Iranian guideline for medico-legal management of female victims of sexual assault

Background and Objective: There are the wrong myths exist in Iran about sexual assault due to the dominant culture in our society. The lack of guideline on management of women who were victims of sexual assault in our country, show the necessity of design a guideline based on the native culture. The objective of this article is explaining the process of designing and evaluating a guideline for Iranian health care providers and health system to provide essential services for survivors of sexual violence.Method: Nominal group technique was used to design the guideline. The field research data with the review of 29 existing guidelines in the world were given to 12 qualified health care professionals. After receiving comments, the meeting was held. After asking the question of the research, important ideas for designing the guideline are identified and the draft guideline was written. The Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II (AGREE) instrument was used to evaluate the quality of this guidelineResults: This research led to design of a guideline to provide clinical services for survivors of sexual violence which include services such as assessment, history taking, physical examination, collection legal evidence, diagnostic tests, prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted Infections, emergency contraception, Hymenoplasty, mental health services, referrals, follow-up and documentation of evidence. 100% of the experts who assess the guideline with agree II, were recommended the use of this guideline.Conclusion: This guide line provides recommendations based on the victims and health care providers need and demands and this feature reflects the quality of this guideline