If somebody is raped can a hospital refuse to treat them unless they make a formal st

fedela

I know a girl who is well know for lying and attention seeking and she claims she was raped. She told me that the only reason she reported it, is because the hospital refused to treat her until she reported it to the guards. Does this sound like bullsh*t or no? Are hospitals allowed do this?

Wile E. Coyote

I call bull**** on this. A hospital can't pick and choose who they treat and they're not going to deny treatment to a rape victim. They might notify the Guards but it's up to the victim whether they want to proceed with the allegation.

TheNog

I second the bull**** call on this

Pat Mustard

So, a girl who is well known for lying tells a story that is hard to believe.

Doesn't inspire a lot of confidence.

FactCheck

Legally, no a hospital cannot force somebody to make a statement to the guards.

They can, however, call the guards and notify them about the situation.

Also many rape victims report feeling pressured, even by well-meaning friends, family, rape counsellors, doctors, and gardai, into making statements and cooperating with investigations even when they don't want to. It might be better for their own mental health and recovery to simply say nothing and try to get on with their lies. But there's a school of thought (which isn't necessarily wrong, it just doesn't put victims first) that a victim must always attempt to force an investigation and prosecution, lest he or she somehow become partly responsible if their attacker goes on to attack someone else. It's easy to see how somebody could feel they were forced to make a statement when they didn't want to.

You're not looking for personal advice here, but glancing at your past posts you seem to be just out of school. My advice is that you should take full advantage of the fact that you don't have to associate with this person any more and just stay clear of her. There is nothing to be gained from trying to prove her a liar. Mostly because the pain you'd cause if you turned out to be wrong is unthinkable. But even if you were right, what will you gain? Everybody already knows she's full of rubbish.

Just steer clear.

fedela

I'm not going to say anything to the girl about it. Just wanted to be absolutely sure she was lying and I was curious if hospitals were actually allowed to do that.

Sheldons Brain

No hospital would refuse treatment. But their treatment could have implications for evidence, so they would encourage any victim to make a formal report so that evidence could be collected.

Little CuChulainn

No hospital A+E would refuse to treat injuries as a result of a rape just because it wasn't reported. They might not collect DNA and other evidence without Garda involvement though.

This quote is from the HSE website on Sexual Assault Treatment Units

The SATU services respond to requests from the Gardaí for the collection of forensic evidence to aid the legal process and also provide services for people who do not wish to report the incident to the Gardaí.

http://www.hse.ie/satu/

FreudianSlippers

I believe in the UK, you can request a rape-kit to be done at the hospital before you decide whether you want police involvement, as many people aren't sure if they want to make a formal report right away, but they still want to ensure that evidence is preserved in case they want to make a report in the future.

conorh91

FactCheck wrote: »

Also many rape victims report feeling pressured, even by well-meaning friends, family, rape counsellors, doctors, and gardai, into making statements and cooperating with investigations even when they don't want to. It might be better for their own mental health and recovery to simply say nothing and try to get on with their lies.

I presume 'lies' is a typo.

I don't want to be cold, but this isn't all about the rape victim. There are future potential rape victims to be concerned about. About 1 in 6 individuals convicted of a sexual offence will re-offend within two years of their probation. Re-offending is (obviously) anticipated to be more frequent among those individuals who have not been investigated nor convicted.

It is conceivable that a prosecution would have no therapeutic role in the recovery of a victim of a sexual offence. On the other hand, there is an important moral obligation to report sexual offences when they occur, quite apart from any benefit that may accrue directly to the victim of a sexual offence.

234

conorh91 wrote: »

I presume 'lies' is a typo.

I don't want to be cold, but this isn't all about the rape victim. There are future potential rape victims to be concerned about. About 1 in 6 individuals convicted of a sexual offence will re-offend within two years of their probation. Re-offending is (obviously) anticipated to be more frequent among those individuals who have not been investigated nor convicted.

It is conceivable that a prosecution would have no therapeutic role in the recovery of a victim of a sexual offence. On the other hand, there is an important moral obligation to report sexual offences when they occur, quite apart from any benefit that may accrue directly to the victim of a sexual offence.

True, but in many cases the moral obligation to report is outweighed by the mentally crippling effects that sexual assault and abuse can produce in a victim.

conorh91

234 wrote: »

True, but in many cases the moral obligation to report is outweighed by the mentally crippling effects that sexual assault and abuse can produce in a victim.

And reporting a crime doesn't allay those effects.

The balance is not between the commission of a sexual offence and reporting; there is no relationship there at all. The balance that arises is between the weight of the obligation to report, as against the weight of the burden of the investigative and prosecutorial processes on the victim.

As much as the latter processes may compound a victim's mental stress, the greater harm (the offence) has already come into being. In extreme cases, where a victim is suicidal or suffering psychiatric illness, there's clearly a valid basis for disengaging from the criminal process.

But otherwise, in the vast majority of cases, I don't see how or why anybody would, or should, disengage.

Peregrinus

If you say you were raped, the hospital will encourage you to report immediately, because the treatment they offer you may compromise the usefulness of any forensic evidence later gathered about your condition. And they may encourage you to defer treatment for a couple of hours until you have been offered forensic medical procedures.

But it's your call, not the hospital's, and they will respect your decision.

ABajaninCork

I think the girl is to be pitied. Sounds like she might be an attention-seeker and needs serious help...

fedela

ABajaninCork wrote: »

I think the girl is to be pitied. Sounds like she might be an attention-seeker and needs serious help...

That's exactly what I thought. She claimed he spiked her drink and that it's now in the hands of the guards. I wonder did she lie about reporting it to the guards too or if she actually did purposely trying to get a man in trouble! I hope not!