Scottish Government works towards providing forensic medical services for victims of sexual offences

Date: 23rd August 2021
Category: Equal protection from violence

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The landmark Forensic Medical Services (Victims of Sexual Offences) (Scotland) Act 2021 was unanimously passed by the Scottish Parliament on 10 December 2020 and received Royal Assent on 20 January 2020. Work now advances to implement the FMS Act.

Once commenced, the FMS Act will provide a statutory basis for health boards to provide forensic medical examinations for victims of sexual crime to nationally agreed standards. It will establish a legal framework for consistent access to healthcare and forensic medical examinations without needing to first make a report to the police. This service is called ‘self-referral’ and will be available to those aged 16 and over, subject to professional judgement.

Find out more about the FMS Act here.