{"id":45791,"date":"2019-05-01T17:12:41","date_gmt":"2019-05-01T21:12:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/?p=45791"},"modified":"2020-09-23T15:10:31","modified_gmt":"2020-09-23T19:10:31","slug":"survivors-of-sexual-assault-receive-compassionate-physical-and-emotional-care-at-the-ottawa-hospital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/healthy-tomorrows\/survivors-of-sexual-assault-receive-compassionate-physical-and-emotional-care-at-the-ottawa-hospital\/","title":{"rendered":"Survivors of sexual assault receive compassionate physical and emotional care at The Ottawa Hospital"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dr. Kari Sampsel, Medical Director of the SAPACP, and others offer compassionate care to survivors of sexual assault.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a sexual assault occurs, it can be hard\nfor a survivor to know what to do or where to go. If they choose to go to The\nOttawa Hospital, they will be met with compassionate care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Survivors are encouraged to go to the\nEmergency Department as soon as they can after an assault. But coming forward can\nbe difficult, and The Ottawa Hospital respects any choice that a person makes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it\u2019s the police\u2019s job to investigate the\ncrime, it\u2019s our job to support the survivor by providing compassionate medical\nand emotional care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nSexual Assault and Partner Abuse Care Program (SAPACP),<\/a>\nlocated in the Emergency Department at the Civic Campus, is designed to support\nsurvivors of sexual and gender-based violence who are at least 16 years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SAPACP is made up of a compassionate team of health professionals who have a wide variety of skills. It includes doctors, sexual assault nurse examiners and social workers. Their goal is to offer services and support to each person in a safe and private place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>
\u201cWe will always believe survivors and offer the best possible care and support.\u201d <\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Along with offering expert medical and\nemotional care, staff at the SAPACP can collect forensic evidence from the\nassault in a kind and sensitive way. It\u2019s the only place in Ottawa that\nperforms forensic evidence collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt\nthe program, the team of multi-disciplinary health care professionals provide\nthe best possible care for survivors of sexual and domestic violence,\u201d said Dr.\nKatherine Muldoon, Senior Clinical Research Associate at The Ottawa Hospital\nResearch Institute. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once at the hospital, a survivor\nwill get care right away for any physical injuries. A doctor or nurse will ask about\ntheir medical history. If the survivor wants to do so, they can talk to the\nmedical staff about the details from the assault.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will always believe survivors and offer\nthe best possible care and support,\u201d said Dr. Kari Sampsel, Medical Director of\nthe SAPACP. \u201cEveryone will receive care they choose for their unique needs.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If eligible, survivors will be asked if they want to complete a Sexual Assault Evidence Kit (SAEK). An SAEK collects forensic evidence that can be analyzed for DNA. If a survivor consents, the doctor or the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner will take swabs, collect bodily fluids and clothing. They may also take photos of any visible injuries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Sexual Assault Evidence Kit (SAEK) is a tool that a health care team uses to collect forensic evidence that can help prosecute the assailant. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The SAEK keeps any DNA evidence. That evidence\ncan be used to help to prosecute and convict an assailant. It can also be used\nto confirm a survivor\u2019s experience, which can help them begin to heal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staff and doctors will always support a\nsurvivor\u2019s decision about whether to complete the SAEK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hospital only gives an SAEK to the police if the survivor wants us to do so. We will keep the SAEK for six months to give them time to make that decision. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are always here for those who need us. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If a survivor chooses to come to the hospital after a sexual assault, she or he will be met by a compassionate team. That team will offer medical care and emotional support, and, if the survivor chooses, will complete a Sexual Assault Evidence Kit that can help prosecute the assailant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":45793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[480,483,85],"class_list":["post-45791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthy-tomorrows","tag-compassion","tag-patients-as-partners","tag-sexual-assault"],"acf":[],"wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}