Section 2638 Of Article 3. Sexual Abuse In Detention From California Penal Code >> Title 1. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 3. >> Article 3.
2638
. Thoughtful, confidential standards of physical and mental
health care shall be implemented to reduce the impact of sexual abuse
on inmates and wards in the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation that include all of the following:
(a) Victims shall receive appropriate acute-trauma care for rape
victims, including, but not limited to, treatment of injuries,
HIV/AIDS prophylactic measures, and, later, testing for sexually
transmittable diseases.
(b) Health practitioners who conduct or encounter an inmate or
ward suffering from problems that might indicate sexual abuse, such
as trauma, sexually transmissible diseases, pregnancy, or chronic
pain symptoms, shall ask whether the patient has experienced sexual
abuse.
(c) Practitioners should strive to ask frank, straightforward
questions about sexual incidents without shaming inmates or
displaying embarrassment about the subject matter.
(d) Confidential mental health counseling intended to help the
victim to cope with the aftermath of abuse shall be offered to those
who report sexual abuse. Victims shall be monitored for suicidal
impulses, posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and other mental
health consequences.
(e) Any adult inmate in mental health counseling for any reason
shall be entitled to speak confidentially about sexual abuse.