Justice Department Honors Forensics Nurse With Allied Professional Award

          WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today presented Diana Faugno, a forensics nurse at the Eisenhower Medical Center and Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center in Rancho Mirage, California, with the Allied Professional Award during the annual National Crime Victims’ Service Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. This award recognizes individuals from a specific discipline outside the victim assistance field for their service to victims and/or contributions to the victim assistance field.

          “Since the earliest days of the victims’ rights movement, Ms. Faugno has been one of the medical community’s strongest advocates for sexual assault survivors, demonstrating the critical role that forensic nurses play in serving victims of violence,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “A highly skilled practitioner, she donates her time to many professional organizations to improve forensic nursing and serves as a role model for nurses new to the field.”

          Ms. Faugno is President of the Academy of Forensic Nurses and has been serving victims of violence since 1973. She has conducted more than 5,000 forensic exams and has developed numerous forensic nursing training modules, including the 2017 Video-Forensic Examination Techniques for Secure Digital Forensic Imaging Telemedicine. The founding board director for End Violence Against Women International and a founding board member of the newly formed Academy of Forensic Nurses, she focuses not only on injury treatment and evidence collection, but on early detection of abusive situations as a critical step in stemming the effects of violence. She is a co-author of many textbooks and papers, including the Color Atlas of Sexual Assault and Sexual Assault Victimization across the Life Span.

          “Obtaining justice for victims of sexual assault requires the careful gathering of evidence, which is the forensic nurse’s specialty,” said Office of Justice Programs Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Matt M. Dummermuth. “Throughout her career, Ms. Faugno has served as a vital link between victim services, the medical field and the criminal justice system, ensuring that victims get the justice they deserve.”

          The Department’s Office for Victims of Crime, a component of OJP, leads communities across the country in observing National Crime Victims’ Rights Week and hosts an annual award ceremony. President Reagan proclaimed the first Victims’ Rights Week in 1981, calling for greater sensitivity to the rights and needs of victims. This year’s observance takes place April 7-13, with the theme “Honoring Our Past. Creating Hope for the Future.”