|
STEP 7
VAGINAL (AND PENILE) SWABS AND SMEARS |
| General
Information |
| The purpose
of making smears is to allow the forensic analyst to test
microscopically for the presence of spermatozoa. If no
spermatozoa are present, the analyst will then proceed to
use the swab(s) to identify the seminal plasma components
to confirm the presence of semen. |
| The number of
tests that forensic laboratories can perform is limited by
the quantity of semen or other fluids collected.
Therefore, two swabs should be used when collecting
specimen from body orifices. |
| Depending
upon the type of sexual assault, semen may be detected in
the mouth, vagina and rectum. However, embarrassment,
trauma, or a lack of understanding of the nature of the
assault may cause a victim to be vague or mistaken about
the type of sexual contact that actually occurred. For
these reasons, and because there also can be leakage of
semen from the vagina or penis into the anus, even without
rectal penetration, it is recommended that the victim be
encouraged to allow all three orifices to be examined and
specimen collected from them. |
| In cases
where a victim insists that contact or penetration
involved only one or two orifices (or in some
circumstances, no orifices at all), it is important for
the victim to be able to refuse these additional tests.
This "right of refusal" also will serve to reinforce a
primary therapeutic principle — that of returning control
to the victim. |
| When taking
swabs, the examiner should take special care not to
contaminate the individual collection with secretions or
matter from other areas, such as vaginal to rectal or
penile to rectal. Such contamination may unnecessarily
jeopardize future court proceedings. |
| If victims
must use bathroom facilities prior to the collection of
these specimens, they should be cautioned that semen or
other evidence may be present in their pubic, genital and
rectal areas and to take special care not to wash or wipe
away those secretions until after the evidence has been
collected. |
| A pencil
should be used when labeling frosted-end slides to lessen
the chance that the labeling information will become
smudged. |
| Vaginal
Swabs and Smears |
| When
collecting the vaginal specimen, it is important not to
aspirate the vaginal orifice or to dilute the secretions
in any way. No lubricant (or solution) should be used. |
| Vaginal
Swabs and Smears Collection Procedure |
| The vaginal
smears are prepared by using two cotton swabs together and
swabbing the vaginal vault. |
| The examiner
must be sure that the frosted end slides are properly
labeled and include the word “vaginal” to indicate the
origin of the specimen. After the glass slides have been
placed back into the mailer, they should be air dried
before sealing. The slides should not be fixed or stained. |
| After the
label specifying "vaginal smear" has been affixed to the
mailer, the mailer should then be sealed all around with
tape. |
| The vaginal
cotton swabs are then allowed to air dry before being
placed in a second cardboard tube. They should be labeled
and sealed as was done for the oral swabs. |
| Penile
Swabs |
| (If Sexual
Assault Evidence Collection Kit is available use the
envelope labeled Vaginal Smear/Swab.) |
| For the male
adult and child victim, the presence of saliva on the
penis could indicate that oral-genital contact was made.
The presence of vaginal secretions could help corroborate
that the penis was introduced into a vaginal orifice.
Feces or lubricants might be found if rectal penetrations
occurred. |
| The proper
method of collecting the penile swab evidence is to
slightly moisten two cotton swabs with distilled water and
thoroughly swab the external surface of the penile shaft
and glans. All outer areas of the penis and scrotum where
contact is suspected should be swabbed. |
| When the
penile swabs are air dried, they are placed in a cardboard
tube. A white label is completed, affixed to the tube
without covering the air hole, and the tube flaps are
sealed with tape. |
