This OnLine Training Institute (OLTI) module provides information for police officers, investigators, and supervisors on how to clear or otherwise close sexual assault cases. These case determinations can be complicated, yet many law enforcement personnel are provided little or no guidance in how to make them appropriately.

This training bulletin summarizes the best practice recommendations offered in the 8-hour Online Training Institute (OLTI) course entitled: Clearance Methods for Sexual Assault Cases. The OLTI module provides information for police officers, investigators, and supervisors on how to clear or otherwise close sexual assault cases. These case determinations can be complicated, yet many law enforcement personnel are provided little or no guidance in how to make them appropriately.

Model Template for an Agency Release of Information Form (in English).

Model Template for an Agency Release of Information Form (in Spanish).

Engages in advocacy, education, victim services and prevention programs for victims of trafficking and prostitution in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe, and North America, including in the United States.

Assists persons trafficked for the purpose of forced labor and slavery-like practices.

This article provides an overview of young adults who experience homelessness and sexual violence, with an emphasis on young people of color and LGTBQ youth.

COLOR ATLAS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT is a clinical resource for practitioners who assess and treat sexually assaulted adolescents and adults. The atlas presents color photographs of injuries of the internal and external genitalia, anus, and mouth, which are magnified for distinct visualization of the injury, providing critical visual aid to the accurate physical diagnosis of sexual abuse. Also included are many photographs of normal anatomy of the adult genitalia, as well as typical variations that may be found, to contrast with the photos of sexual assault victims. The text provides findings in consensual intercourse, which are critical for comparison to assault injury. There is detailed description of the assessment of the sexually assaulted individual, including the physical and emotional aspects. Rape trauma syndrome is included. Four actual case studies of sexual assault victims are presented, along with photographs of their injuries.

Once a crime is reported to a law enforcement agency, the criminal justice system process begins. It can be a confusing and sometimes frustrating experience for a person who is a victim of a crime. There are victim/witness advocates throughout Colorado to provide support and assistance to victims of crime during this process. This booklet has been prepared to assist you in understanding your rights and to answer commonly asked questions.

The purpose of this Colorado state protocol is to assist providers with the consistent and complete collection of the sexual assault evidence collection kit, which is one part of a comprehensive medical forensic response to sexual assault patients. This protocol incorporates Colorado’s three options for reporting: Law Enforcement Report, Medical Report, and Anonymous Report (which do not apply to minors, or at-risk elders). The protocol includes consent forms for victims to choose one of these reporting options and document their consent to the medical forensic exam and/or testing evidence/release of results.

This guide aims to assist law enforcement leaders in adopting effective multidisciplinary approaches to address child sex trafficking in their communities. This guide describes the following: the crime of child sex trafficking, the challenges in combating child sex trafficking, essential steps for law enforcement leaders to take in their jurisdictions, partners who can help law enforcement, and successful multidisciplinary practices in communities around the country.

Witness intimidation is a national epidemic, with offenders explicitly and implicitly threatening victims and witnesses to prevent them from reporting crime. Victims and witnesses who do report crime live in fear of retribution. This publication details the The Combatting Witness Intimidation (CWI) Initiative, which sought to identify challenges related to witness intimidation across all crimes, adopt strategies to address these challenges, and create methods to evaluate the impact of those approaches.

This 57-minute training DVD provides an overview of the sexual assault clinical forensic medical examination for criminal justice professionals and victim advocates. The DVD shows the taking of the medical and forensic history, and procedures for conducting a forensic and medical examination, including clothing collection, forensic photography, Wood’s lamp evaluation, general features of the forensic pelvic examination, treatment, and follow-up. Useful for training law enforcement officers, detectives, attorneys, and victim advocates.

Winner of the US Surgeon General’s Award in Patient Care and the International Health and Media FREDDIE Award, 2008, this 57-minute training DVD educates examiners about the most effective methods for collecting trace evidence, handling wet evidence, collecting hair reference samples, conducting forensic female and male genital exams, and maintaining forensic tools and equipment. Useful for sexual assault examiners, criminal justice professionals, forensic scientists, and victim advocates.

The Compendium is an at-a-glance summary of state and US territory laws, regulations, and other activities relevant to addressing domestic violence in health care settings. It includes analyses and themes that reflect policy and programmatic changes made in the last two decades by leaders in the fields of health care, policy and domestic/sexual violence advocacy.

These protocols were created as an output of the Houston Sexual Assault Kit Action-Research Task Force. They establish the groundwork for how each cold case will proceed after analysis of the sexual assault kit (SAK) is complete, including investigative and victim notification procedures.

Forensic experts typically identify sexual assault offenders by examining seminal fluid residues for sperm, proteins, blood grouping factors, and DNA profile. When sexual assailants use condoms, however, assuming no leaks or spills, this valuable evidence gets trapped inside the condom, which investigators may never recover. The same can be said for any traces from the victim–including vaginal cells, blood, and saliva–that otherwise might have been transferred to the assailant’s penis.

This guide provides a checklist of issues, questions, and basic tips for a coalition staff attorney to use as a template when creating a confidentiality guide specific to the laws and policies of a particular state. Because the template is general, some of the topics enumerated may not be relevant to a particular state. Alternately, there may be some topics relevant to a state not included in the guide.

The Stalking Resource Center at the National Center for Victims of Crime and the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women produced this video to enhance the ability of law enforcement first responders to recognize and effectively respond to stalking. The video is designed so that it can either be shown in its entirety (approximately 18 minutes) or as individual chapters.

Virginia has developed materials to provide instructions for mailing evidence to the state crime laboratory when a forensic examination is conducted without a report to law enforcement. They may be helpful for other jurisdictions implementing a similar procedure for transferring evidence. The instructions developed for the state of Virginia even include detailed pictures to illustrate the process, as well as a consent form for sexual assault victims to sign documenting their understanding of the process. While many community professionals are not aware of it, these procedures for mailing evidence are a standard practice for many law enforcement agencies; what is new in this context is the fact that the evidence is being mailed by forensic examiners rather than law enforcement investigators.