Are sexual assault victims presenting to the emergency department in a timely manner?

Abstract

Social workers regularly assist sexual assault victims and would benefit from a greater understanding of causes for delayed presentation to seek medical care. Delays in presentation of sexual assault victims affect the legal value of collected evidence. The authors of this study sought to characterize the nature and frequency of delayed presentation among victims. To do so, they performed a chart review from 2001 to 2007 of the Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner program at their institution. Delayed presentation was defined as presentation more than 12 hours after the assault. Chi-square test was used to contrast frequencies, and multivariate regression was used to control for confounders. Among 482 victims, more than half presented delayed. Of the victims who documented whether they knew the perpetrator, 63 percent knew the perpetrator, with 58 percent of these presenting delayed. Knowing the perpetrator was significantly associated with delayed presentation. Age, ethnicity, and gender were not associated with delayed presentation.