Podcasts Health & Fitness Medicine The AJN Podcast Interview with Laurie Cook Heffron, author of Original Research: Giving Sexual Assault Survivors time to Decide: An Exploration of the Use and Effects of the Nonreport Option (March, 2014)

Interview with Laurie Cook Heffron, author of Original Research: Giving Sexual Assault Survivors time to Decide: An Exploration of the Use and Effects of the Nonreport Option (March, 2014)

Published: Feb. 26, 2014, 4:45 p.m.

b'\\nIt used to be that evidence of sexual assault was not collected during the initial health exam unless the assault survivor had already initiated a report to law enforcement agencies. However, recognizing the trauma surrounding an assault, some states do conduct a forensic exam, store the evidence and allow survivors up to two years to decide whether or not to report the crime. Lead author Laurie Heffron discusses with AJN editor-in-chief Shawn Kennedy the findings of her mixed methods study of the impact of this nonreport option on health professionals, survivors and the criminal justice system.'