Contact the DOJ About Sexual Assault Treatment Guidelines

Emergency Contraception (EC) is still experiencing outrageous government action. The Department of Justice (DOJ) in its first ever medical guidelines for the treatment of sexual assault survivors has omitted provisions for issuing EC, which is the standard precaution against pregnancy after rape. The 141-page national protocol published in September includes a section on pregnancy but fails to include a specific discussion of EC. It puts sexual assault victims, especially those who seek services at Catholic hospitals, at risk for unintended pregnancy.

Only 5 states, CA, IL, NM, NY, and WA have laws that require hospitals to provide EC or information on how to find it to sexual assault survivors.

Please contact Mary Beth Buchanan at the DOJ. Urge her to revise the National Protocol for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examination to include comprehensive information about EC to survivors of sexual assault.

Mary Beth Buchanan, Acting Director
Office on Violence Against Women
Department of Justice
810 7th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20531

Phone: 202-307-6026
Fax: 202-307-3911
Email: ASKDOJ@usdoj.gov