidentiary examinations do not include magnification or state of the art procedures for detecting physical injuries to the victim’s vulva, vagina, or anus. The colposcope, used by nurse practitioners and gynecologists, magnifies an area of 30 times the actual size, permitting detection of bruises, tears, or abrasions not visible to the naked eye. Conventional sexual assault exams without colposcopes have typically reported evidence of genital injuries in only 19% - 28% of cases. However, examiners using colposcopes find evidence of genital trauma in up to 87% of cases. A major correction to this problem has been the advent of the sexual assault nurse examiners programs that have served to set protocol and guidelines for the collection of forensic evidence using colposcopes (Hazelwood & Wolbert Burgess, …show more content…
Write in essay style the role feminists played in bringing attention to the issue of rape crimes in America and any other social or religious groups that were involved. Prior to feminists bringing attention to the rape crisis in America, most looked down upon the victim and it was widely believed that the victim’s own conduct (dress, behavior, etc.) played a role in the sexual assault. Of course, we know now that the past theory is ridiculous and no matter how a women behaves or dresses, neither is ever a reason to ignore a women’s objections. Prior to rape being brought out of the shadows sex assault victims had no outlet where they could get help and protection. In the early 1970’s, feminist in countries such as Canada, Great Britain, and the United States began creating rape crisis hotlines and battered women’s shelters or “transition houses.” They also publicized the high incidence of violence against women and challenged police and hospital practices. In New York in 1971, for example, the Radical Feminists held a “speak out” at which women spoke publicly of their rape experiences in an effort to turn feelings of shame among rape victims into anger and action. Feminist also questioned police and hospital treatment of rape victims and legal requirements such as the need for the women to prove that she resisted the rape for her report to be creditable (Staggenborg,