The Link Between the SAMFE and Police Perceptions of Victim Credibility

Abstract

While research has documented the evidentiary significance of sexual assault medical forensic exams (SAMFEs) to case processing, there has been less focus on SAMFEs’ relevance to extralegal case characteristics. This study, through focus groups with police officers and prosecutors, illuminates the link between two important case processing factors: the SAMFE and perceptions of victim credibility. The majority of respondent narratives about the utility of the SAMFE point to how it strengthens or weakens perceptions of victim credibility. This link points to the SAMFE’s important role in early case processing before investigators send DNA evidence for forensic testing.

Moving Forward While Looking Back: Understanding the Influence of a “Test All” SAK Mandate on Sexual Assault Case Attrition

“…Both possibilities may have concerning implications for victims. Yu and colleagues (2022) describe how forensic results that are inconsistent with the victim’s account of what happened may be used to undermine victim credibility, especially when SAKs are processed by health and law enforcement professionals without specialized training. Placing the findings of this study in context of the evaluative work of Davis et al (2020) and Mourtgos et al (2021) highlights the need to examine the unintended ways in which system actors adapt “test all” policies moving forward.…”

Police Decisions in a Rape Scenario: The Effect of Trauma Response, Forensic Evidence, Stranger–Perpetrators, and Rape Mythology

“…It may be that for acquaintance-perpetrated incidents, police value forensic medical exams, but not for evidentiary purposes because these are "consent cases," where suspect identity is not in question. Instead, research has noted that police interpret forensic evidence as a credibility marker, because "real" victims would willingly undergo an intrusive forensic medical exam (Yu et al, 2022) and this is indicative of cooperation (Bouffard, 2000)-both of which stem from normative judgments informed by the "classic rape" narrative.…”