What is a key procedure for ensuring forensic evidence integrity in sexual assault cases?

In sexual assault cases, maintaining the integrity of forensic evidence is critical for effective investigation and prosecution. The proper procedure in this context involves instructing the victim not to wash, change clothes, or otherwise alter their physical state until a forensic evaluation has taken place. This is essential because forensic evidence—such as biological samples, fibers, or other trace evidence—can be easily destroyed or altered through washing, changing clothes, or other forms of personal hygiene.

When a victim refrains from washing or changing, it ensures that crucial evidence remains intact, allowing law enforcement and medical professionals to collect it properly. This evidence may play a vital role in identifying the perpetrator and supporting the victim's account of the incident in legal proceedings.

The other options presented may address aspects of victim care or support but do not pertain to the integrity of forensic evidence. Providing therapy immediately after the incident may help the victim emotionally, but it does not relate to maintaining physical evidence. Instructing the victim to eat can result in the loss of biological evidence, such as DNA. Encouraging the victim to forget the event is neither a practical nor a compassionate approach and ignores the importance of evidence collection in the context of criminal justice.