Equally Safe: consultation on legislation to improve forensic medical services for victims of rape and sexual assault

About the consultation

The Scottish Government's Programme for Government 2018-19^[1] committed the Government to consulting on proposals to clarify in legislation the responsibility for forensic medical services to ensure that access to healthcare, as well as a forensic medical examination for victims of rape and sexual assault, is a NHS priority. This paper therefore seeks views on how new legislation might be brought forward to improve forensic medical services for victims of rape and sexual assault. The Scottish Government will be carrying out complementary consultation and engagement activities during the consultation period. Follow twitter account @EquallySafeScot and hashtag #EquallySafeFMS for updates on the consultation.

Responding to this consultation

Please respond to this consultation using the online platform 'Citizen Space' which can be found at: https://consult.scotland.gov.uk/. You can save and return to your responses whilst the consultation is still open. Please ensure that consultation responses are submitted before the closing date.

If you are unable to respond using 'Citizen Space', please send your views and comments either by email to equallysafefms@gov.scot or by posting a paper copy to:

Keir Liddle
Violence against Women and Girls and Barnahus Justice Unit
Scottish Government
GWR St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG

However you respond, please complete the Respondent Information Form (see 'Handling your response' below). Responses should reach us by 8^th May 2019. Earlier responses would be welcome.

Handling your response

If you respond using 'Citizen Space', you will be automatically directed to the Respondent Information Form at the start of the questionnaire. This will let us know how you wish your response to be handled and, in particular, whether you are happy for your response to be made public.

If you are unable to respond via 'Citizen Space', please complete and return the Respondent Information Form attached to the end of this document. This will ensure that we treat your response appropriately.

All respondents need to be aware that the Scottish Government is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002^[2] and would therefore have to consider any request made to it under the 2002 Act for information relating to responses made to this consultation exercise.

Next steps in the process

Where respondents have given permission for their response to be made public, and after we have checked that they contain no potentially unlawful or offensive material (for example defamatory material), or personal data, responses will be made available to the public at http://consult.gov.scot. If you use the consultation hub to respond, you will receive a copy of your response via email.

Following the closing date, all responses will be analysed and considered along with any other available evidence to help us. Responses will be published where we have been given permission to do so. An analysis report will also be made available.

Comments and complaints

If you have any comments about how this consultation exercise has been conducted, please send them to the contact address above.

Scottish Government consultation process

Consultation is an essential part of the policymaking process. It gives us the opportunity to consider your opinion and expertise on a proposed area of work.

You can find all our consultations online: http://consult.gov.scot. Each consultation details the issues under consideration, as well as a way for you to give us your views, either online, by email or by post.

Responses will be analysed and used as part of the decision making process, along with a range of other available information and evidence. We will publish a report of this analysis for every consultation. Depending on the nature of the consultation exercise the responses received may:

• indicate the need for policy development or review;
• inform the development of a particular policy;
• help decisions to be made between alternative policy proposals; and/or
• be used to finalise legislation before it is implemented.

Whilst details of particular circumstances described in a response to a consultation exercise may usefully inform the policy process, consultation exercises cannot address individual concerns and comments, which should be directed to the relevant public body.