While a range of clinicians can conduct forensic exams, specialized nurses called sexual assault nurse examiners (SANE) receive rigorous training to provide trauma-informed care throughout the evidence collection and examination process.
SANEs also connect survivors with resources and advocates. SANEs and the advocates they connect survivors with are vital for trauma-informed patient care and for bringing perpetrators of sexual assault to justice. But there is a critical shortage of SANEs across the Gulf South. According to the International Association of Forensic Nurses, a trade group that certifies SANEs, Alabama has 44 certified SANEs for the entire state. Louisiana has 42. Mississippi only has 6 — for a population of almost three million.
Where and how sexual assault patients access this resource varies greatly across the region. Although Louisiana state law requires patients have access to forensic exams in every parish, in practice not every hospital is set up to provide them.