Rape and Sexual Assault

The Forensic Medical Services (Victims of Sexual Offences) (Scotland) Act 2021 (FMS Act) came into force on 1 April 2022. It places a statutory duty on health boards to provide forensic medical services for victims of sexual offences. The Act establishes a legal framework for consistent access to “self-referral” where a victim can access healthcare and request a Forensic Medical Examination (FME) without first having to make a report to the police. In addition, and as part of a person centred approach, individuals will be able to request the sex of the examiner involved in their care.

To contact Archway Glasgow directly for advice, please phone: 0141 211 8175. Archway is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Self-referral means that people don’t need to be referred by a GP or other healthcare professional to access a Sexual Assault Response Co-ordination Service (SARCS).

A SARCS will be available in each health board to address people’s immediate healthcare needs and if appropriate, to access a FME, which could gather forensic evidence which could help the police to confirm the identity of the person who carried out the assault. The SARCS will keep this evidence for a period of 26 months, in case people want to tell the police at a later date.

NHS Inform will provide information on how to access self-referral services through a new national 24/7/365 telephony service hosted by NHS 24. Information on the service can be found at their website here.

As a Healthcare professional you may find yourself in a position where a person discloses to you that they have been raped or sexually assaulted. It is important that you know what to do if that happens. A guidance document, has been developed that summarises how to support someone who discloses rape or sexual assault and the options available to them. This guidance can be accessed here.

A range of material to support the implementation of self-referral services has been developed by the CMO Taskforce for Rape and Sexual Assault and can be found here.