The second day of public hearings in the Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence has heard victim-survivors from regional and remote areas are being deterred from seeking forensic medical examinations. The commission heard instances of women travelling hours or even days to Adelaide for the time-sensitive treatment, with some not being able to make the trip at all.
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00:00A glaring gap in health care for victim-survivors in regional and rural South Australia brought
00:08to light.
00:09Is there the same access to the sexual assault health response and to forensic medical examinations
00:17in regional or remote areas?
00:21There isn't the same access.
00:23On the second day of public hearings into the Royal Commission into Domestic, Family
00:28and Sexual Violence, evidence of women forced to wait for a forensic medical examination
00:34in the aftermath of sexual trauma.
00:37These delays are many hours because they're coming from quite long distances and I'm aware
00:43of circumstances even in the last 12 months where people have either transported themselves,
00:48one victim-survivor came by bus.
00:51The Commission heard only eight doctors and nurses are trained to do the specialist testing
00:56across South Australian regional local health networks, meaning victim-survivors in most
01:02cases need to make an uncomfortable trip to Adelaide, sometimes at their own expense.
01:09For many victim-survivors if they want to report to the police they are going to want
01:12to preserve their evidence so they don't necessarily change clothing or wash.
01:18Police say forensic examinations are ideally carried out within 72 hours.
01:25Executive Chief Superintendent Cath Hilliard told the Commission, while police try to transport
01:30victim-survivors, it's dependent on local resourcing.
01:34Are there cases where this travel might be enough to deter a victim-survivor from undertaking
01:40the procedure?
01:41Yes.
01:42Has that happened?
01:44Yes.
01:45Since beginning its work in July, the Royal Commission has held multiple sittings in the
01:50regions to speak to victim-survivors and health professionals.
01:54The Commissioner says barriers to accessing timely forensic examinations have been raised
02:00every time.
02:01Public hearings continue next month.