Programs

Sexual Assault Victims

Sexual Assault Victims

In October 2018, Governor Phil Murphy asked the Attorney General’s Office to study whether the state could take additional steps to support victims of sexual assault. The following month, the Attorney General announced a series of policy changes designed to make New Jersey a national model for the investigation and prosecution of sexual assault cases. At the heart of these policies is a commitment to treating victims with respect and understanding in the days, weeks, and months after reporting an assault.

  • Ensuring a victim-centered approach. As part of the policy changes, the Attorney General issued the Attorney General Standards for Providing Services to Victims of Sexual Assault, Third Edition (“Standards”), which provide a set of fourteen protocols that prioritize the needs and concerns of sexual assault victims in New Jersey. The Standards focus on delivering services to victims in a timely and non-judgmental manner, including by:
    • Ensuring the victim’s safety is the top priority;
    • Respecting the integrity, choices, and autonomy of each victim;
    • Protecting the victim’s privacy and confidential information;
    • Identifying and responding to the obstacles some victims may face when seeking help; and
    • Recognizing the importance of victim feedback in improving responses to sexual assault.
  • Providing a “response team” for every victim. Under the Standards, victims may seek the assistance of a Sexual Assault Response Team, or SART, which is available to any victim 13 years or older who reports an assault within five days. Each SART consists of a confidential sexual violence advocate (CSVA), a forensic nurse examiner (FNE), and a law enforcement officer. Victims may request SART services by calling 9-1-1 or presenting at a law enforcement agency, a healthcare facility, or a sexual violence service organization.
  • Enhancing oversight of criminal investigations. Also in late 2018, the Attorney General issued a statewide directive that created new requirements and enhanced oversight for sexual assault investigations and prosecutions. The directive requires, among other things, that that police departments report sexual assault allegations to prosecutors within 24 hours, that prosecutors obtain supervisory approval for all decisions regarding criminal charges in sexual assault cases, and that, if a prosecutor declines to bring charges, that he or she provide the victim with an opportunity meet in person to learn why.
  • Pushing back against federal efforts to weaken Title IX protections for students. In 2019, the Attorney General partnered with N.J. Secretary of Higher Education Zakiya Smith Ellis to oppose a proposal by the U.S. Department of Education that would weaken federal law’s protections for students who have endured sexual violence and harassment. When the federal government pushed forward with new rules undermining Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments Act, Attorney General Grewal led a coalition of state attorneys general in a lawsuit to protect students.

Additional Resources

AG Directive 2018-5
Sexual Assault Victim’s Bill of Rights

NJ Forensic Nurse Examiner and Sexual Assault Response Team

NJ offers Forensic Nurse Examiner/Sexual Assault Response Team services throughout the state in every county for victims of any age.  If a victim of sexual assault or rape seeks medical attention or treatment at a hospital within five days, a medical-forensic exam is conducted by a Forensic Nurse Examiner (FNE) who is specially trained to care for individuals who have experienced a sexual assault. The purpose of the exam is to provide the victim with the medical care they need; including patient education, prophylaxis for sexually transmitted infections (STI’s), pregnancy, emergency contraception and obtaining specimens for analysis that may be used as evidence. Referrals for follow-up care are also provided. The medical-forensic exam is free and a victim of sexual assault does not need to report the assault to the police to have an exam.  New Jersey FNEs are on call 24-hours a day.  Some FNE programs offer extended services outside of sexual assault.  Individuals may access FNE/SART services through their local hospital ED, local police department, local rape care hotline. The FNE Program coordinator can be reached through the county prosecutor’s office using the numbers listed below.

Atlantic County:                    609.909.7800 Middlesex County:                 732.745.3333
Bergen County:                     201.646.2300 Monmouth County:             732.431.7160
Burlington County:                609.265.5035 Morris County:                      973.285.6200
Camden County:                    856.225.8400 Ocean County:                       732.929.2027
Cape May County:                 609.465.1135 Passaic County:                      973.881.4800
Cumberland County:          856.453.0486 x115 Salem County:                   856.935.7510 x8333
Essex County:                         973.383.1570 Somerset County:                 908.575.3300
Hudson County:                     201.795.6400 Sussex County:                       973.383.1500
Hunterdon County:               908.788.1129 Union County:                        908.527.4500
Mercer County:                      609.989.6305 Warren County:                      908.475.6287

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