Forensic Nurses

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Forensic Nursing: Child Abuse

The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network state that every two minutes, someone is sexually assaulted in the United States. In 2007 there were 248,300 victims of sexual assault (US department of Justice).



Sarah, a girl who dealt with abuse while at a friends house said, “At 11 my best friends

step father raped me. I had went and stayed there for the night and he must have

thought that I was an easy target. I'm 17 now and it has changed me life completely.” (Dancing in the Darkness, “Survivors”).” Forensic Nursing is one of the most promising occupations in the United States, the emergence for the need of nurses in the community benefits the place to make lives better. While a judge and jurors are putting the criminal away, forensic nurses are the ones who approach the victim in a more personal manor. Forensic Nurses in the community make the alleviation of pain and trauma better for patients.



Forensic nurses care for most rape victims and are on staff at hospitals. They help gather evidence from pelvic exams and also support the victim to make sure that they are in stable comfort zone. The nurses gather evidence such as hair, blood, and swabs from different parts of the body (A Helping Hand to Rape Victims). The supplies needed is a rape kit which was developed by Louis R. Vitullo and actually used to be referred to as the Vitullo Kit. After using the rape kit the nurse tells the victim about the risks associated with rape such as pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Because of rape kits, catching and convicting the criminal is a lot easier. It is important for the forensic nurse to be extremely detail orientated and not to miss any piece of evidence that is taken because it ...

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Forensic Nursing Chronicles. Web.02.Mar. 2011.. Web. 14 Mar. 2011.

"National Child Abuse Statistics | Childhelp." Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse | Childhelp. Child Help. Web. 30 Jan. 2012.

"UIC College of Nursing Educational Programs." University of Illinois at Chicago - UIC. Web. 30 Jan. 2012. .

Whibley, Annette. "Child Physical Abuse Under-Reported." Forensics Talk. Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 13 Nov. 2006. Web. 30 Jan. 2012. .

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