Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Dating App Facilitated Sexual Assault: A Retrospective Review Of Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examination Charts, Julie L. Valentine, Leslie W. Miles, Kristen Mella Hamblin, Aubrey Worthen Gibbons

Faculty Publications

Dating app facilitated sexual assault (DAppSA) is a concerning phenomenon with minimal published research. This retrospective study explored if DAppSAs were different than other sexual assaults (SAs) committed by acquaintances through a review of 3,413 sexual assault medical forensic examination (SAMFE) charts from 2017 to 2020 in a Mountain West state in the United States. Routine Activities Theory and Confluence Model of sexual aggression provided the theoretical framework for the study. Inclusion criteria for DAppSA cases included (1) victim was 14 years of age or older; (2) victim indicated meeting the perpetrator on a dating app; (3) SA occurred at …

Ability To Consent To A Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examination In Adult Patients With Serious Mental Illness, Leslie W. Miles, Eleanore Knox, Nancy Downing, Julie L. Valentine

Faculty Publications

When a patient reporting a sexual assault (SA) presents with signs and symptoms of serious mental illness (MI), medical providers or forensic examiners may have concerns regarding the ability to legally consent to a sexual assault medical forensic examination (SAMFE). Numerous encounters have occurred where a SAMFE was not offered to a cooperative adult patient because the patient exhibited signs and symptoms of MI. Medical providers and examiners may be motivated by beneficence (believing that treating the patient's MI must take priority over the SAMFE) and/or non-maleficence (a concern that the in-depth SAMFE may worsen the patient's psychological state). Situations …

Mental Illness As A Vulnerability For Sexual Assault: A Retrospective Study Of 7,455 Sexual Assault Forensic Medical Examinations, Leslie Miles, Julie L. Valentine, Linda Mabey, Nancy R. Downing

Faculty Publications

Background: Persons with severe mental illness (MI) are at a high risk of becoming victims of sexual assault (SA). Vulnerability for SA with any type of MI is unknown. This study aimed to identify the prevalence of preexisting MI and other significant factors in patients reporting preexisting MI at the time of their SA medical forensic examinations (SAMFEs).

Method: A retrospective SAMFE chart review of patients ( N = 7,455) from 2010 to 2020 was conducted. Sexual assault nurse examiners completed SAMFEs. Inclusion criteria included (a) aged 14 years and older, (b) completed SAMFE with SA kit evidence collection, and …