In 2009, lawmakers authorized the Office of Victim Services, within the Connecticut Judicial Branch, to establish a program to train and make available Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners (SAFEs) to adult and adolescent victims of sexual assaults at participating healthcare facilities (PA 09-3). Available through an on-call system, the SAFEs respond in tandem with sexual assault victim advocates and provide timely, compassionate, patient-centered sexual assault forensic examination services to sexual assault victims 13 years or older who present to participating healthcare facilities within 120 hours of the assault.
SAFEs work closely with sexual assault victim advocates, hospital staff, law enforcement, and state’s attorneys to provide victims of sexual assault with comprehensive services and support. Over the last five years, more than 900 patients have been seen by a SAFE in Connecticut. The SAFE Program originally launched on a part-time basis in December 2010 before transitioning to a 24-hour on-call system for six acute care hospitals. Today the program has expanded to nine healthcare facilities, and preparations are underway for an expansion in southwestern Connecticut.
A Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner (SAFE) is a healthcare provider who has been specially trained to provide comprehensive care for the sexual assault patient, who demonstrates competency in conducting a forensic exam, and who has the ability to be an expert or fact witness in court. In Connecticut, SAFEs receive ongoing oversight and quality assurance monitoring within the SAFE Program.
The SAFE program is a program that took several years to build – a true labor of love for the SANE coalition (as it was then called), for sexual assault victim advocates, ER physicians, forensic nurses, hospitals, criminal justice professionals and lawmakers who worked together over the course of three years to envision, design and advocate for the most cost effective, efficient response to sexual assault victims. The SANE coalition was organized by The Alliance (then CONNSACS).
To learn more about these specialized healthcare providers, visit the CT SAFE Program and the National SAFE Program websites.