Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs: Alternative systems for service delivery for sexual assault victims

Abstract

In recent years, new programs have emerged in hospital emergency departments to care for sexual assault victims. These programs, collectively known as Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs, improve the treatment of sexual assault victims through explicit attention to the medical, emotional, and legal needs of sexual assault survivors. Although SANE programs have proliferated over the past several years and now number nearly 100 nationwide, details about how these alternative services were developed have been missing in the literature. In this article, two recently established SANE programs are studied in depth to reveal how rape crisis centers in different communities created these services. Factors associated with the successful implementation of these SANE programs included (a) strong organizational history, (b) use of sexual assault councils and task forces, (c) affiliation with larger organizations, (d) positive relationships with hospitals, (e) engaging in training and collaboration with community systems, and (f) strategies for resolving differences. Implications for the health care of sexual assault victims are discussed.