II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2703 

To establish eligibility, assignment, training, and certification requirements 

for sexual assault forensic examiners for the Armed Forces, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 30, 2014 

Mrs. BOXER (for herself and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To establish eligibility, assignment, training, and certification 

requirements for sexual assault forensic examiners for 

the Armed Forces, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military SAFE Stand5 ards Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO SEXUAL ASSAULT 

7 FORENSIC EXAMINERS FOR THE ARMED 

8 FORCES. 

9 (a) PERSONNEL ELIGIBLE FOR ASSIGNMENT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), the individuals who may be assigned to 

3 duty as a sexual assault forensic examiner (SAFE) 

4 for the Armed Forces shall be members of the 

5 Armed Forces and civilian personnel of the Depart6 ment of Defense or Department of Homeland Secu7 rity who are as follows: 

8 (A) Physicians. 

9 (B) Nurse practitioners. 

10 (C) Nurse midwives. 

11 (D) Physician assistants. 

12 (E) Registered nurses. 

13 (2) INDEPENDENT DUTY CORPSMEN.—An inde14 pendent duty corpsman or equivalent may be as15 signed to duty as a sexual assault forensic examiner 

16 for the Armed Forces if the assignment of an indi17 vidual specified in paragraph (1) is impracticable. 

18 (b) AVAILABILITY OF EXAMINERS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 

20 shall ensure the availability of an adequate number 

21 of sexual assault forensic examiners for the Armed 

22 Forces through the following: 

23 (A) Assignment of at least one sexual as24 sault forensic examiner at each military medical 

25 treatment facility under the jurisdiction of such 


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1 Secretary, whether in the United States or 

2 overseas. 

3 (B) If assignment as described in subpara4 graph (A) is infeasible or impracticable, entry 

5 into agreements with facilities, whether Govern6 mental or otherwise, with appropriate resources 

7 for the provision of sexual assault forensic ex8 aminations, for the provision of sexual assault 

9 forensic examinations for the Armed Forces. 

10 (2) NAVAL VESSELS.—The Secretary concerned 

11 shall ensure the availability of an adequate number 

12 of sexual assault forensic examiners for naval vessels 

13 through the assignment of at least one sexual as14 sault forensic examiner for each naval vessel. 

15 (c) TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 

17 shall establish and maintain, and update when ap18 propriate, a training and certification program for 

19 sexual assault forensic examiners under the jurisdic20 tion of such Secretary. The training and certification 

21 programs shall apply uniformly to all sexual assault 

22 forensic examiners under the jurisdiction of the Sec23 retaries. 


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1 (2) ELEMENTS.—Each training and certifi2 cation program under this subsection shall include 

3 the following: 

4 (A) Training in sexual assault forensic ex5 aminations by qualified personnel who pos6 sess— 

7 (i) a Sexual Assault Nurse Exam8 iner—adolescent/adult (SANE–A) certifi9 cation or equivalent certification; or 

10 (ii) training and clinical or forensic 

11 experience in sexual assault forensic exami12 nations similar to that required for a cer13 tification described in clause (i). 

14 (B) A minimum of 40 hours of coursework 

15 for participants in sexual assault forensic ex16 aminations of adults and adolescents. 

17 (C) Ongoing examinations and evaluations 

18 on sexual assault forensic examinations. 

19 (D) Clinical mentoring. 

20 (E) Continuing education. 

21 (3) NATURE OF TRAINING.—The training pro22 vided under each training and certification program 

23 under this subsection shall incorporate and reflect 

24 current best practices and standards on sexual as25 sault forensic examinations. 


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1 (4) APPLICABILITY OF TRAINING REQUIRE2 MENTS.—An individual may not be assigned to duty 

3 as a sexual assault forensic examiner for the Armed 

4 Forces after the date that is one year after the date 

5 of the enactment of this Act unless the individual 

6 has completed all training required under the train7 ing and certification program under this subsection 

8 at the time of assignment. 

9 (5) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON CERTIFICATION.— 

10 It is the sense of Congress that each participant who 

11 successfully completes all training required under 

12 the certification and training program under this 

13 subsection should obtain a Sexual Assault Nurse Ex14 aminer—adolescent/adult certification or equivalent 

15 certification by not later than five years after com16 pletion of such training. 

17 (6) EXAMINERS UNDER AGREEMENTS.—Any in18 dividual providing sexual assault forensic examina19 tions for the Armed Forces under an agreement 

20 under subsection (b)(1)(B) shall possess training 

21 and experience equivalent to the training and experi22 ence required under the training and certification 

23 program under this subsection. 

24 (d) SECRETARY CONCERNED DEFINED.—In this sec25 tion, the term ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means— 


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1 (1) the Secretary of Defense with respect to 

2 matters concerning the Department of Defense; and 

3 (2) the Secretary of Homeland Security with re4 spect to matters concerning the Coast Guard when 

5 it is not operating as a service in the Navy. 

6 (e) REPEAL OF SUPERSEDED REQUIREMENTS.—Sec7 tion 1725 of the National Defense Authorization Act for 

8 Fiscal Year 2014 (Public Law 113–66; 127 Stat. 971) is 

9 amended by striking subsection (b) (10 U.S.C. 1561 note). 

Æ 


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