Overview

• On July 1, Health Minister Diana Stolz and Social Minister Heike Hofmann signed a contract at Frankfurt’s Institute for Forensic Medicine to formalize coverage under statutory health insurance.
• The agreement establishes two case flat rates—one for bodily injuries and another for sexual offenses—funded by insurers.
• Victims can undergo anonymous forensic examinations that document injuries and secure traces for storage at forensic institutes pending a victim’s decision to report.
• The service is operational at the forensic medicine institutes in Frankfurt and Gießen, with partner clinics such as Schutzambulanz Fulda and the Forensische Konsil Gießen joining the network.
• Rapid and standardized evidence collection responds to experts’ warnings that physical traces fade within hours and aims to improve trial outcomes and victims’ self-determination.