Compassionate care for rape victims in Wisconsin

Objective: The Wisconsin Alliance for Women's Health (WAWH) conducted a review of the Compassionate Care for Rape Victims (CCRV) Act to determine the effectiveness of this law, uncover barriers to compliance, and provide recommendations for next steps.

Problem: The CCRV Act requires all Wisconsin hospitals to provide oral and written information regarding emergency contraception (EC) to all victims of sexual assault and to dispense it immediately on-site when requested. However, victims are still not receiving compassionate care consistently.

Methods: A survey was distributed to all Wisconsin Hospital Emergency Rooms (n=124) and after three follow-up phone calls an 83.7% response rate was received. Data was collected regarding the consistency of compassionate care provided as well as barriers to complying with this law. Results: 84% of hospitals reported that they always offer EC immediately on-site. This is a dramatic improvement from 2007 when 42% of hospitals reported that this was not standard policy; however, 26% of hospitals are still non-compliant with the law. 23% reported “lack of available resources” and 15% reported “individual provider beliefs or variations in provider practices” as barriers to compliance. Other barriers including “unfamiliarity with the law” and “religious affiliation of hospital” were also commonly noted.

Conclusion: It is clear that knowledge about and adherence to CCRV is lacking in many Wisconsin emergency rooms. To avoid poor outcomes, victims must be provided the opportunity to prevent an unwanted pregnancy by their perpetrator and avoid further social, psychological and physical harm. Further outreach and education to hospitals is needed.