Protocols

SART protocols (or guidelines) are an agreement between agencies about the provision of sexual assault services and the roles and responsibilities of core responders in providing those services. Ultimately, protocols allow you to institutionalize interagency roles and responsibilities to maintain high-quality, consistent responses over the long term.

Comprehensive protocols can⁷—

• Alleviate barriers and historical misunderstandings.
• Maintain momentum during staff transitions.
• Clearly illustrate the role of each agency or service in responding to victims of sexual assault.
• Promote policies designed to reach underserved or unserved populations.
• Foster interagency communication.
• Enhance multidisciplinary working relationships.
• Educate the community at large on the issue of sexual assault.
• Provide quality control mechanisms for service delivery.
• Provide parameters for resolving emerging issues.

This section reviews—

• Protocol basics.
• Multidisciplinary issues.
• Formal endorsement.
• Training.
• Monitoring.
• Evaluation.