Category: Child Abuse

An FHO reader asked if I would do a review of the literature on the healthcare needs of trafficking victims and the answer is no, because it’s already out there. Allow me to point your attention to the library over at HEAL Trafficking. No need to reinvent that wheel–they’ve got you covered, plus they make it super easy to stay current with their RSS feeds. Aside from the peer-reviewed literature, they also have a variety of reports and assorted media, making it a pretty decent place to start your lit reviews. See also: their toolkit for developing a protocol for responding to victims of human trafficking in healthcare settings.

Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find our newest research brief, Aging Bruises Based On Color, plus our original guide, Injury Following Consensual Sex. Both available now for electronic download.

SAFEta has a webinar coming up on the new edition of the National Training Standards for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examiners. The session will be held October 3rd at 3:30pm ET (and it will be archived). Obviously, it is in support of this. From the site:

Since 2006, there has been an update to the National SAFE Protocol in 2013 (SAFE Protocol 2nd Ed), which reflected changes in science and practice that had occurred over the 7 years since the original document had been written. In 2016, OVW spearheaded the development of a National Protocol for Sexual Abuse Medical Forensic Examinations: Pediatric (Pediatric SAFE Protocol) to meet the unique healthcare and response needs of the prepubertal pediatric population. In addition to these 2 sentinel document updates, there were also new releases and updates of documents reflecting changes in healthcare response to violence from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), laws and evidence collection. As a result of these developments OVW sponsored efforts to revise and update the Training Standards and on August 29, 2018 the Training Standards 2nd Ed. were released. Presented by: Marnie Shiels, Attorney Advisor, Office on Violence Against Women & Kim Day, RN, SANE-A, SANE-P, Forensic Nursing Director at the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN).

Keep in mind, this educational offering counts toward renewal of both SANE-A and SANE-P (not to mention many of your state SANE requirements), so if you’re looking at renewal, this is an obvious one.

Register for the session here.

Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find our newest research brief, Aging Bruises Based On Color, plus our original guide, Injury Following Consensual Sex. Both available now for electronic download.

Midwest Regional Children’s Advocacy Center has a two-part webinar series coming up next month, Working Effectively with Muslim Youth and Their Families. Part one will be held October 11th at 1pm CT; part two will be held October 25th at at 1pm CT. From the site:

This presentation will discuss how to effectively work with Muslim youth and their families by bringing attention to potential bias, as well as providing a foundational overview of Muslim customs and practices, emphasizing the continuum of diversity of practice within the religion. Participants will leave this session with a greater understanding of Muslim demographics, globally and locally, as well as information regarding how best to engage with Muslim youth and Muslim families.

Register for the sessions here and here.

Not to be confused with the new SAMFE National Training Standards published by the Department of Justice, IAFN has just released the new edition of the SANE Education Guidelines. Keep in mind, these are two completely separate and distinct documents. If you hope to be SANE-A/P certified, your education must be in line with the IAFN guidelines (although when we were working on the National Training Standards we worked hard to make sure it reflected recommendations consistent with IAFN’s education guidelines so the documents wouldn’t be at odds with one another). According to the announcement, there aren’t a host of substantive changes in the update to the education guidelines. IAFN has provided an overview on the website of the major differences between the old and new edition; they include:

• Updated reference section
• Evidence-based resource section
• Competency Checklists for SANE Clinical Preceptorships
• Links to updated Educational Planning Tables for SANE didactic courses (reflecting the 2018 Education Guidelines)
• Addition of clearly stated Gap Analyses and Learning Outcomes (reflecting the most recent continuing nursing education standards of the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation)
• Addition of concise Learning Objectives per section as stepping stones for reaching Learning Outcomes
• Addition of Trauma-Informed Care and the Duffy Model of Caring® as foundational concepts

Congratulations to the workgroup on getting this updated. Job well done. Download the complete education guidelines here.

Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find our newest research brief, Aging Bruises Based On Color, plus our original guide, Injury Following Consensual Sex. Both available now for electronic download.

I am thrilled this is now available, as I was fortunate to work on this project–the 2nd edition of the National Training Standards for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examiners (PDF) is now available. Published by OVW, it updates the original training standards, incorporating pediatric practice and the corresponding national protocols for the 1st time. Of particular importance is a note about its intended audience:

The intended audience for the National Training Standards are clinicians (registered nurses, advanced practice nurses, physician assistants and physicians) who have been specially trained to provide comprehensive, specialized care to patients1 who present with known or suspected sexual assault or abuse, including the medical forensic examination, evidence collection and testimony. Patients who have experienced sexual assault and abuse have a variety of complex concerns at the time of the examination, such as safety; injury; pregnancy and disease risk; legal reporting and evidence collection options and requirements; and both short- and long-term health sequelae. For these reasons it is critically important that healthcare facilities provide specially trained examiners to properly provide care for this patient population. For communities unable to provide specially trained examiners, Appendix C outlines the training all providers should have prior to performing an examination on a patient who has been sexually assaulted or abused.

You can download a copy over at the SAFEta website.

Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find our newest research brief, Aging Bruises Based On Color, plus our original guide, Injury Following Consensual Sex. Both available now for electronic download.

Don’t know if you saw, but the new issue of the Journal of Forensic Nursing is out and there is a lot in this edition that caught my attention. I was particularly interested in the HPV prevention article and the article looking at stigmatization of overweight/obese patients during medical-forensic exams, but there’s quite a bit that’s worth your time. Free with your IAFN membership (a lovely perk of investing your dollars in organizations with scientific journals), so go through the Member Center to access the full article; the links will only access the publisher’s abstracts.

Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find our newest research brief, Aging Bruises Based On Color, plus our original guide, Injury Following Consensual Sex. Both available now for electronic download.