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

Glossary

CMO -the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, Dr Catherine Calderwood^[3].

CMO Taskforce -the Taskforce for the improvement of services for adults and children who have experienced rape and sexual assault^[4].

Forensic Medical Services - Forensic services, in the widest sense, are the collection and analysis of scientific evidence and the presentation of evidence at court, for the purposes of a criminal investigation or prosecution. This consultation concerns forensic medical services for victims of rape and sexual assault specifically.

HMICS -Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland^[5] who have produced, amongst other things, a March 2017 strategic overview of the provision of forensic medical services to victims of sexual crime^[6].

Police referral – the traditional model for the provision of forensic medical services where the sexual offending is reported to the police.

Self-referral – a model for the provision of forensic medical services where the sexual offending is not reported to the police, but where there is the possibility of the offending being reported at a later date. For the position of victims who are children or young people see Chapter 5.

Victim - the Scottish Government recognises that some victims of serious offences prefer to be referred to as survivors and that the term of art in the criminal justice sector is complainers. For the purposes of this consultation document, reference to victims includes reference to survivors and complainers.