This week, join MCASA in celebrating Forensic Nurses Week, held between Monday, Nov. 7 and Friday, Nov 11. Forensic Nurses Week is intended to honor the hard work, expertise, and dedication of Forensic Nurse Examiners (FNEs), who offer skilled, compassionate, trauma-informed care to victims of sexual assault and other trauma.
They also play a crucial role in the criminal justice system by collecting forensic evidence during a Sexual Assault Forensic Exam (SAFE) and offering expert testimony in court about their findings. We thank all the FNEs in Maryland for their incredible contribution to responding to sexual assault throughout the state.
To help celebrate Forensic Nurses Week, we encourage everyone to reach out to the FNEs you work with to offer thanks, and raise awareness by wearing lilac, the official color of forensic nursing on Friday, Nov. 11.
To find out more about forensic nursing and SAFE programs in Maryland, contact MCASA at info@mcasa.org or call 301-328-7023, or review the resources on our website here.
See the below articles for more information about the importance of FNEs:
Read this overview from the International Association of Forensic Nurses on the work of Forensic Nurses and how to celebrate Forensic Nurses Week.
Read about some of the experiences of FNEs across the country here and here.
Watch these videos from the Office for Victims of Crime on the role of SAFE programs and their core values.