Ordeal at Any Age

Rape victims in Los Angeles County often must wait six to 10 hours in a hospital emergency room before they are examined. During that time, they may not eat, drink or change clothes because that might compromise evidence of the assault. Once underway, half of the examinations are interrupted by more urgent cases. These anxiety-causing delays are bad enough when the victim is an adult; when the victim is a child--as was the case in the Antelope Valley earlier this week--they are inexcusable.

A 4-year-old girl, who police suspect was assaulted by her 12-year-old cousin, was kept waiting 90 minutes in the emergency room of Lancaster Community Hospital on Monday as the doctor on duty tended to other patients. Deputies claimed the doctor ignored the child and then treated her roughly when the exam finally took place. The doctor said she was frustrated in efforts to point out evidence of prior abuse to police and that the emergency room was particularly busy.

This incident points up how problematic emergency room rape examinations often are, regardless of the age of the victim. Simple circumstance, more than neglect, is to blame. Most emergency rooms are ill-equipped to meet the special needs of rape victims. More often than not, victims have to recount the assault several times to different investigators. The process can be humiliating, and advocates for reform suggest it’s one of the reasons only 10% of sexual assaults are reported.

That’s why special rape examination and treatment centers are such a good idea. Fairly inexpensive to operate, the centers offer uninterrupted exams done by specially trained nurses. Police collect the bulk of their information in one interview. Victims are given care packages that include fresh clothes. The process takes about three hours. Such programs already are in place in Long Beach and downtown Los Angeles. Another is opening in Panorama City in an unused corner of an emergency room.

The creation of similar centers should be considered in the Antelope Valley, as well as other communities. Already the Antelope Valley has a service that dispatches volunteers to stay with victims throughout the examination and interviews. It’s a good start, but volunteers often find themselves struggling to prevent an awful situation from becoming worse. Rape treatment centers surely would make the situation better.