Crime - Confidential forensics: launch likely in 2024
In Thuringia, victims of sexual offenses such as rape are expected to have access to confidential forensic evidence for later prosecution from the beginning of 2024. A corresponding agreement between the state, the health insurance companies and the Jena University Hospital has now been negotiated in terms of content, the state's Equal Opportunities Commissioner Gabi Ohler and the health insurance company Barmer unanimously announced at the request of the German Press Agency. The details have now been clarified, said a Barmer spokesperson. The Institute of Forensic Medicine at Jena University Hospital is to take over the confidential forensics. "An expansion to other clinics in Thuringia is being considered."
The basic idea of confidential forensics: victims of sexual violence who do not want to go directly to the police contact a doctor in confidence, initially at the university hospital. The doctor then documents or secures traces of strangulation or scratches, for example, as well as traces of bodily fluids. If the victim does not want these findings to be passed on directly to the prosecution, they are archived - in such a way that these traces can still be attributed to a person years later. In cases of intimate partner violence in particular, it often happens that the victims do not want to report the perpetrator until months or even years after the assault.
Years of negotiations
According to Barmer,Thuringia is the only federal state in which the option of confidential evidence collection does not yet exist. The introduction in the state was actually planned for 2020 and the state had made money available for this. The procedure was also included in the Social Security Code by the federal legislator in 2020, which transferred the funding to the statutory health insurance funds. Negotiations have been ongoing in Thuringia ever since.
"The sticking point for us is that the health insurance companies want refinancing if a victim files a criminal complaint at a later date," said Ohler shortly before the agreement with the insurance companies. However, this is currently not legally possible. There should now be a supplementary agreement in the event of a change in federal law.
According to Ohler, if this agreement is finally signed, the state will cover the costs for the on-call times of the medical staff at the university hospital amounting to around 150,000 euros per year. The health insurance companies pay a flat rate of 439 euros per forensic case.
Health insurance for additional contact points
The regional managing director of Barmer, Birgit Dziuk, said that it was important for those affected by sexual assault that confidential forensics would not only be possible in Jena in future. "In the next step, the Free State must take an even broader approach and create more contact points." Supporting these people is a task for society as a whole.
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- The agreement between the Thuringian state, health insurance companies, and Jena University Hospital will ensure that victims of sexual offenses in Barmer can access confidential forensic evidence for future prosecutions starting from 2024.
- In the absence of confidential forensic evidence collection options in Thuringia, the German Press Agency reported that Barmer pointed out that this state is the only one in Germany without such a provision.
- The police are not directly involved in the confidential forensic process, as victims of sexual violence can initially seek a doctor's confidential advice at the Jena University Hospital.
- Regarding the potential refinancing of health insurance companies if victims file criminal complaints at a later date, Gabi Ohler, the Thuringian Equal Opportunities Commissioner, mentioned that currently, this is not legally possible.
- If the agreement on confidential forensics between the parties is signed, the state will cover the costs for the medical staff's on-call times at the Jena University Hospital, estimated at around 150,000 euros annually, while health insurance companies will pay a flat rate of 439 euros per forensic case.
Source: www.stern.de
