Decision on sex assault unit nurses await report

A REPORT from Britain will influence if nurses here are trained to carry out forensic examinations on sexual assault victims.

A severe shortage of doctors has meant victims in many parts of the country have to travel to one of Ireland's three sexual assault units for examination Donegal, Dublin and Cork.

This can often mean round trips of hundreds of miles just hours after an assault. To bring a criminal case against an alleged rapist, the forensic medical examination of the victim must be carried out as soon as possible after the incident.

There is widespread concern that this is deterring victims from reporting sexual assaults.

This comes at a time when the Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) has reported that Ireland has the worst record in Europe for bringing rapists to justice.

Just 5% of rape cases reported to gardaí result in a conviction, according to the organisation. The RCNI, the Irish Nurses' Organisation and leading experts all advocate training nurses to carry out forensic examinations in sexual-assault cases.

This has been standard practice in the US since the early 1990s. In Britain, a pilot project at St Mary's sexual assault referral centre, Manchester, and the Home Office is expected to soon publish an evaluation.

A working group established by the Department of Justice to examine the feasibility of a such a service here is awaiting that report before progressing.

"The group is awaiting the results of the report into forensic examination at the Manchester sexual assault unit," a Health Department spokesman said yesterday.

Justice and Health share responsibility for different aspects of the forensic medical examination (FME) service. The structures of the FME service have already been severely criticised.

Forensic duties range from the analysis of samples taken in suspected drink driving cases to the examination of accident scenes or suspicious deaths.

Professor Denis Cusack, head of the Department of Forensic Medicine at UCD, has warned there is a severe shortage of doctors willing to serve as forensic examiners and no formal structure to address issues such as fees and ongoing training for those who do.

Prof Cusack warned that the result of this inadequate service is crucial evidence in criminal prosecutions, including rape cases, could be missed. Training nurses to examine sexual assault victims would ease the burden on the service.

Meanwhile, the Mid Western Health Board is hoping to develop a sexual assault unit in its area so that victims will no longer have to travel for examinations.

The health board said this week it had trained doctors in Limerick, Clare and north Tipperary to carry out forensic examinations.