Depending on the type of physical contact involved during a sexual assault offense, samples collected from a suspect's body may carry greater probative value than samples collected from a victim's body. However, unlike forensic medical examinations for persons identified as victims of a sexual assault, no professional consensus exists for what constitutes a high-quality forensic medical examination standard for persons identified as suspects, or the accused. The purpose of this article is to explore underlying assumptions that may contribute to disparate practices and inequalities in the provision of forensic medical examinations for persons suspected of committing a sexual offense and persons identified as victims of a sexual offense.
Author Affiliations:1School of Nursing, University of Nevada, Las Vegas; and
2College of Nursing, Montana State University.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Correspondence: Rachell A. Ekroos, PhD, APRN, FNP-BC, AFN-BC, FAAN, School of Nursing, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Box 453018, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89154-3018. E-mail: rachell.ekroos@unlv.edu.
Received August 22, 2018; Accepted January 12, 2019
Online date: March 19, 2019
