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 In 1997, OVC granted funding to
the Sexual Assault Resource Service
in Minneapolis to develop a practical "how-to guide," the SANE Development and Operation Guide, for starting and administering a SANE program. At that time, only 86 SANE programs existed in this country. Today, there are hundreds of these programs, and new ones are started every month. The OVC-funded Guide has been a valuable training and technical assistance tool, but 3 years later, we at OVC believed it was time to pause and take a look at the impact of SANE programs on victims of sexual assault, the practitioners who serve these victims, and their communities. It was time to check back with some of the older, established programs and the newer programs to find out what is working and why. Although most of the data reported in this bulletin are anecdotal, we believe it offers valuable insight into the difference that a SANE program makes to victims and their communities. In addition, as the number of SANE programs has grown, so have the information, technical assistance, and resources that are available to support these programs. This bulletin describes some of the resources that are available through the Office for Victims of Crime and other public and professional organizations.
Finally, with every success come new challenges. How can a SANE program find funding to sustain itself after its initial development? What is the role of the SANE within the framework of a sexual assault response team (SART)? What is involved in establishing SANE standards of practice, training, and certification? We believe the information and promising practices presented in this report will assist programs and communities as they address these and many other emerging issues.
One of the global challenges that OVC has embraced is to support, improve, and replicate promising practices in victims' rights and services. Our support of SANE programs moves us, and the field, closer to the goal of ensuring that every victim receives fundamental justice and needed services. In many ways, this bulletin is a salute to the field—to the SANEs and countless others in the victim advocacy, criminal justice, and medical fields who have embraced the SANE model and worked ceaselessly to bring SANE services to their communities.
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This document is available online only. |
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Sexual Assault Nurse
Examiner (SANE) Programs: Improving the Community Response to Sexual Assault
Victims
by Kristin Littel
Introduction
Victim Benefits
SANE Program Development
Program Operation
Data Collection by SANE Programs
SANEs as Key Responders in a Coordinated Response
Collaboration Between SANEs and Victim Advocates
Impact on Law Enforcement and Prosecution
Getting Started
Promising Practices
Conclusion
Resources
Notes
PDF (2 mb) and ASCII (86
kb) Files
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About the Author
Kristin Littel is a consultant
for the Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical
Assistance Center. She has served as advocate for a center
serving battered and sexually assaulted women and as assistant
coordinator for a sexual assault program. At the Center for
Sex Offender Management, she worked on the Comprehensive Approaches
to Sex Offender Management project. In 1999, she was editor
of Washington Crime News and produced Crime Control
Digest for law enforcement professionals. As writer and
coordinator of the Promising Practices Initiative, Ms. Littel
worked for the STOP Violence Against Women Grants Technical
Assistance Project and produced the manual Promising Practices:
Improving the Criminal Justice System's Response to Violence
Against Women.
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Preparation of this document
was supported by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of
Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions,
findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this
document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent
the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of
Justice.
The Office for Victims of Crime
is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also
includes the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Justice
Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office
of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
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