Good Care Rare for NYC Rape Victims

By Alison Bowen, WeNews correspondent

(WOMENSENEWS)--

About 70 percent of rape victims do not receive specialized care in New York City emergency rooms, according to research released April 12 by the advocacy group New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault.

The care a rape victim receives depends on whether the hospital's emergency room has a sexual assault response team or a sexual assault forensic examiner program. Known as SAFE programs, these procedures ensure that victims have access to vital resources, including specialized equipment for forensic evidence collection, specially trained nurse practitioners, and physicians and victims' advocates.

"I suspect more people in my situation would have a very difficult time explaining (what they need) without a victim's advocate," said Cheryl Wheeler, a rape survivor during a press conference announcing the research findings. She said she was taken to the emergency room wearing only a coat, which was taken away as evidence, had to repeatedly ask for something to cover herself, was questioned and photographed by male detectives and accompanied by men in the ambulance and cab ride home.

Debi Fry, the alliance's research director, said the group's goal is to ensure victims the option of transport to a hospital with SAFE services and to expand those services to five more hospitals, adding to the 17 that currently exist in New York City.

More News to Jeer This Week:

    * An appointee of World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz ordered reproductive health references to be deleted from an anti-poverty proposal for Madagascar, the Financial Times reported April 12. An internal document obtained by the newspaper indicated that Juan Jose Daboub, a conservative politician from El Salvador, instructed staff to delete references to family planning, even though the Madagascar government requested assistance in that area. Wolfowitz said the revelation did not indicate a change in World Bank policy on reproductive health issues. The news came as the 10,000-member Bank Staff Association called for the resignation of Wolfowitz for helping to secure a raise and promotion for a woman with whom he was romantically involved.

    * One in 3 women are undertreated for ovarian cancer, according to research published by the University of Washington April 9. Reuters reported that women over the age of 70, African Americans, Hispanics and Medicaid patients often do not receive the comprehensive recommended treatments including aggressive surgery or chemotherapy.

    * Female civil servants in India must now provide information about their menstrual cycles on employee forms. New nationwide requirements on forms from the federal Ministry for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions also require women to give the date of their last maternity leave. Government officials say the questions were recommended by health officials.

Alison Bowen is a New York-based reporter with Women's eNews.

[1]: http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/3134/context/outrage
[2]: http://www.nycagainstrape.org/home/nycaasa/stage.nycagainstrape.org/press_detail_1.html
[3]: http://www.nycagainstrape.org/home/nycaasa/stage.nycagainstrape.org/press_detail_4.html

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