Abstract
Nursing science, forensic expertise, healthcare, legal principles, and the judicial system are all integrated into the new field of forensic nursing. The specialty currently include care for victims of intimate partner violence, child and elder abuse, human trafficking, assault, unexplained injuries, incarceration, and death-related investigations in addition to the conventional evaluation of victims of sexual violence. Comprehensive clinical evaluation, evidence identification and preservation, medicolegal recording, trauma-informed treatment, patient advocacy, expert witness, education, and cooperation with law enforcement and judicial experts are all services that forensic nurses may offer. Competency-based preparation and specific training for sexual assault, intimate partner violence, death investigation, and advanced forensic practice have been highlighted in recent advancements in forensic nursing education.³ Forensic nursing practice may be further impacted by emerging technology, including digital recordkeeping, automated pattern analysis, forensic imaging, and artificial intelligence.References
1. Lynch VA. Forensic nursing science: global strategies in health and justice. Int J Forensic Nurs. 2014;1(1):4-9.
2. Lynch VA, Duval JB. Forensic nursing science. 2nd ed. St Louis: Elsevier; 2011.
3. International Association of Forensic Nurses. Forensic nursing education guidelines [Internet]. Elkridge: International Association of Forensic Nurses; 2025 [cited 2026 Aug 23]. Available from: https://www.forensicnurses.org/
4. Panwar R, Sharma N, Vergia SV, Gupta A, Kumar A. Artificial intelligence in forensic medicine and forensic nursing: a systematic review of clinical applications, ethical risks, and implementation challenges. J Forensic Leg Med. 2026;122:103226. doi:10.1016/j.jflm.2026.103226.
5. World Health Organization. Violence against women prevalence estimates, 2018: global, regional and national prevalence estimates for intimate partner violence against women and global and regional prevalence estimates for non-partner sexual violence against women. Geneva: WHO; 2021.
6. Kaur S, et al. The paradigm of forensic nursing for nursing aspirants in India: promises, caveats & future directions. J Forensic Leg Med. 2022;87:102330.
7. Tabanejad Z, Ebadi A, Banazadeh M. A systematic literature review on the role of the forensic nursing. J Educ Health Promot. 2025;14:95. doi:10.4103/jehp.jehp_1869_23.
8. Hoffman SJ, Dillon T, Jackson MA, Pomegranate M, Kolar S, Frerich E, et al. SANE Practice Integrated Competency Evaluation (SPICE): a forensic nurse role development and performance tool. J Forensic Nurs. 2026;22(2).
9. International Association of Forensic Nurses. Sexual assault nurse examiner education guidelines: adult/adolescent and pediatric/adolescent. Elkridge: IAFN; 2025.
10. International Association of Forensic Nurses. Intimate partner violence nurse examiner education guidelines. Elkridge: IAFN; 2025.
11. U.S. Department of Justice. A national protocol for sexual assault medical forensic examinations: adults/adolescents. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: Office on Violence Against Women; 2013.
12. U.S. Department of Justice. National training standards for sexual assault medical forensic examiners. Washington, DC: Office on Violence Against Women; 2018.
13. Orsini F, Cioffi A, Cipolloni L, Bibbò R, Montana A, De Simone S, et al. The application of artificial intelligence in forensic pathology: a systematic literature review. Front Med. 2025;12:1583743.
14. Khanagar SB, Al-Ehaideb A, Maganur PC, Vishwanathaiah S, Patil S, Naik S, et al. Application and performance of artificial intelligence technology in forensic odontology: a systematic review. Legal Med. 2021;48:101803.
15. World Health Organization. Responding to children and adolescents who have been sexually abused: WHO clinical guidelines. Geneva: WHO; 2017.
16. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Global report on trafficking in persons 2024. Vienna: United Nations; 2024.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 Indian Journal of Nursing Education and Research Studies(IJNERS)