SART protocols/guidelines are agreements between agencies about the provision of sexual assault services and the roles and responsibilities of core responders. See examples of protocols from around the country, including statewide and local materials.
Our updated Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) Toolkit is designed to support SARTs in all aspects of their work.
Sexual violence can affect many aspects of a survivor's life, including safety and health, family and work situations, and finances. These challenges often lead to perplexing personal and legal questions. To receive basic assistance, victims often must navigate a maze of governmental and community agencies.
Sexual Assault Response Teams (SARTs) help survivors through the maze of community services available to them, and uses the experiences of survivors to improve those services.
In August of 2017, the Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice (NIJ) released a report on National Best Practices for Sexual Assault Kits: A Multidisciplinary Approach. In 2013, the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Report Act (SAFER Act) was passed into law amending the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 to provide funds for grants to be administered to laboratories to address the critical need of eliminating the backlog of sexual assault kits, the law requires an establishment of protocols and practices.
The purpose of the SANE Program Development and Operation Guide (Guide) is to provide a blueprint for nurses and communities that would like to start a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program. For communities with existing SANE programs, the Guide serves as a resource to help expand or enhance services provided to the community. This Guide is designed to both complement and integrate resources that already exist.
The guidance, through a series of detailed case examples, advises law enforcement agencies to incorporate the following principles into clear policies, comprehensive training and effective supervision protocols:
This practitioner focused report of findings from a national research project on Sexual Assault Response Team functioning and effectiveness.
The full version of the technical research report to the National Institute of Justice is available online.
Scientific publications of the data in peer-reviewed journals with full methodological details are also available.
Publish Date
May 2015
The 2014 Fall & Winter edition of The Resource celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act.
This document, written by Hallie Martynuik, provides infomation on steps to created an institution based SART as well as lessons learned.
Publish Date
2012
This guide provides information that will help in responding to transgender survivors of sexual assault in a way that is helpful, informed, and supportive.
Access the guide.
Publish Date
2014