A Scottish Parliament committee has backed a Bill which aims to support the health needs of sexual offence victims.
The legislation would allow victims aged over 16 to self-refer to NHS facilities and have forensic evidence taken, before deciding if they want to report the incident to the police.
The Forensic Medical Services (Victims of Sexual Offences) (Scotland) Bill was considered by Holyrood’s Health Committee earlier this year.
During an evidence session, Sandy Brindley, chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland branded the current arrangements “an embarrassment”.
Committee convener Lewis Macdonald said legislation needs strengthened so victims had more information when deciding whether to report.
He said: “Victims of sexual offences should be able to access medical treatment in as simple a manner as possible.
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here