2023-12-21 11:36:49
Updated Thursday, December 21, 2023 – 10:36
The consensus document, which is expected to receive the endorsement of the Interterritorial Council, insists on the importance of the chain of custody of the samples collected from the victims.
Entrance to the Emergency Service of the Hospital Clnico of Madrid. JAVI MARTNEZ Forensic science Hair, ‘snitch’ of chemical submission
The Common Protocol of the National Health System for health action against sexual violence 2023 is one of the items on the agenda of the meeting of the Interterritorial Council of the SNS, which is held this Thursday, December 21.
The document, to which this newspaper has had access, establishes “common criteria of professional, standardized and homogeneous action, for the entire National Health System, regarding the detection, evaluation and intervention in cases of sexual violence (past or recent) in adult women, girls, boys and/or adolescents, including cases of daughters and sons of women who suffer or have suffered violence within their partner or ex-partner.
It updates the previous protocol from 2012 and marks the path to be followed by the autonomous communities in the development of guides to further detail these interventions. In the document, according to regional sources that have participated in its preparation, special emphasis has been placed on maintaining a good chain of custody in the collection of biological samples and evidence of the possible crime to be used for legal purposes; in the victim’s consent to the examination by health professionals and in the coordination between hospital, forensic and primary care teams. Furthermore, it refers to the chemical submissionwhich in recent years has been more present in cases of sexual assault.
FORENSIC INTERVENTION WITHOUT PRIOR COMPLAINT
“Given the importance of forensic medical examination, when the victim of acute or recent sexual violence (less than 7-10 days) go to a health center to receive medical assistance, This center must communicate with the court on duty and request the intervention of the forensic doctor prior to judicial authorization.. This intervention will be carried out without delay and not be conditional on a previous complaint [en el texto original del protocolo esta frase va en maysculas y subrayada], which may or may not be filed later. That is, the medical-forensic intervention must be as early as possible and“depending on the formulation of a complaint by the attacked person,” the document states.
“In order to secure the evidence, the forensic doctor will intervene jointly with the health service specialistinforming the victim of the suitability of the medical-legal examination and the collection of samples, obtaining their consent to it. This intervention will be carried out without delay.” In the case of minors and people with disabilities, the protocol establishes that “written consent for forensic examination” must be requested.
Regarding detection, the document recalls the duty of the health professional to report suspicion of violence towards a patient and, in a special way, when the person who perpetrates the violence is someone from the victim’s family environment.
The annexes to the protocol contain the regulations that cover the development of the guide.the informed consent document for sample taking, chain of custody models to send to the Institutes of Legal and Forensic Medicine and models of injury reports and medical reports.
The more than 150 pages of the protocol are the result of the joint work of technicians from all the autonomous communities represented in the Interterritorial Council. Now, the Interterritorial only has to definitively ratify the protocol, which they have been working on since 2019, when the first draft appeared, but “which has been delayed over time due to political issues,” confess autonomous sources.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THE PROTOCOL
Guarantee coordinated action with the and the forensic doctors of the Institutes of Legal and Forensic Medicine (IMLCF) and comprehensive care for victims of sexual violence (recent and past).Raise awareness and train to health personnel of the National Health System (SNS) about the seriousness of sexual violence. Update the knowledge based on the experience and scientific evidence of recent yearsproviding health personnel with common tools for decision-making and comprehensive, humanized and quality health intervention. Promote the empowerment and training of those who have suffered or suffer sexual violence, being necessary recognition of your situationthe search for the best scientific, health, legal and social interventions that allow the recovery of your health in the best possible conditions. Offering a protocol with common guidelines for useful and practical action regarding the reception of the victim of sexual violence in the health service. Contribute with your implementation to improve health research regarding sexual violence. Promote greater sensitivity among all health professionals on specific aspects, which in the matter of sexual violence it is necessary to keep in mind in health care actions with people in contexts of greater vulnerability
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