GREEN BAY (WLUK) – Sexual violence is a reality faced by thousands in our community. But the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program, otherwise known as SANE, empowers victims while providing the medical support they need after a sexual assault encounter.

A room behind the emergency department at St. Vincent in Green Bay may look like an ordinary exam room, but for victims of sexual assault, it’s a safe space.

“I know we can’t take away what happened to them, but we can make this moment in time a lot easier for them because they have to go through it,” says Dana Stueber, clinical coordinator of the study. The HSHS St. Vincent SANE.

“Nurses who are specifically trained in patient care are the ones who report sexual violence,” says Stueber.

Here, Stueber says the patient is in charge, it’s all on their terms.

“You remember they’re traumatized, you want to make sure you give them back the power and control that’s been taken away from them.”

When patients are over 18, they have a few options.

If they are unsure about reporting the assault they have suffered, SANE providers give them the opportunity to decide whether they want their DNA collected during the exam.

“Every time you shower, you eat, you drink, all those activities, every time you do that, that takes DNA that might be available on your body, and so we give them the option to collect evidence, and the hospital will send. forensic laboratory.”

Even if the patient doesn’t immediately report their assault, the forensics lab will keep that evidence for the next 10 years.

“They have the choice to receive a SANE screening and have the option to report to law enforcement, or they have the option not to, but to offer victims that choice is an essential part of healing from their victimization,” says Holli Fisher of to Sexual. Family Services Assault Center of Green Bay.

For those who come to the SANE exam knowing they will make a police report, SANE providers will help the patient contact their local jurisdiction and contact the Sexual Assault Center if an attorney has not already been contacted. This way, the victim only has to share their story once.

For those under 18, the state of Wisconsin is required to report the SANE exam to law enforcement and the forensics lab.

Sexual assault kits used during evidence-gathering exams, known to many as rape kits, include Q-tips and envelopes to separate and label the DNA that has been collected. SANE nurses will also document injuries with a camera.

“The DNA could come from the lips, the mouth, it could come from a bruise, fingertip-like bruises, head to toe,” says Stueber.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the St. Vincent SANE. Stueber was here for 18 of them and saw it all; men, women and children.

“Sexual violence does not discriminate against your gender, your race, your prominence in the community,” she says. “Last year we had 229 meetings with patients. I call them meetings because not every one of them gets an exam or evidence collection. 11% were men and the rest were women.”

The biggest misconception about sexual violence, she says, is the injuries.

Last year, 63% of those he treated had no injuries at all.

“I think that makes it harder for victims to come forward because if they don’t see an injury, I don’t think anyone is going to believe that something happened to them.”

Stueber and her team hope that idea will change. And injuries or not, the team has a path and a treatment plan and will help provide next steps and resources for everyone.

“Our community is extremely fortunate to have a 24/7 sexual assault nurse screening program because many communities in Wisconsin don’t have that option,” Fisher says.

While the SANE team typically has a collection window of 120 hours after an attack, victims and patients can still contact and obtain medical resources, a health exam and more from the SANE team even after this period for 5 days.

Stueber says she’s proud to be part of a team that advocates so passionately for those affected by sexual violence, and she doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

“It happens. So if I’m able to do something that makes them more comfortable, then I feel like I’m making a difference.”

If you need support and assistance following a sexually violent experience, you can call the Sexual Assault Center at 920-436-8899. Details about medical exams via The SANE program can be found here.