Overview
Survivors of sexual assault deserve to be treated with dignity and compassion when seeking treatment after a sexual assault. Services are available to assault survivors, including access to a sexual assault exam at an emergency room. To ensure that evidence collected in sexual assault cases is handled in a consistent manner, a team of emergency room nurses, crime laboratory personnel, and prosecutors collaborated in the late 1980s to develop a standard procedure in Massachusetts for collecting evidence in sexual assault cases. This group created the Massachusetts Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit (MSAECK) and Toxicology Kit (Tox Kit). They later created the nation’s first Pediatric Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit (MA PEDI Kit) in 2005.
The MSAECK is a sealed box containing a detailed protocol and all the medical equipment to conduct a thorough forensic medical exam of sexual assault survivors who are age 12 and older at the time of the assault. The MA PEDI Kit is used to conduct a forensic medical exam of child sexual assault survivors ages 11 and under. The Tox Kit is available for victims suspected of being drugged in connection with a sexual assault. Evidence collected during these exams can be used by police and prosecutors in a criminal investigation or prosecution.
The State Legislature provides funding for this program to the Office of Grants and Research (OGR).
A multi-disciplinary MSAECK Advisory Committee provides guidance, information and technical assistance regarding the contents and distribution of the MSAECK, MA PEDI Kit and Tox kit. The Advisory Committee is co-chaired by OGR’s Violence Against Women Act Grant Program Administrator and the Director, Associate Director and Boston SANE Regional Coordinator of the Department of Public Health’s Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program.
For additional information regarding mandated reporting, please contact the Department of Children and Families, the Executive Office of Elder Affairs or the Disabled Persons Protection Commission.
Payment for Examinations
Under the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), all patients are eligible to have the cost of their forensic exam covered by the state of Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office, Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, Executive Office of Health and Human Services and Massachusetts Hospital Association developed detailed guidance regarding the billing procedures for a sexual assault forensic examination. This guidance ensures a victim is not billed for any services provided in the emergency department, unless the patient chooses to use health insurance.
For questions regarding the payment for exams, please contact the Attorney General's Victim Compensation and Assistance Division at 617-963-2160.
Tracking a Kit
Survivors can access information on the location and status of their MSAECK using Track-Kit. This is a free and confidential service.