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SANE Program Development and Operation Guide: Philadelphia Sexual Assault Response Center TRANSCRIPT

DR. RALPH RIVIELLO, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, PHILADELPHIA SEXUAL ASSAULT RESPONSE CENTER: Several years ago, the Philadelphia Sexual Assault Advisory Committee saw that victims were waiting too long in emergency departments and were walking out without getting their examinations, and they weren't getting a criminal justice response. So we created the Philadelphia Sexual Assault Response Center because we realized that the victims didn't have true hospital needs, they had more forensic needs and simple medical needs. In creating a center where everybody is co-located, it makes it easier for the victim to get the services that they need. In the past, we had victims travel from hospital to police station to interview by the detectives, and sometimes they crisscrossed the city getting to all of those services. Now they can come to one location, have an interview by their Special Victims detective, walk literally 50 feet down the hallway and be in the medical section, where they get their medical forensic examination.