Comments on: Rape Kits: Yes, Still Going Untested

By: Emily

Emily — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:58:54 +0000

…and an addendum to the previous comment; one case mentioned was in Louisiana. The backlog there was probably created while trying to identify Katrina victims. Again, it’s sad, but in some cases it’s nothing more than a lack of resources, or sufficient resources only for standard operations but no contingency plan for mass disasters. However, the case in Minneapolis where the prosecutor just sent a bunch of old samples to the lab and came back with eight hits – that was directly on the police department or DA’a office or whoever is in charge of sending those out.

By: Emily

Emily — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:52:45 +0000

I don’t get it – are the police departments not sending out the rape kits, or is it taking a while to get the reports back from the labs? thanks to a lack of funding and education, we don’t have enough labs or technicians to process all the DNA samples in the country, and on top of that the 9/11 attacks sparked a huge backlog that’s nearly 800,000 deep by now, so several months at least for results on any DNA sample is standard because real forensic science isn’t like CSI.

However, if the issue is that the police aren’t sending the kits out for testing at all, that’s just wrong, wrong, WRONG.

By: Samantha

Samantha — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:43:54 +0000

I have a hard time not seeing this kind of action as rape in and of itself.

The fact of the matter is, rape kits are extremely traumatic. There simply isn’t any way to subject a survivor to the examinations and sample collections so close after a sexually traumatic incident without perpetuating the violence. Rape kits are intrusive, violent, painful endeavours that hurt their victims.

Nonetheless, women endure this pain because they feel that they need to. They feel that by enduring the rape kit they will achieve justice, and though justice closure, and they will help protect their fellow women from further rape. Because, and only because, of this, women subject themselves to further sexual trauma which will scar them for life.

And then the system turns around and throws away these promises. The women who have allowed themselves to be subjected to rape kits have now allowed themselves to be traumatized for nothing. Their consent was based on false promises and lies: behaviour which, under any other circumstances would constitute rape.

So, as far as I’m concerned, the state, in these cases, did nothing more than perpetuate further sexual violence and rape against survivors. Rape prevention indeed.

By: I’ll show you mine if you show me yours… (11/14/2009)

I’ll show you mine if you show me yours… (11/14/2009) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:01:22 +0000

[...] Rape Kits: Yes, Still Going Untested [...]

By: gemma

gemma — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:45:35 +0000

…sick. absolutely sick.

I would add something but you just said it all there.

By: SunlessNick

SunlessNick — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:00:38 +0000

On average, six months in Rhode Island, Alabama and Illinois. It can take nearly a year in Missouri. Up to three years in Anchorage, Alaska. One state, Louisiana, has rape kits dating as far back as 2001 waiting to be tested.

Which of these states charge victims for the kits they then may or may not bother testing?